JetBlue - need advice from families with little kids

[cheryterese]

We have been waiting for Southwest to release their November fares but it is just not happening and we want to book our trip. JetBlue has comprable fares and I think we can get by with one checked bag each, but I'm wondering about car seats and strollers. Can these be checked free as well, in addition to our 1 checked bag?

How is JetBlue for families? Do you get an actual seat assignment? We have only flown Southwest.

Thank you!

 

[newyorkmike]

We have been waiting for Southwest to release their November fares but it is just not happening and we want to book our trip. JetBlue has comprable fares and I think we can get by with one checked bag each, but I'm wondering about car seats and strollers. Can these be checked free as well, in addition to our 1 checked bag?

How is JetBlue for families? Do you get an actual seat assignment? We have only flown Southwest.

Thank you!

You can check a car seat for free with Jetblue and it will not count against your luggage allowance of one free checked bag per person. We always gate check our stroller, which is also free. I don't know the policy for checking a stroller at check-in.

 

[babydovesx2]

We flew JetBlue to NYC a few years ago and loved it. We were able to check our stroller for free with no problem. We also got our seat asignments as we requested. The seats are larger and all have free tv. Be sure to bring headphones. Our kids watched Disney channel and Cartoon network all the way there. I watched HGTV and my husband watched ESPN. JetBlue still provides free drinks and snacks unlike many other airlines. I will fly JetBlue any chance I get.

 

[cheryterese]

You can check a car seat for free with Jetblue and it will not count against your luggage allowance of one free checked bag per person. We always gate check our stroller, which is also free. I don't know the policy for checking a stroller at check-in.

Gate checking the stroller would be fine with us. Have you had good experience with JetBlue?

 

[GrnMtnMan]

I will fly JetBlue any chance I get.

Same here. Great for families. Free TVs and checked bags. And like Southwest, if the fare goes down, you can get a credit for future travel for the difference between the fare you paid and the cheaper fare (you do have to call to do this though).

I wouldn't give it a second thought and would buy now.

 

[cheryterese]

Same here. Great for families. Free TVs and checked bags. And like Southwest, if the fare goes down, you can get a credit for future travel for the difference between the fare you paid and the cheaper fare (you do have to call to do this though).

I wouldn't give it a second thought and would buy now.

Thanks. I think I will! The total cost is actually less than I'm pricing Southwest with my guess of what the fares will be. I added up our bags and we wouldn't need the 2nd free bag anyway. JetBlue also gets us there by noon, leaving at 8:55am which is totally manageable. And I'm sick of waiting and guessing! I want to start planning!!

 

[MDsMomma]

We've flown 2 times Jetblue with our now 3 year old.. we are flying again the end of the month.. the TV's are a savior on the flights.. we have gate checked and luggage checked our stollers.. this time we are bringing car seat and stroller I will gate check both.. either way free of charge!

Just be careful at Disney when we did flight check in at the resort the counted our stroller as a piece of luggage... we had an extra free one anyways but be careful!

 

[cheryterese]

Well, I'm convinced! Right now I'm looking at one way $99 from Buffalo and the same on the way back. Is there a better day to purchase JetBlue tickets when they might be even lower or do you think I should just get them today (Wednesday)?

 

[GrnMtnMan]

I say get them now....Jet Blues prices look to be down today.

I've been pricing an August trip to Orlando for a few weeks. JetBlue's prices are about $30 cheaper today versus yesterday for my flight. I'll be buying as soon as I get commitments from other family members to go on this trip.

And if they go do further, JetBlue will give you credit in a JetBlue account to use at a later date.

 

[cheryterese]

Today I found one for $89, but we'd have to fly out of Buffalo at 7:10am. That means waking the kids at 4:30 to get to the airport a little over an hour early. Would you do that to your kids? They would get a nap that afternoon!

 

[newyorkmike]

Gate checking the stroller would be fine with us. Have you had good experience with JetBlue?

I've had nothing but great experiences with JetBlue. Big, comfy seats, the free DirecTV with disney and cartoon channels and free drinks and snacks are great.

 

[Disneychix]

Today I found one for $89, but we'd have to fly out of Buffalo at 7:10am. That means waking the kids at 4:30 to get to the airport a little over an hour early. Would you do that to your kids? They would get a nap that afternoon!

We are booked for this flight out of BUF in Sept and usually take this early flight when going to WDW. My DS has always been fine. He has slept on the plane and we usually have our first day as just a resort day anyway so if he wants to nap he can.
We LOVE JB! CAn't beat having the tv's and assigned seats are quite welcome after fretting about getting early boarding passes to make sure your family all sits together on SW.

 

[mommycrawford]

One caution...If you gate check your stroller, I would advise bringing a roll of duct tape, as they broke a wheel off our stroller.... with no apologies we got it in MCO.

 

[cheryterese]

One caution...If you gate check your stroller, I would advise bringing a roll of duct tape, as they broke a wheel off our stroller.... with no apologies we got it in MCO.

Oh no!!! That would be awful!

We are booked for this flight out of BUF in Sept and usually take this early flight when going to WDW. My DS has always been fine. He has slept on the plane and we usually have our first day as just a resort day anyway so if he wants to nap he can.
We LOVE JB! CAn't beat having the tv's and assigned seats are quite welcome after fretting about getting early boarding passes to make sure your family all sits together on SW.

We booked it!! We have a 7:10am flight out of Buffalo and will be in Orlando at 9:45 with ADR's at T-Rex for noon! We will head to our rental house after that so the kids can nap while DH goes out for the groceries and I unpack everyone. We can then swim and head to bed early for park opening the next day. So excited! The cheapest flight back was 6:55pm, so we will have some DTD time that day as well. I got the tickets for $89 down and $99 back! The prices are $124 both ways now, so I'm very glad I got them when I did. My kids are very excited about the TV's. I'm excited about assigned seats and no stress about whether or not we will be able to sit together if we took SW like we did last time. Thanks for the advice, everyone!

 

[goofy4tink]

One caution...If you gate check your stroller, I would advise bringing a roll of duct tape, as they broke a wheel off our stroller.... with no apologies we got it in MCO.

Not hard to believe. I've sat there and watched them 'gate check' strollers...not a pretty sight. They just drop and shove them down that ramp thing. I'm surprised more of them don't get busted.

 

[MDsMomma]

We fly JetBlue and I love it. We usually gate check the stroller one time we put it under the plane. We will be flying to Orlando for the 4th time with my 3 go. This is the first time we aren't doing Magical Express and renting car so we will be bringing car seat. I think I'm gate checking both. I'm afraid car seat will ge broken with baggage even though I bought a travel bag.

Great prices we are flying on Jetblue credit from December. 89&99 are great prices. The $99 may drop to $89 and you can get credit. They used to go $59 $79 but I have not seen that in a long time. Set up an alert at yapta.com and they will email you when price drops. Your gonna love jetblue!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I'm wondering about car seats and strollers. Can these be checked free as well, in addition to our 1 checked bag?

All US airlines allow you to check car seats and strollers for free.

This information is right on the JetBlue website.

 

[designermv]

I've flown JetBlue and Southwest with little ones, and both were fine, but I LOVE JetBlue. We only flew SW last year because the fares were so much cheaper for the dates we had booked. I love picking my seats when I order the tickets. The TVs on the seat backs are invaluable.

I've gate checked a stroller each time and had no issues. I use one of those red gate check bags.