How Does Jet Blue Fly for the Season?

Cheap, affordable, great service, but also...

Credit to BlueTales for the awesome infographic.

Blue's News Dec 18

What's new with JetBlue

• 'Twas the Night Before a JetBlue Flight

• An important review of how flying, specifically with delays and weather related cancellations, will change after new rules for pilots go into affect on Jan. 5 from the perspective of a pilot.
  
  
• Another review of JetBlue's new Fly-Fi, the fastest internet in the airline industry.
  
  
• BlueTales offers some fantastic travel tips for taking elderly loved ones with you this holiday season.

- John

$15 off JetBlue Holiday Flights!

Get Money Back on Your Already Cheap Airfare

To help with the holiday rush of flights, JetBlue is adding some new planes to their roster starting December 19 through January 6. Unfortunately, these planes have yet to be fitted with JetBlue's LiveTV system. This means that per JetBlue policy, you're entitled at a $15 redemption from your flight ticket. With the FAA allowing electronics for use during whole flights and the amazing tablets, laptops, and phones we have, missing some basic cable on a flight isn't as big of a deal as it once was. Plus, JetBlue will be throwing in some complimentary books, magazines, and playing cards to make sure you don't get too bored on your flight to see your loved ones.

If you haven't booked yet or want to change your flight to take advantage of this free money back, try to get on one of these flights:

Flight Number	Origin/Destination
B6 #3	New York City, NY/San Juan, PR
B6 #4	San Juan, PR/New York City, NY
B6 #661	New York City, NY/Bridgetown, Barbados
B6 #662	Bridgetown, Barbados/New York City, NY
B6 #1103	New York City, NY/San Juan, PR
B6 #1204	San Juan, PR/New York City, NY
B6 #1601	New York City, NY/Fort Lauderdale, FL
B6 #1802	Fort Lauderdale, FL/New York City, NY

Just remember that not all of these flights will be on the new TV-less A321 aircraft - but the odds aren't bad!

- John

Fly-Fi Still Looking Great

12 Mbps (Mega-bytes per seat) 

It wasn't too long ago that JetBlue's Fly-Fi got it's first real test with decent, but not great, reviews. Not too long later they decided to up the ante for a stress test: a flight full of blogging, streaming, Instagramming journalists on a flight that started and ended at JFK for the sole purpose of putting the wireless internet to the test. Not bad for a budget airline.

So what did Engadget have to say? "...the connection was much faster on the plane than it was in the JFK terminal..." which to me is a fairly impressive statement to make about in-flight wifi. Zach, from Engadget, was able to load 720p YouTube videos with only a moment or two of buffering and if it truly was faster than on the ground at JFK, color me impressed.

In addition to the A320s that currently have Fly-Fi, 737s have also begun to be equipped with the service thanks to JetBlue's subsidiary LiveTV. For the time being, Big Blue is still the only airline, let alone the only cheap airline, that is offering these types of speeds for a fair $9 per hour - but that's only if you want to use high definition streaming. Until June 2014, using Fly-Fi for plain old browsing the Internet will be free, as in beer. 

So if you're waiting to board your always affordable flight purchased through JetBlue and see the logo above by the boarding door entrance, you're in for a treat! Relax and enjoy cutting edge Wi-Fi speeds for free courtesy of JetBlue. For more information and FAQ, visit the JetBlue Fly-Fi page.

I'm hoping I get to try it out on my next flight out of JFK, but if have tried it let me know what you think!

Update: Check out BlueTales to find out what flights in the next 24 hours will have Fly-Fi onboard!

 - John