Tell us: What do you think about JetBlue?
Has your JetBlue experience changed over the years?
JetBlue has not aged well, wrote Brian McGrory, former Boston Globe editor, in an open letter penned this week to Marty St. George, the airline’s president.
The New York-based airline that Boston has claimed its own, or as McGrory put it, is “our version of Dunkin’ Donuts or Matt Damon – known to the world, but still intrinsically ours,” needs help, he wrote.
“What happened? And can you please fix it?” McGrory asked St. George in the letter.
JetBlue, Logan Airport‘s largest carrier and the official airline of the Boston Red Sox, was an innovative startup when it launched in Boston in 2004.
Wrote McGrory, “[A] funny thing happens to an innovative startup. It eventually gets old. The question always is, does it age well? JetBlue has most decidedly not. So many of your planes are exhausted. Your finances are under water. Others caught up to your innovative ideas, and you lost your innovative spirit, unless you want to count your failed purchase of the universally loathed Spirit airlines, which cost you hundreds of millions of dollars with precisely nothing to show for it.”
JetBlue landed dead last in The Wall Street Journal‘s annual Airline Scorecard in recent years, which evaluates on-time arrivals, canceled flights, extreme delays, two-hour tarmac delays, mishandled baggage, involuntary bumping, and complaints.
More often, the airline falls somewhere in the middle of the pack.
Earlier this week, JetBlue ranked No. 6 on Travel + Leisure‘s list of 10 best U.S. airlines, part of the publication’s annual World’s Best Awards. Airlines were rated on cabin comfort, in-flight service, customer service, and value.
Last year, though JetBlue ranked No. 7 on an annual list of best airlines in the U.S. compiled by The Points Guy, the travel website noted that the airline shined in the experience area.
“Once again, JetBlue was the top airline for cabin features, with complimentary Wi-Fi across its entire fleet plus seatback TVs and the largest economy seats in the U.S.,” wrote the site.
In this year’s J.D. Power airline rankings, released in May, JetBlue ranked high in customer satisfaction in the business/first class category. The carrier was bested only by Delta Air Lines and ranked No. 1 in the category last year. In recent years, JetBlue has made over its business class and now offers private suites.
JetBlue did not respond to Boston.com’s requests for comment.
What are your thoughts about JetBlue? Are you a loyal customer? Why or why not? Do you feel the airline should make changes? If so, what?
Tell us in the form below, or e-mail us at [email protected], and your response may be featured in a future Boston.com article.
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