The Benefits of Flying JetBlue 3.28.12

FYI: I wrote this post before the incident with Flight 191, but I still stick with the opinions I've given, as I think that pilot having a mental breakdown could have easily have been on any airline.

This last month we took a wonderfully relaxing trip to St. George – of course, you’ll think I’m lying when you read that we were vacationing with a family of 6, but it’s true – and it was our first time flying JetBlue. I was pretty excited that we got a better deal on them than even on Southwest or Spirit (both were charging some crazy prices to Vegas), because I have heard good things. Before, I could never get their website to work if there were no seats available to where I wanted to fly on the days I wanted to fly. This doesn’t’ seem to be the case anymore and you can also find them on airline aggregators now (like Travelocity and Orbitz), which makes it way easier to book an available seat.

Even though it’s been around for a while and people have been using it coast-to-coast for great prices for years, I thought it would be interesting to do a post for those that don’t need to fly across the country and want to save money going somewhere closer to home. Because it’s technically a discount airline the routes are limited on JetBlue. They have a whopping 7 hubs in the U.S.: Boston (BOS), Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International (FLL), Long Beach (LGB), New York (JFK), Oakland (OAK), Orlando (MCO) and Washington Dulles (IAD). This may make some creative flight patterns and fly you totally out of the way in order to get to and from your final destination. If it saves you money though, there are a lot of pluses to flying JetBlue.

• First bag flies free. In this day and age when airlines charge an arm and a leg for everything, it’s nice to know someone isn’t trying to steal everything you own. On JetBlue, your first checked bag is always free. You don’t have to use it, but it’s there. I like it as insurance that if I buy too much, I can use it on the way home. (That’s $15-35 saved!)
• Flights are never overbooked. Remember when we talked about overbooked flights and how you can get bumped and screwed over (even if you do get compensated) because you got to the gate 5 minutes later than you wanted or your got stuck in traffic or security took forever? Well, JetBlue doesn’t oversell seats, so you will never be without one.
• They are partnered with some of the best airlines in the business. It’s true. Now you can also fly on Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, CapeAir, American, South African, Emirates, El Al, LAN, Virgin Atlantic, Iceland Air, Qatar Airways, TAM, Jet Airways, Singapore Airlines, Hawaiian, Japan Airlines and Korean Air. It’s a whole network of savings, plus you can gain mileage points for any of these airlines by flying with any of the others. I flew JetBlue and earned American AAdvantage miles.

• Awesome customer service. Okay, it may have just been my experience, but everyone I dealt with was super nice and courteous (and helpful!). From the ticket agents to the ground crew to the flight attendants. Top notch.
• Free DirecTV on all flights. Again, JetBlue doesn’t try to pinch every penny they can from you. Every seat has its own TV monitor (albeit small) and you can watch anything on 36 channels of DirecTV. I had the Europa Fútbol League on mine so I could watch soccer and also learn some Spanish in between playing a game on my handheld.
• Free Sirius XM radio on all flights. Not into TV, but want to listen to some tunes other than those you brought (or forgot)? JetBlue gives you the choice of over 100 music channels. If you didn’t bring a set of earphones? Don’t worry. They will sell you some nice ones for just $2 (either from the fancy do-it-yourself bin at the gate or after takeoff on the

• Unlimited free snacks and beverages. Again, you don’t get stuck with a tiny cup mostly full of ice and a bag containing 3 salted pretzels. On JetBlue, if you want 9 Diet Cokes and 3 bags of cookies, you’ll get it. They’re cool like that.
• Convenient mobile app. Want to book all your flights from your phone? JetBlue has a new-fangled fancy app that will let you do just that.
• Free snooze kit for overnight flights. Flying overnight and don’t’ want to look like a complete wreck, follow these tips and then take advantage of JetBlue’s snooze kit that contains a snazzy eyeshade and earplugs and wake up to a hot towel and coffee, spring water or orange juice (or all three, because you can).

• Finally, an airline with a sense of humor. Usually, I find airlines try to be fun, but miss the mark. JetBlue does it successfully, from their cute sayings on their planes (i.e., You and Me and a Plane Named Blue, Fancy Meeting Blue Here and Major Blue) to their adorably retro and clever adverts to the humorous staff (“We are now boarding all rows, 1-25. If you are in row 26, you are not on this flight.”). Flying should be fun, and they do their best to make it so. “You Above All” is a wonderful slogan that they seem to do well.

• No first class cabin. Don’t you hate it when you have to walk by all those smug first-classers and you maybe intentionally don’t carry your bag as close to you as possible and possibly you hit a few of them on the way through you your crappy seat that is one quarter of the price and one quarter of the luxury? I do. I have two wishes: 1 – The first class passengers get to board last. Have their glass of complimentary beer, wine or champagne in a fancy VIP area while us “cheap” people get on. 2 – The boarding door isn’t right up front, so I don’t have to walk through first class and be bitter before I’m even in the air. One or both of these options would be preferable to me.                                                                                                                                                     JetBlue doesn’t believe in segregation. The only difference between good seats and better seats is the amount of legroom. You can pay a premium (depending on the flight, but averaging around $30 each way) to sit in the Even More Space seats. On all flights, rows 1-5 and 10 and 11 are EMS seats. Your legs don’t cramp up from not being able to stretch out and, while it’s not super lounge-y, it’s great for tall people or those that need a little extra space. I was lucky enough to sit in row 1 for no extra charge and was pretty pleased with my seat. Just think, you already saved that much by not having to pay to check a bag!

Are you a fan of flying JetBlue?

Ack! I Missed My Flight! (JetBlue is Pretty Awesome) 3.24.12

Of course, it’s not just JetBlue that is awesome, as we’ve had similar experience with missed flights/connections on other airlines, but our most recent has been JetBlue, in which my new best friend in the travel world, Sherie, at the Las Vegas McCarran Airport used her rebooking expertise to work some magic and get us booked on the next flight out and also upgrade our seats, because she rocks and is awesome at customer service. Take note other ticket desk agents!

So, several times we have missed a flight or connection, due to the airline or my own ineptitude (yes, I will take blame on this myself). I hope that aisle seat person appreciates all the extra room they have because we are not there (or some people who REALLY needed to get on that flight made it due to our absence. The time before this we were stuck at LAX, because our flight coming back home was delayed and then it came in late and we had to take a tram to a terminal 32 miles away (or so it seemed) and missed boarding by 5 minutes. Of course, at that point they probably wouldn’t have let us on anyway, as the plane was actually taxiing away when we showed up at the desk. This was on American and the agent was aware our previous flight was late and looked up the next flight for us and was able to rebook us on a flight coming back to Portland an hour later. Score! We got a snack and then played video games while we waited. Lucky for us, LAX is a huge hub, with flights coming and going all the time.

Thank you, Sherie!

This trip it was my own fault we were late to the airport and missed our flight. Our boarding time was 7:40, with the flight leaving at 8:10. The plan was to get up at 4am (as we were in St. George, Utah and had to drive 2 hours to get to Vegas). Note to Android users, your phone may or may not have this same (dumb) function, but when you set your alarm, make sure it is the day you want it to wake you up, otherwise, you, too will have set your alarm for Monday, when you needed to get up on Wednesday. Convenient! We woke up and the clock said 6:30am. I suppose it could have been worse. With the hour time difference in our favor, we crossed our fingers that we would still get there JUST in time. And we would have too, had there not been rush hour traffic once we made it to Vegas.

So, in between traffic – which was still faster than anywhere else I’ve ever driven – having to get gas and return our rental car, we got to the actual ticket desk right as our flight was leaving. We were pretty sure the next flight out wouldn’t be until 4pm, so we’d be at the airport for 8 hours, at the least. I had an inkling of hope that we might be able to be rebooked on a different airline, though the chance was slim. I walked up to the desk and told Sherie my problem and she checked our connection in Long Beach. We originally would have a 2 hour layover there and the next flight out there wasn’t until 7pm. She said they had seats available from Vegas to Long Beach on the next flight that went out on 9:50am and would get us there just before the other flight was due to board. She was even awesome enough to get us row 1, so we could grab bags and jump off the plane as soon as the doors opened. Hallelujah! Row 1 is in their Even More Space seats that usually cost $30 more, but we were getting them for nothing (you know, except what we originally paid). I thanked her profusely and was excited that we now had over an hour to hang at McCarran and could eat breakfast and not have to fight for a seat at LGB, where they are under construction and the waiting room is probably as big as my house (6 gates all crammed in one end, 5 feet from each other) and the bathrooms and café are outside in portable buildings.

We made it to LGB on time and then realized nobody seemed to be in line for boarding our Portland flight, which was supposed to leave 15 minutes from when we landed. Lucky for us, the plane that was coming in from San Francisco had weather problems and delayed the plane 10-15 minutes, so we were actually early for that flight to make it home at the original time.

While much of this was luck, I can also say that we always fly on the least busy days of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday). On this trip we left on Saturday and came home on Wednesday, so we were able to get some seats on another flight. Two other plusses on our side were that we had no bags to check (in case we did miss our connection and it got lost waiting for us to show up) and JetBlue does not overbook their flights. This helped us not have to be put on standby, as she could see there were seats available. Our seats were already paid for, so instead of making us pay extra for the fancy seats in the front, she just put us in them, or else they would have gone empty. Yay for us.

LGB airport is so big...

Had any of the above three things not been a factor in our travels, we may still be at the airport trying to get back or missing half our clothes at home until our bag finally resurfaced. They didn’t seem like big things at the time, but planning ahead actually saved us in the end. I’ll talk about the benefits of flying JetBlue in my next post.

Have you ever missed a flight and been stuck at the airport for hours? Or do you have a story about an awesome ticket agent that helped you tremendously?

Tips for Traveling with Kids - From a Practical Mom: Part 2

Okay, not every vacation revolves around a character, and my practical best friend and mother of 4 knows that. She also can’t afford for every trip they take to be a big blow-out, so they take day trips as well. Last week I gave you her tips for Disney and theme parks in general, but we’re switching gears with her tips this time. If you guys are outdoorsy and love nature, then national parks are where it’s at. Go hiking, see cool rock formations, check out caves and more. Kids love that stuff and it’s fairly cheap. We made a day out of it and had a great time when we vacationed together last week. Make sure you bring snacks and things for the kids to do in the car.

Buy a national parks yearly pass. You can get a yearly pass for just $80 and use it for entry at all national parks all year long. Sounds expensive, you say? Well, if you plan to visit at least 3-4 parks a year, it is already saving you money. In fact, most parks have a $25 entry fee (per car), but some are even more. The Grand Canyon cost $40 when we looked recently, so just two trips there would cost you the whole amount of a yearly pass.

Buy a national parks passport. For just $8.95 per book, you have an excellent way to collect souvenirs from each park you visit. Make sure you stop by the visitor’s center to pick yours up and then get it stamped at each location. This is a wonderful thing for kids to do, because it teaches them about travel and each book tells you facts about every national park you can visit. Stamps are free. They also have a sticker available at each park that you can buy, or you can do what Lydia does and buy a pack of stickers they sell in the gift center and let the kids pick out which one they want and use the leftovers for scrapbooking. The stickers come in packs of 9 (3 of each kind) and run about the same as the individual sticker they sell specifically for the passport.

Become a Junior Ranger. Another awesome activity for your kids to do is to get involved in the Junior Rangers. It’s free and each location has a book of activities for them to complete that teach them important lessons about the environment and the area the park is located in. We visited Bryce Canyon and the questions were all about plateaus and rock formations. The children watched a movie to get the answers, answered other questions found in the packet and then picked up litter to complete their ranger training. At the end they had a real park ranger have them repeat the Junior Ranger oath and then they received a free pin (some have patches). Not only did they learn some cool stuff, but they also got a free souvenir out of the experience and had a fantastic time.

Go hiking. Yup. You’re in this awesome wilderness with hiking trails and amazing views. Strap on some comfortable shoes, grab some water and snacks and get going. It’s a great way to get exercise and also let the kids get out all their energy. Cap off the day with a picnic or a stop at a fun restaurant on the way home and you’ve had a full and fun outing. We picked Chili’s, mostly because it’s family-friendly, the adults all wanted to eat there (neither of us have one near where we live) and it was a little too cold out for a picnic.

Invest in a baby backpack (or sling or carrier). If you have a baby in amongst your kids, don’t give up on ever going anywhere until they’re old enough to walk. Depending on how hard-core you are when hiking, get yourself the appropriate baby carrying equipment. Lydia has both a folding hiking backpack for the baby and a front carrier for their little one. Strap it on and go. Just make sure to bring a change of clothes (possibly for both of you), some spare diapers and you’ll be prepared for whatever happens on your walk. It’s great to start them early and it gets you all out of the house without having to figure out how to get the stroller down the hill.

Want even more tips for traveling with kids and planning your summer vacation? Download my ebook: Secrets to Summer Savings. For just $2.99 you get 24 pages packed full of ways to save money and stretch your budget. Less than $3 to save hundreds (or more)?! Why haven't you clicked yet?

Do you have a national parks pass for your family?