I always find it amazing that so many people don't realise that LGW has its own sizeable catchment area that is different from LHR. Kent, Sussex (East and West), parts of Essex and Hampshire and of course the southern suburbs of London will always find LGW more convenient than Heathrow. These services should do just fine at both airports and I see them complementing one another offering the traveller greater flexibility depending upon where their final destination in the UK is.

Opus99 wrote:

Just did a booking test run. Flights are currently at 990 pounds return for the month of august and September. BA is charging 3500 for the same dates. Then again I wouldn’t expect B6 to come in that high. They’ll of course undercut legacy as they’re entering the market

This is for business class BTW

I had a look and the cheapest Business I could see was around £2100. £990 is an amazing price for Business, especially as it's a flatbed

What type of aircraft are they using? Narrowbody flights?

Ziyulu wrote:

What type of aircraft are they using? Narrowbody flights?

321LR

Interview RH had with Bloomberg yesterday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmG8Ua5SFrY
Their LHR slots is temporary until end of March. So, they are going to have to look for permanent slot solutions at that time.
They consider LHR/LGW to be separate markets and intend to serve both going forward. Their plan to stay in LHR is by showing they can significantly lower premium cabin pricing.
They think travel restriction will loosen between US and UK.

Keep in mind that airlines that had been serving JFK-LGW are no longer doing so. DY actually had a good thing going at JFK-LGW. JetBlue should do well on its LGW service. I think LHR will be tougher due to slot availability. The key is getting more slots. I'm looking at their initial flights. inaugural flight on 11th is sold out (very few seats released for sales)., 12th only has 8 J open, 13th has 9 J open, 14th has 13 J open and 15/16/17th has 19 J open. So, they are off to a good start. I think the J cabin will sell out faster than the Y cabin.

A couple of other announcements to watch out for:
- lounge? Seems like it might happen based on some of the reports that have come out
- onward connection from LGW? Seems like a partnership with EZ or someone else would make sense.

BOSman wrote:

It's a bummer that us Bostonians have to wait, but maybe it will come with extra stuff like DUB or CDG. How many A321LRs will they have next year?

They got 3 LRs coming next year which should allow them to add 3 R/T flights. I'd expect 3 JFK-LON and 2 BOS-LON by Q4 2022.

I think Paris and Dublin is probably 2023.

Calculus has changed a little bit due to reduced TATL demand. There is more focus on domestic flying with their updated order book.

mooseofspruce wrote:

Considering the possibility of JetBlue customers and/or fans in this thread who don't reside within a relatively immediate proximity to JFK, I think it's that this is not so much doubting whether they can fill A321s between New York and London, but moreso that there are also users who aren't JFK O/D among those willing to buy seats on these flights.

But I'm just an SFO-based poster excitedly following this news, and also hoping to fly JetBlue between the northeastern US and London at some point.

I totally agree with you. While JetBlue has always been and O&D focused airline, this pandemic showed it can't just rely on NYC/Boston O&D. Having connection options on TATL flights will not only help them fill planes, but also attract loyalty outside of NYC/Boston. That's why I think they will adjust schedules and add short flights to add connections to London.

If I'm searching for an Oct trip right now, I can see options from SFO to both LGW/LHR, but only LGW to SFO on the way back. I'm sure they are trying to get better slot times, but that's hard to do at LHR. As they add flights from both BOS/NYC, I think you will see more options and better pricing on JetBlue from SFO to LON. And same for other cities. The question for me is whether they can find people willing to fly 1-stop itineraries from places like LAX or SFO where they have at least some interest to buildup. I don't think they can undercut legacies on Y fare. They can undercut N/S options in J fare, but not by like 50%. Would people like mint service enough to take the 1-stop option vs flying US3 N/S.

cirrusdragoon wrote:

MIAFLLPBIFlyer wrote:

skipness1E wrote:

Both airports are not a similar distance from Central London at all. Where Gatwick does well is it can get you into London Bridge or Victoria by fast train in a half hour and then people change onto the tube. From Heathrow the Tube into Green Park is about 40mins so a bit slower and many people are going West London and get off before town. But Gatwick is in West Sussex, most of the way to Brighton and there's a whole load of green space between there and the M25 whereas Heathrow is on the M25 and on top of the M4 corridor which is partly why yields tend to be way higher. But for visiting American leisure, Gatters works fine, just don't think it's in or closer to London than Heathrow.

Truthfully if you can stand Gatwick which is a relic of the 1980's for the most part, the train to Victoria is for me much more practical than the Heathrow trains into Paddington. Easy to connect to the tube at Victoria or even walk to places from there though mostly tube for me - granted that's for me on business. But I also assume for tourists given the proximity of Victoria to Westminster, etc it also works better than Paddington.

Once the Elizabeth line is fully operational in 2022, i believe it will connect LHR to central london much better than gatwick. the Elizabeth line will provide a direct link between the airport and central London destinations including Bond Street, Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf.

A total of six Elizabeth line trains per hour will serve Heathrow Terminals. Four will go to Terminals 2, 3 and 4 and two will go to Terminals 2, 3 and 5.

The high-speed Elizabeth Line will cut most journey times by half and some journeys will be five times quicker. Currently rail from Canary Warf to LHR is 55 min and with the Elizabeth Line it will only be 39 min.

LGW to Victoria currently with regular rail is 47 min travel time.

Even with this, the travel time from LHR/LGW is comparable. I think most US side travelers prefer LHR, but LGW is also on their radar. There have been service on JFK-LGW for many years. Plenty of New Yorkers flew into LGW. I know that I would search for both if I was visiting London. STN/LTN would not have worked since people just don't know about it over here.

tphuang wrote:

- onward connection from LGW? Seems like a partnership with EZ or someone else would make sense.

While nice from a network perspective it would be quite a shock for passengers (especially Mint ones) hopping off B6 onto the very-much-a-ULCC Easyjet.

I think you are just going to have to wait a little bit on B6 coming to CMH. it will happen for the obvious reason that JetBlue is trying to become the dominant airline in Boston and the largest airline in NYC. At some point, it has to connect to these remaining medium sized markets. It obviously cannot add them all at once. That's why the last announcement only included MKE/MCI/SAT.

Some more news. NBA games will be on some oversea flights
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... as-flights

https://www.telegram.com/story/news/202 ... 170697001/
MassPort hoping for great news about JetBlue return to ORH. I'm 100% sure that JetBlue will not leak news like this and disappoint MassPort.

CNN interview with RH yesterday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmX5dHaHCgo

CNBC interview with RH yesterday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIqMJSZ2JRw

Bloomberg interview with RH yesterday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmG8Ua5SFrY

LHR slots are temporary until end of March. So, they will have to look for permanent solutions for summer season of 2022. Hopefully, they can get some from cash strapped airlines that still don't have a lot of demand to London. They want to get permanent slots by showing LHR that they can lower fares.

They consider LHR/LGW to be different markets with separate catchment areas. So, expect them to keep growing LGW even if they can get additional LHR slots.

Still 26 LR/XLR deliveries planned. No change on that front.

They are starting to see business demand come back. They think they can capture some business class demand that was not fling it previously.

Polot wrote:

tphuang wrote:

- onward connection from LGW? Seems like a partnership with EZ or someone else would make sense.

While nice from a network perspective it would be quite a shock for passengers (especially Mint ones) hopping off B6 onto the very-much-a-ULCC Easyjet.

it's also a shock for passengers going to BA's short haul Y product.

tphuang wrote:

Polot wrote:

tphuang wrote:

- onward connection from LGW? Seems like a partnership with EZ or someone else would make sense.

While nice from a network perspective it would be quite a shock for passengers (especially Mint ones) hopping off B6 onto the very-much-a-ULCC Easyjet.

it's also a shock for passengers going to BA's short haul Y product.

Which given the alliance with AA stateside makes the possibility of B6 eventually joining OneWorld a more likely thing. Thus, I would guess that eventually this will be an issue with BA local Ex-LHR to Europe at large, yes...

JFKspotter wrote:

Flight attendants have been selected through a screening process to work these flights.

Oh dear...sounds like something DL would do. That won't fly once they finally have a contract passed.

hiflyeras wrote:

JFKspotter wrote:

Flight attendants have been selected through a screening process to work these flights.

Oh dear...sounds like something DL would do. That won't fly once they finally have a contract passed.

oh, we shall see. TWU did absolutely nothing to address this BS in the first TA, and they dont really seem to care that B6 is handpicking crews to fly Mint domestic and now ONLY handpicked Mint qualified crews will be flying London.

tu154 wrote:

hiflyeras wrote:

JFKspotter wrote:

Flight attendants have been selected through a screening process to work these flights.

Oh dear...sounds like something DL would do. That won't fly once they finally have a contract passed.

oh, we shall see. TWU did absolutely nothing to address this BS in the first TA, and they dont really seem to care that B6 is handpicking crews to fly Mint domestic and now ONLY handpicked Mint qualified crews will be flying London.

It’s no different than when domestic Mint began in 2014. Inflight crewmembers interviewed for the onboard lead program and, if selected, get awarded trips that work the front end of the aircraft. The Core cabin is worked by standard JetBlue inflight crew... Domestic Mint and INTL Mint. You’re making it sound elitist. It’s not like every JetBlue flight attendant wants to bid and work these trips. The same is true regarding the pilots.

BlueBaller wrote:

tu154 wrote:

hiflyeras wrote:

Oh dear...sounds like something DL would do. That won't fly once they finally have a contract passed.

oh, we shall see. TWU did absolutely nothing to address this BS in the first TA, and they dont really seem to care that B6 is handpicking crews to fly Mint domestic and now ONLY handpicked Mint qualified crews will be flying London.

It’s no different than when domestic Mint began in 2014. Inflight crewmembers interviewed for the onboard lead program and, if selected, get awarded trips that work the front end of the aircraft. The Core cabin is worked by standard JetBlue inflight crew... Domestic Mint and INTL Mint. You’re making it sound elitist. It’s not like every JetBlue flight attendant wants to bid and work these trips. The same is true regarding the pilots.

It’s also why the service is so good (usually) in Mint. They want to be there.

catiii wrote:

BlueBaller wrote:

tu154 wrote:

oh, we shall see. TWU did absolutely nothing to address this BS in the first TA, and they dont really seem to care that B6 is handpicking crews to fly Mint domestic and now ONLY handpicked Mint qualified crews will be flying London.

It’s no different than when domestic Mint began in 2014. Inflight crewmembers interviewed for the onboard lead program and, if selected, get awarded trips that work the front end of the aircraft. The Core cabin is worked by standard JetBlue inflight crew... Domestic Mint and INTL Mint. You’re making it sound elitist. It’s not like every JetBlue flight attendant wants to bid and work these trips. The same is true regarding the pilots.

It’s also why the service is so good (usually) in Mint. They want to be there.

Other bases want to be there too. Open the opportunity to all bases, eliminate the need to commute for premium class/west coast flying.

tu154 wrote:

hiflyeras wrote:

JFKspotter wrote:

Flight attendants have been selected through a screening process to work these flights.

Oh dear...sounds like something DL would do. That won't fly once they finally have a contract passed.

oh, we shall see. TWU did absolutely nothing to address this BS in the first TA, and they dont really seem to care that B6 is handpicking crews to fly Mint domestic and now ONLY handpicked Mint qualified crews will be flying London.

How else are they supposed to maintain service standards that are frankly light-years ahead of an average US3 front end crew? Not to diminish them as I've had some fantastic experiences up front on US3, but I've also had lackluster and even poor/hostile/inattentive service in the premium cabin on both transcons and TATL flights on US3. The domestic Mint track record shows they can provide consistently elevated service by having a separate FA group.

tu154 wrote:

hiflyeras wrote:

JFKspotter wrote:

Flight attendants have been selected through a screening process to work these flights.

Oh dear...sounds like something DL would do. That won't fly once they finally have a contract passed.

oh, we shall see. TWU did absolutely nothing to address this BS in the first TA, and they dont really seem to care that B6 is handpicking crews to fly Mint domestic and now ONLY handpicked Mint qualified crews will be flying London.

It cracks me up when I see comments like these that are so out of touch with reality. This is how most everyone gets a job in other industries: by interviewing for it and the best candidate gets the job. The idea that some seniority list should be the only qualifier is a really bad way to do business, especially in customer facing positions.

BA744PHX wrote:

hbernal1 wrote:

Insertnamehere wrote:

What’s the over/under on B6 re-entering the CMH market? Given their additions with the A220, and the fact that NYC-CMH is a quite high fare route (given its length) which is basically price fixed between the US3.

I understand that B6 pulled out of CMH back in 2007 but has the market changed enough for it to make sense for them?

Thanks!

Now that B6 are launching their London flights in August, I'd say it's pretty likely now if B6 want to get more feed. My guess is we'll see B6 offering CMH-BOS/JFK and possibly see CMH-LAX down the road as well.

B6 doesn't need feed for the JFK-LON flights, they can purely rely on O&D

But they can feed the AA flights.

tu154 wrote:

catiii wrote:

BlueBaller wrote:

It’s no different than when domestic Mint began in 2014. Inflight crewmembers interviewed for the onboard lead program and, if selected, get awarded trips that work the front end of the aircraft. The Core cabin is worked by standard JetBlue inflight crew... Domestic Mint and INTL Mint. You’re making it sound elitist. It’s not like every JetBlue flight attendant wants to bid and work these trips. The same is true regarding the pilots.

It’s also why the service is so good (usually) in Mint. They want to be there.

Other bases want to be there too. Open the opportunity to all bases, eliminate the need to commute for premium class/west coast flying.

It won’t happen. It’s how the company keeps its cost structure in check. The same cost structure that, frankly, (along with government assistance) allowed JetBlue to enter into a 100 year pandemic with the war chest that it did, grow strategically and offensively throughout, TAKE AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES, not even entertain the idea of furlough, and maintain its word to begin London service on schedule.

LATAM flying only goes to the pilots who are special qualified for South of the border terrain and emergency procedures.

The European flying will only be served by northeast-based crews. Crewmember A has the option of bidding to JFK or BOS to work a London trip, just as Crewmember B has the option to bid FLL to fly to Quito.

I was wondering if anyone knew why the JFK - LHR is flight number 007 (a nod to James Bond, for sure), but the return LHR - JFK is flight number 020.

Would Jet Blue be preparing themselves for potential double daily flights in the future, when they could use 008 and 019 flight numbers?
How common is it for airlines to do something like this? Curious

Gregd75 wrote:

I was wondering if anyone knew why the JFK - LHR is flight number 007 (a nod to James Bond, for sure), but the return LHR - JFK is flight number 020.

Would Jet Blue be preparing themselves for potential double daily flights in the future, when they could use 008 and 019 flight numbers?
How common is it for airlines to do something like this? Curious

Given the history with jetblue flight numbering, I would expect the 2nd daily to be 107/120 or 607/620 etc. For example BOS JFK is numbered 617,717,917,1317,2017.. So they change the digit(s) in front of the number not the next one in the sequence. They also like to use numbers that pertain to that particular destination such as area code of the city, or ie one of BOS LAS is 777, BOS DCA 1600, BOS PHL 1776 and so on.

Gregd75 wrote:

I was wondering if anyone knew why the JFK - LHR is flight number 007 (a nod to James Bond, for sure), but the return LHR - JFK is flight number 020.

Would Jet Blue be preparing themselves for potential double daily flights in the future, when they could use 008 and 019 flight numbers?
How common is it for airlines to do something like this? Curious

Airlines usually have at least one dedicated flight number referencing something.

Alaska 500 – Seattle to Indianapolis
American 1492 – Dallas/Fort Worth to Columbus
Allegiant 711 – Las Vegas to Bellingham
Hawaiian 50 – Honolulu to New York/JFK
Southwest 808 – Oakland to Honolulu

https://crankyflier.com/2021/03/17/anno ... -nominees/

BlueBaller wrote:

tu154 wrote:

catiii wrote:

It’s also why the service is so good (usually) in Mint. They want to be there.

Other bases want to be there too. Open the opportunity to all bases, eliminate the need to commute for premium class/west coast flying.

It won’t happen. It’s how the company keeps its cost structure in check. The same cost structure that, frankly, (along with government assistance) allowed JetBlue to enter into a 100 year pandemic with the war chest that it did, grow strategically and offensively throughout, TAKE AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES, not even entertain the idea of furlough, and maintain its word to begin London service on schedule.

LATAM flying only goes to the pilots who are special qualified for South of the border terrain and emergency procedures.

The European flying will only be served by northeast-based crews. Crewmember A has the option of bidding to JFK or BOS to work a London trip, just as Crewmember B has the option to bid FLL to fly to Quito.

FLL base doesn’t really care about London. Northeast can have it. We care about our lost west coast flying and the future erosion of our bases flying to Mint. We should not have to commute to fly our west coast departures or any future FLL departures we lose to Mint. We all agree the OBL should be an applied for and interviewed position, but ALL flight attendants should be trained in Mint.

tu154 wrote:

BlueBaller wrote:

tu154 wrote:

Other bases want to be there too. Open the opportunity to all bases, eliminate the need to commute for premium class/west coast flying.

It won’t happen. It’s how the company keeps its cost structure in check. The same cost structure that, frankly, (along with government assistance) allowed JetBlue to enter into a 100 year pandemic with the war chest that it did, grow strategically and offensively throughout, TAKE AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES, not even entertain the idea of furlough, and maintain its word to begin London service on schedule.

LATAM flying only goes to the pilots who are special qualified for South of the border terrain and emergency procedures.

The European flying will only be served by northeast-based crews. Crewmember A has the option of bidding to JFK or BOS to work a London trip, just as Crewmember B has the option to bid FLL to fly to Quito.

FLL base doesn’t really care about London. Northeast can have it. We care about our lost west coast flying and the future erosion of our bases flying to Mint. We should not have to commute to fly our west coast departures or any future FLL departures we lose to Mint. We all agree the OBL should be an applied for and interviewed position, but ALL flight attendants should be trained in Mint.

I'm a little confused by this. Doesn't FLL FAs also have the option to be trained in mint? Is there anything to support the argument that FLL base is shrinking in size or losing flying opportunities?

tu154 wrote:

FLL base doesn’t really care about London. Northeast can have it. We care about our lost west coast flying and the future erosion of our bases flying to Mint. We should not have to commute to fly our west coast departures or any future FLL departures we lose to Mint. We all agree the OBL should be an applied for and interviewed position, but ALL flight attendants should be trained in Mint.

Are the PBI and MIA Mint flights crewed by FLL or JFK and LAX? You would think they'd create some sort of co-terminal base for them.

phllax wrote:

tu154 wrote:

FLL base doesn’t really care about London. Northeast can have it. We care about our lost west coast flying and the future erosion of our bases flying to Mint. We should not have to commute to fly our west coast departures or any future FLL departures we lose to Mint. We all agree the OBL should be an applied for and interviewed position, but ALL flight attendants should be trained in Mint.

Are the PBI and MIA Mint flights crewed by FLL or JFK and LAX? You would think they'd create some sort of co-terminal base for them.

The Inflight are crewed by JFK/BOS MINT-trained Flight Attendants. Their pairings are routed through those Blue cities/domiciles and they operate a select few number of flights which require the specialized training from the Onboard leadership program. The Core cabin is crewed by non-trained Mint Inflight.

phllax wrote:

tu154 wrote:

FLL base doesn’t really care about London. Northeast can have it. We care about our lost west coast flying and the future erosion of our bases flying to Mint. We should not have to commute to fly our west coast departures or any future FLL departures we lose to Mint. We all agree the OBL should be an applied for and interviewed position, but ALL flight attendants should be trained in Mint.

Are the PBI and MIA Mint flights crewed by FLL or JFK and LAX? You would think they'd create some sort of co-terminal base for them.

ALL Mint flights are staffed with either BOS or JFK based Mint crews only. FLL, MCO and LAX based crews are not permitted to operate Mint flights, in either cabin, unless of course the company finds itself short of Mint qualified crews.

tu154 wrote:

BlueBaller wrote:

tu154 wrote:

Other bases want to be there too. Open the opportunity to all bases, eliminate the need to commute for premium class/west coast flying.

It won’t happen. It’s how the company keeps its cost structure in check. The same cost structure that, frankly, (along with government assistance) allowed JetBlue to enter into a 100 year pandemic with the war chest that it did, grow strategically and offensively throughout, TAKE AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES, not even entertain the idea of furlough, and maintain its word to begin London service on schedule.

LATAM flying only goes to the pilots who are special qualified for South of the border terrain and emergency procedures.

The European flying will only be served by northeast-based crews. Crewmember A has the option of bidding to JFK or BOS to work a London trip, just as Crewmember B has the option to bid FLL to fly to Quito.

FLL base doesn’t really care about London. Northeast can have it. We care about our lost west coast flying and the future erosion of our bases flying to Mint. We should not have to commute to fly our west coast departures or any future FLL departures we lose to Mint. We all agree the OBL should be an applied for and interviewed position, but ALL flight attendants should be trained in Mint.

That’s the nature of (show)business. There’s ebbs and flows. The entire 190 Flight Operations department will begin to experience the same erosion you’re referring to while the airplanes get parked and crews will be forced to bid into new equipment to maintain a similar semblance of QOL.

ContinentalEWR wrote:

Brickell305 wrote:

Boiler905 wrote:

As long as B6 can retain the slots, I believe they will succeed in profitably existing on NYC-LON given B6's superior premium cabin product.

Furthermore, it's not like BA has a oneworld advantage given the AA/B6 partnership that now exists and those same miles can be earned on B6.

VS/DL will be the main competitor/threat.

Purely my opinion though

The AA/B6 partnership excludes flights to LHR as far as I’m aware. In regards to service, I do believe they have a great product in Mint and have promised to undercut on pricing. While I do believe that will definitely attract people, I’m not really clear on the strategy. Why have the best product if you’re not going to be able to extract a revenue premium from it. Unless they believe that by doing that, it will force BA, AA, DL et. al to come down to their pricing levels and lower. If the legacies are able to offer a less premium product while simultaneously being able to charge higher fares, I don’t think they have much to worry about in the way of B6.

You've just summarized really well the fundamental problem with JetBlue's business model, which is otherwise quite good.

I disagree - there's a clear role for jetBlue here.

The business model I see is for jetBlue to be an LCC-type provider of business class seats.

JetBlue's price advantage offsets their network weakness vis-à-vis BA/DL et al in attracting business class passengers at low frequency levels.

Once jetBlue is big enough the others will match its front cabin fares widely.

This endgame will be painful for high-cost BA/AA/VS/DL yet viable for lower cost jetBlue.

Good on jetBlue for innovating and adding vigorous new competition to a stodgy, clubby market! Good for the good-ole'-boys to feel some competition.

tphuang wrote:

tu154 wrote:

BlueBaller wrote:

It won’t happen. It’s how the company keeps its cost structure in check. The same cost structure that, frankly, (along with government assistance) allowed JetBlue to enter into a 100 year pandemic with the war chest that it did, grow strategically and offensively throughout, TAKE AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES, not even entertain the idea of furlough, and maintain its word to begin London service on schedule.

LATAM flying only goes to the pilots who are special qualified for South of the border terrain and emergency procedures.

The European flying will only be served by northeast-based crews. Crewmember A has the option of bidding to JFK or BOS to work a London trip, just as Crewmember B has the option to bid FLL to fly to Quito.

FLL base doesn’t really care about London. Northeast can have it. We care about our lost west coast flying and the future erosion of our bases flying to Mint. We should not have to commute to fly our west coast departures or any future FLL departures we lose to Mint. We all agree the OBL should be an applied for and interviewed position, but ALL flight attendants should be trained in Mint.

I'm a little confused by this. Doesn't FLL FAs also have the option to be trained in mint? Is there anything to support the argument that FLL base is shrinking in size or losing flying opportunities?

The only option FLL based crews have when it comes to Mint flying is to apply to the Mint program and if accepted, relocate to NY or BOS, or commute. The only bases operating Mint flights are JFK and BOS, and even those bases are completely separate for Mint flying. So a base within a base so to speak. So our west coast departures out of FLL are staffed solely with JFK or BOS based crews, both cabins.

tu154 wrote:

tphuang wrote:

tu154 wrote:

FLL base doesn’t really care about London. Northeast can have it. We care about our lost west coast flying and the future erosion of our bases flying to Mint. We should not have to commute to fly our west coast departures or any future FLL departures we lose to Mint. We all agree the OBL should be an applied for and interviewed position, but ALL flight attendants should be trained in Mint.

I'm a little confused by this. Doesn't FLL FAs also have the option to be trained in mint? Is there anything to support the argument that FLL base is shrinking in size or losing flying opportunities?

The only option FLL based crews have when it comes to Mint flying is to apply to the Mint program and if accepted, relocate to NY or BOS, or commute. The only bases operating Mint flights are JFK and BOS, and even those bases are completely separate for Mint flying. So a base within a base so to speak. So our west coast departures out of FLL are staffed solely with JFK or BOS based crews, both cabins.

But that's very limited part of flying out of FLL. I'm sure when they are expanding further into South America with LR/XLR, they will adding mint crew out of FLL also. B6 is slowly transitioning from a LCC to a higher valued carrier. It's really going to take time to do this without adding a lot of extra cost.

tphuang wrote:

tu154 wrote:

tphuang wrote:

I'm a little confused by this. Doesn't FLL FAs also have the option to be trained in mint? Is there anything to support the argument that FLL base is shrinking in size or losing flying opportunities?

The only option FLL based crews have when it comes to Mint flying is to apply to the Mint program and if accepted, relocate to NY or BOS, or commute. The only bases operating Mint flights are JFK and BOS, and even those bases are completely separate for Mint flying. So a base within a base so to speak. So our west coast departures out of FLL are staffed solely with JFK or BOS based crews, both cabins.

But that's very limited part of flying out of FLL. I'm sure when they are expanding further into South America with LR/XLR, they will adding mint crew out of FLL also. B6 is slowly transitioning from a LCC to a higher valued carrier. It's really going to take time to do this without adding a lot of extra cost.[/quot

Limited, yes. But also very senior.
We can only hope a Mint base is in the not so distant future out of FLL.

How likely will they have to refuel on the way back with this aircraft?

They are getting rid of the MINT RIG by the end of June I believe. By that I mean the people doing MINT get paid 8 hours each duty period, even when most of the duty periods are less than 8 hours in MINT. That is what kept MINT well staffed with happy campers. Flying to London is going to get old very fast, especially without the better than regular flying pay MINT people are use to. I predict they will have to train everyone for MINT in the future, because there will in no way be enough volunteers to do double the work in front of cabin for next to no extra pay. I know lots of people who have zero desire to work MINT, especially in the back of the trans Atlantic cabins where the FAs will be customizing meals for the entire core cabin , for a mind blowing extra 1$ per hour. lol

Waiting for UA to announce their official schedule for BOS - London service.

tu154 wrote:

tphuang wrote:

tu154 wrote:

The only option FLL based crews have when it comes to Mint flying is to apply to the Mint program and if accepted, relocate to NY or BOS, or commute. The only bases operating Mint flights are JFK and BOS, and even those bases are completely separate for Mint flying. So a base within a base so to speak. So our west coast departures out of FLL are staffed solely with JFK or BOS based crews, both cabins.

But that's very limited part of flying out of FLL. I'm sure when they are expanding further into South America with LR/XLR, they will adding mint crew out of FLL also. B6 is slowly transitioning from a LCC to a higher valued carrier. It's really going to take time to do this without adding a lot of extra cost.[/quot

Limited, yes. But also very senior.
We can only hope a Mint base is in the not so distant future out of FLL.

It sounds like you just realized why the FLL domicile never needed a MINT crew base. It’s the limited MINT flying actually being flown out of South Florida.

We’re talking SFO and LAX. FLL to LAS, SAN and the other Core markets of PHX, SLC, DEN, etc is all operated by 320 or Core 321s. At its peak, SFO had 2 MINT flights per day, LAX had 4 and maybe SEA I can’t remember. As the company grows out South Florida, the need to expand the OBL to FLL will become more obvious. It’s not at the moment.

Ziyulu wrote:

How likely will they have to refuel on the way back with this aircraft?

Rarely Id'say....The A321XLR has around a 9 hr flight duration.

TC957 wrote:

Ziyulu wrote:

How likely will they have to refuel on the way back with this aircraft?

Rarely Id'say....The A321XLR has around a 9 hr flight duration.

They don't have XLR yet.

TC957 wrote:

Ziyulu wrote:

How likely will they have to refuel on the way back with this aircraft?

Rarely Id'say....The A321XLR has around a 9 hr flight duration.

XLR won’t be around for another 3 or so years.

BlueBaller wrote:

tu154 wrote:

tphuang wrote:

But that's very limited part of flying out of FLL. I'm sure when they are expanding further into South America with LR/XLR, they will adding mint crew out of FLL also. B6 is slowly transitioning from a LCC to a higher valued carrier. It's really going to take time to do this without adding a lot of extra cost.[/quot

Limited, yes. But also very senior.
We can only hope a Mint base is in the not so distant future out of FLL.

It sounds like you just realized why the FLL domicile never needed a MINT crew base. It’s the limited MINT flying actually being flown out of South Florida.

We’re talking SFO and LAX. FLL to LAS, SAN and the other Core markets of PHX, SLC, DEN, etc is all operated by 320 or Core 321s. At its peak, SFO had 2 MINT flights per day, LAX had 4 and maybe SEA I can’t remember. As the company grows out South Florida, the need to expand the OBL to FLL will become more obvious. It’s not at the moment.[/quote


Nah. I still don’t agree with a divided workforce. We’ll just agree to disagree and get this thread back in track.

Much todo about a nothing special airline

The real fun will be when an ULCC carrier like Spirit or Ryanair flies TATL. I can't wait for the youtube videos of in-flight or airline terminal scuffles. Some people shouldn't fly to the other side of the pond.

JetBlue isn't a legacy carrier but seems to be offering a quality service.

tu154 wrote:

catiii wrote:

BlueBaller wrote:

It’s no different than when domestic Mint began in 2014. Inflight crewmembers interviewed for the onboard lead program and, if selected, get awarded trips that work the front end of the aircraft. The Core cabin is worked by standard JetBlue inflight crew... Domestic Mint and INTL Mint. You’re making it sound elitist. It’s not like every JetBlue flight attendant wants to bid and work these trips. The same is true regarding the pilots.

It’s also why the service is so good (usually) in Mint. They want to be there.

Other bases want to be there too. Open the opportunity to all bases, eliminate the need to commute for premium class/west coast flying.

So apply for it...

Ziyulu wrote:

How likely will they have to refuel on the way back with this aircraft?

Why does everyone act like a westbound TATL 321LR is such a novel thing?

Trk1 wrote:

Much todo about a nothing special airline

Todo or ado? Anyway, I’ll take their coach food service, legroom, and free WiFi over just about anyone else’s across the Atlantic. Ditto for mint.

JoseSalazar wrote:

Trk1 wrote:

Much todo about a nothing special airline

Todo or ado? Anyway, I’ll take their coach food service, legroom, and free WiFi over just about anyone else’s across the Atlantic. Ditto for mint.

Trk1 only gets jazzed up about "The Big Seat" on Spirit. Don't engage that troll.

In terms of slots post March 2022, should not be an issue, Heathrow’s forecasts up to 2025 don’t have traffic numbers anywhere near 2019

ba319-131 wrote:

In terms of slots post March 2022, should not be an issue, Heathrow’s forecasts up to 2025 don’t have traffic numbers anywhere near 2019

But only if current holders can not use them themselves or rent them out. If slots are still that easy to get then BA could shift its entire flying from LGW to LHR and with Easyjet want a shot I'm still not sure if slots would be that easy or cheap for Jetblue to get hold of permanently. If the use them or lose them rule does not come back into play then they could just get a temporary extension.

ba319-131 wrote:

In terms of slots post March 2022, should not be an issue, Heathrow’s forecasts up to 2025 don’t have traffic numbers anywhere near 2019

There is no direct correlation between slots and passenger numbers. LHR has been slot restricted for years and yet passenger number kept going up because airlines were using bigger planes. Now if there's less demand they'll use smaller planes but a smaller plane still needs a slot pair. The only way slots will become available is if the airline stops flying. It's not out of the realm of possibility that some airlines will cut down on LHR routes or never recover and go out of business completely.

airbazar wrote:

ba319-131 wrote:

In terms of slots post March 2022, should not be an issue, Heathrow’s forecasts up to 2025 don’t have traffic numbers anywhere near 2019

There is no direct correlation between slots and passenger numbers. LHR has been slot restricted for years and yet passenger number kept going up because airlines were using bigger planes. Now if there's less demand they'll use smaller planes but a smaller plane still needs a slot pair. The only way slots will become available is if the airline stops flying. It's not out of the realm of possibility that some airlines will cut down on LHR routes or never recover and go out of business completely.

- re the slots, exactly, that’s why I don’t think they will have a problem post March.

Wow, very surprised to see them serving both! Best of luck, their MINT product is up there with the biz products of some of the competitors IMO.