JetBlue

[Figarro]

I'm thinking to fly with Emirates as their arrival time in Orlando works the best for me.
However, for the return flight, their departure time is a little too early than what I'd like. It's at 1:30pm, so hopefully I still can have 1 hour or so at Universal Orlando.

They have a codeshare flight with JetBlue leaving at 4:30pm, which gives me more park time.
I'll have 3 hours transit in Boston (Logan), then catch my connecting flight to Dubai.

If I take the 1:30pm flight with Emirates, I'll have 9 hours transit in DXB. I can get out (I've never been to Dubai), but to be honest, I'm not that interested to see Dubai.

What's your opinion about JetBlue? Do their flights often get cancelled? Are they usually on time?

Since JetBlue and Emirates have codeshare and my ticket is a through ticket, I may not have to worry too much if the first leg gets delayed. But I hate to rush to catch my next flight.

By the way, at Logan Airport, I'll arrive in Terminal C and leave from Terminal E.
I read that I don't have to collect my luggage, clear security and re-check in, but I can stay airside and go straight to Terminal E. Is this correct?

 

[Timothy02359]

Jetblue is usually good, Never had a problem with their flights. Yes you can go straight from terminal to terminal at Logan without going through security again. The airline will transfer your luggage for you.

 

[cruisin5]

We really like JetBlue too.

 

[cluvsdisney]

I'll only fly with them as a last resort because our flights were frequently delayed by a significant amount - 2+ hours. My mother was loyal to them even though she regularly had long delays too. They finally lost her as a customer this past December when her flight was delayed about 7-8 hours. While that was extraordinary, a delta flight that had a similar schedule arrived only an hour late (there was heavy rain in NY that day causing delays).

 

[pixiedustedme]

Our Jet Blue flights have been fine.

 

[daisy2013]

We pretty much only fly JetBlue when we can. We once had an issue but that was due to other passengers

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We fly Jetblue multiple times a year as it's the only airline that does direct flights from a smaller airport near us to Orlando. It's been quite reliable, the crew is generally very nice, but it's a bit "no-frills". If that doesn't bother you, I wouldn't hesitate flying them from Orlando to Boston.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Jet Blue is sort of a mid-tier airline. A bit fewer frills than the legacy carriers like American, Delta, etc., but way above the ultra low cost carriers like Frontier or Spirit. They are comfortable and reliable.

We Flew Jet Blue from NY to Orlando last fall. Take off was on time, but arrival was late because we flew all the way down to Ft. Lauderdale and then looped back up due to storms in Orlando. Because we were late, the flight attendants announced we should stay in our seats so some passengers in the back could get out first to make their connection (I think it was Brazil). Anyway, the cool thing was that everyone actually did stay out of the aisle and let the passengers hurry to make their connection.

The planes were fine. Jet Blue has individual screens with movies, shows, games, on them. Unfortunately, the whole system was down on our return flight. I didn't complain, but got a $15 credit deposited in my account along with an apology email for the inconvenience. Fortunately, it was an evening flight after an exhausting park day, and my kids both slept the whole way back to NY. Next time, I will let them bring tablets, just in case.

We'll be taking JB back to MCO in June.

 

[writerguyfl]

ClapYourHands provides a really good summary of JetBlue.

In my experience, they're a solid airline when things are going well. But, when faced with Irregular Operations (IROPs), they stumble more than bigger US airlines (American, Delta, Southwest, United).

If unfamiliar, IROPs is the term airlines use when things are running normally. It can happen due to weather, mechanical issues with planes, crew availability problems, or system-wide issues like computer malfunctions or air-traffic control delays.

Now, the good news is that both Orlando and Boston are JetBlue hubs. That fact means that the airline will have far greater resources to address any delays. Examples: If a crew member calls in sick, they will simply re-assign someone from one of the other flights leaving that day. Or, if there's a maintenance issue with a plane, they will have mechanics there to fix it as well as a far greater selection of spare parts.

Given all of that that you'll have a 3 hour layover in Boston, I wouldn't hesitate to book this trip.

 

[cmwade77]

Jet Blue is sort of a mid-tier airline. A bit fewer frills than the legacy carriers like American, Delta, etc., but way above the ultra low cost carriers like Frontier or Spirit. They are comfortable and reliable.

What frills do the others have that Jetblue doesn't? Seriously, I can't find one.

 

[cmwade77]

Personally, all we will fly is Jetblue whenever possible, here are a few reasons:

• Best customer service in the industry (Seriously, I haven't found any other airline that compares and only a handful of nonairline companies even exceed their customer service)
• Wider seats than most other airlines, I believe Jetblues are generally 18" or more wide
• Substantially more leg room than other airlines
• Unlimited snacks that are more than just the stand peanuts/pretzels
• Good selection of drinks
• If a flight is delayed, they have an up front policy about how much credit you will receive based on the length of the delay
• I have never had a Jetblue flight be canceled for any reason, I cannot say the same of larger (American, United, etc.)
• They treat their disabled passengers, including those with service animals with dignity and respect, something that definitely can't be said for United who kicked a passenger with a service dog off a flight because the person seated next to him was allergic to dogs, even though the passenger with the service animal had paid more for their ticket and booked earlier than the other passenger. Stuff like that is very routine on United and American and while I don't personally have a service animal, I will not support business who treat those that do so horribly. Jetblue will even setup nut free zones on their planes if someone is so sensitive to nuts that breathing it could be a problem, they will board those with autism before making any announcements if necessary.

 

[debster812]

Here's a link on how to get from terminal to terminal at Logan.

http://www.massport.com/logan-airport/flights/connecting-flights/

Bizarrely, there is no Terminal D, so you can walk easily from C (where your domestic Jetblue flight will land) and E (where your Emirates flight will likely take off). There are also shuttle busses outside, but unless there are mobility issues, I think it would be less hassle to walk.

 

[writerguyfl]

For what it's worth, these are actual Bureau of Transportation Statistics figures that show JetBlue to be worse than the four larger US carriers.

Cancelations by Carrier for 2018

• American: 1.63%
• Delta: 0.37%
• JetBlue: 2.1%
• Southwest: 1.35%
• United: 0.79%

Air Carrier Delays for 2018 (Delays Caused by the Airline...not Weather, Security, or Air Traffic)

• American: 6.03%
• Delta: 4.16%
• JetBlue: 8.75%
• Southwest: 6.09%
• United: 4.33%

Source for Statistics: https://www.transtats.bts.gov/OT_Delay/OT_DelayCause1.asp?pn=1

 

[ClapYourHands]

What frills do the others have that Jetblue doesn't? Seriously, I can't find one.

While not a "frill" as such, they have fewer planes, so they are more likely to delay or cancel than the legacy airlines. They are still reliable, just a bit less so than the legacies. As a PP mentioned, Boston and Orlando are reliable cities for JB flights, and I wouldn't hesitate to fly between those markets.

Jet Blue doesn't have airport lounges. When we fly as a family, it's almost always on American because my husband hates waiting gate side rather than in the Admiral's Club. I actually really like the old marine terminal at LGA that JB has taken over, but it's not as nice as waiting in a lounge with comfy seats and free food/drinks.

Jet Blue does have inflight entertainment, but it is much more scaled down than the legacies. Flying JB, you'll have a choice of 3 movies on the outbound flight and 3 different movies on the inbound flight. If you fly AA domestically, there are over 100 movies to choose from. On our JB flights last November, the wifi did not work on either the southbound or northbound flights, the inflight entertainment worked southbound after they rebooted the system, and did not work at all northbound. Not to say there are never any glitches on legacy carriers, but JB's inflight entertainment/wifi seemed pretty basic in comparison.

JB doesn't have business class, and their first class ("mint") is only on select long-haul flights like NY to LA. There are 'even more room' front seats on JB, but those are more akin to premium economy offered on legacy carriers. This might not be a big deal to many of us who are mostly looking for reliable transportation, but people who want to fly business or first class to Orlando will need to use a legacy carrier.