No frills and extra charges are two items associated with the modern low cost carrier (LCC). Want to pick a seat on Southwest in advance? That’ll be extra. Want to get a snack or drink on Spirit? Extra. Want to bring luggage aboard Frontier? You guessed it–extra. JetBlue is known for bringing something different to the table in the world of LCCs–frills, extras, and few charges. A passenger on JetBlue can pick his or her own seat, get a snack and drink free of charge, bring luggage aboard the aircraft, and can even watch TV or listen to XM radio onboard. The airline has been rewarded with its tenth consecutive Customer Satisfaction Award among LCCs from JD Power.
The 2014 North America Airline Satisfaction Study measured satisfaction among both business and leisure customers between April 2013 and March 2014. The seven measures taken into account in the study were (in order of importance): cost and fees, in-flight services, boarding/deplaning/baggage, flight crew, aircraft, check-in, and reservation. JetBlue CEO Dave Barger is happy to add the latest award to JetBlue’s vast collection, stating “It’s an incredible honor to be ranked highest among low cost carriers in customer satisfaction by the traveling public for the tenth consecutive year. On behalf of the 15,000+ crewmembers at JetBlue we are humbled and we do not take this unprecedented distinction lightly. Our culture is one of service, and while there’s always room for improvement, we are all committed to living the values and are dedicated to fulfill our mission of inspiring humanity each day.”
The award comes on the heels of JetBlue introducing its new WiFi product, FlyFi. FlyFi delivers broadband speeds to passengers on select JetBlue A320s. Initial response to the service has been extremely positive, with customers raving about lightning-fast connection speeds when compared to other internet services like Gogo. The service is still in beta testing, so through this June, JetBlue is offering free access to the network to all customers. JetBlue will expand the service to all of its aircraft, although the airline has not stated when installation will be complete. Just days ago, JetBlue painted one of its aircraft in a special livery to celebrate the launch of FlyFi.
