southwest and jetblue-is it worth paying more for jetblue? upstate NY

[yankeeslover]

Going to be booking in next two weeks... live in upstate ny northwest of albany...as albany is too expensive im either flying SW from bradley or JB from Stewerts.... price for sw is 956.00 rt for 4 of us or 1222.00 rt thru jb at stewarts....is it worth paying $260.00 more for jetblue? im just afraid of boarding southwest at bradley and not sitting with wife and 2 kids as they dont do reserve seating like JB.....Any opinons are appreciated

 

[justcantwait]

First off, have you priced JetBlue out of Bradley? It may be better to compare apples to apples. I like both carriers, and don't have a problem not picking my seat when I buy the tickets on Southwest. That being said, if I'm traveling with my kids (age 12 and 9), I'd go with JetBlue because of the tv's in the seatbacks. We've also taken them on Southwest and have had no trouble sitting together. Either pay the extra to be checked in automatically at the 24 hour mark, or make sure you're by a computer or smartphone to do it yourself. I think it's all a matter of what's important to you. Is the cost most important, which airport you fly out of, having a reserved seat, or amenities/service? Once you answer that question, it should be easier to pick. Good luck!

Kathy

 

[lakohls]

Agree with pp - price both JB & SW out of Hartford. We live an hour north of Albany and found airfare out of Hartford was so much less it was no question to drive a little farther. I our case JB was cheaper, had better flight times, and the tvs were great for the kids.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yes.

Because I said so.

Okay, seriously. I don't know your dates, but departing from BDL 8/14 ~5 PM and returning 8/21at 7:30 AM, the jetBlue fare is $998 and change.

 

[formill]

Since early bird check in started with Southwest we have always paid for it and it is worth it for us to never worry about sitting apart- we have always gotten early "A" boarding and sat wherever we wanted so the only real advantage with Jet Blue is the tvs and we love those but since we do all have laptops/ereaders/portable dvd players we can easily still have something to watch..........so I would not pay more to go with jet blue and with southwest if you do some shopping and buy too much you can always each have 2 checked bags....We could eat out about 3 times for the extra $260 you would pay extra for Jet Blue so I would go Southwest for that kind of difference if the flight times were okay......if you did not include the early bird check in price that will add $80 to your Southwest pricing.

 

[vacationclub]

OP, just something to think about. If your SW flight is not direct....and you have to switch planes somewhere....there is a chance your family could get broken up on the 2nd leg even with EBCI or even Business Select, as your incoming plane could be late for some reason. It's a slight risk, but still there.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I never fly JB over SW just b/c JB is always so much more $$!
I have always flown SW and never not sat with my kids.

 

[LaurenT]

Going to be booking in next two weeks... live in upstate ny northwest of albany...as albany is too expensive im either flying SW from bradley or JB from Stewerts.... price for sw is 956.00 rt for 4 of us or 1222.00 rt thru jb at stewarts....is it worth paying $260.00 more for jetblue? im just afraid of boarding southwest at bradley and not sitting with wife and 2 kids as they dont do reserve seating like JB.....Any opinons are appreciated

SW out of ALB right now s 167 inclusive for most dates. That would be about $1,300, well worth the extra over $1,200 to be closer to your airport. We're just east of Saratoga and always fly out of Albany non stop....