AA or JB --> Sea / JFK: Pros/Cons
 

Flying from SEA to JFK. Two direct redeye flights available on either American or JetBlue. I've never flown on AA and want to hear about your experience. I'm not too fond of JetBlue. <BR><BR>Please share your thoughts on PROS/CONS of AA to JetBlue.

I have not flown JetBlue.But I have no reason not to.I would stick with AA since they have more &quot;back-up&quot; in case there is a delay/cancellation.With JetBlue,the aircraft to take you from SEA to JFK is the one you would see.There is no back up.They do not &quot;interline&quot; with any carrier except ATA.And that wont do you any good.Getting from Point A to Point B is ALWAYS my highest priority.If I get some FF miles,some extra leg room or some non-cheesy food,thats OK.

I am a travel agent and I have not heard anything bad about Jet Blue. Actually I have a lot of clients who request them. If price is an issue they do offer good fares, but if not go with American. For that routing their on time scheduled departure is 90 percent so you should not have any delays. As for the previous post about going with American for back up in case of delays/cancellations we are talking about a red eye flight so no other flights will go out reguardless of airline until the next day anyways if weather or something comes up.

To the TA<BR>I was at Oakland Airport when JetBlue cancelled the flight to JFK.The ticket personnel offered little comfort telling the stranded passengers they had only one &quot;interline&quot;partner--ATA.And they couldnt help.They told one little old lady that if she wanted to get to where she was going she would have to &quot;cough up&quot; soime more money to fly on a &quot;big airline&quot; with real &quot;friends&quot;.I would go with an airline that could offer a POSITIVE back up plan in the event of a cancellation or delay due to a mechanical situation.

I appreciate your input regarding the potential delay/contingency issue. But I guess I'm more concerned about the in-flight/customer service aspect. In my perspective, i rate JetBlue's service to value quotion at about mid level (not as high as most people rate them). I just don't think they're all that cracked up to be having flown them in the past--they are a discount airline and therefore offer service at that level (as stated, this is my humble opinion). I've never flown on AA, and want to know how their inflight service and amenitites stack up against JetBlue. Would love to hear your thoughts.

The diff in service/amenities/professional level is night and day.I am not saying JetBlue is less than professional.I have only observed at airports.But with AA,Seattle is an extremely high seniority destination.A peach if you will for flight crews.Therefore,the flight crews will always be super highly experienced.Which to me counts for a lot in service level.It happens yes that a new flight attendant will be on a DFW-SEA

My computer fritzed so I just want to add that it will happen that a new recuit will end up on a plane full of 10 and 15 year vets of being flight attendants.But it is not the norm.I am not sure if Seattle is a &quot;base&quot; for flight crews.But I am not sure how I would feel about being asked to carry my own &quot;Trash&quot; off a JetBlue airplane--they DO!! So they dont have to pay for the cleaning service.And you know as well as I do there will always be some left on board.To me,that is just part of being an airline--offering as clean equipment as possible.Again,just my thoughts.

AA seems to have lowered fairs to compete with JetBlue in markets like SEA-JFK. So you might have a choice at about the same price. On the other hand, sometimes if you need to fly last-minute JetBlue has great fares on their website even with only 24 hours notice. Not sure if AA will match them!<BR><BR>I have never flown JetBlue (want to; a friend has and raved about her flight). Wish they flew out of Portland! I do like the idea of supporting an alternative carrier to the &quot;big&quot; airlines that charge all these change fees and such now. JetBlue charges only a $25 change fee vs. $100 for AA for example.<BR><BR>Andrew<BR>