Yesterday afternoon I took a trip up to Boston from DC on JetBlue.
Route: DCA-BOS
Distance: 399 miles (1 hour)
Airline: JetBlue
Fare: $142 roundtrip
This is the first time I’ve flown JetBlue from Reagan. US Air has an
hourly shuttle running between Reagan and Logan, a service I absolutely love
because it’s mostly business travelers and is completely focused on efficiency.
JetBlue’s sub-$150 roundtrip fare though was the lowest by far, so it won.
Washington Reagan Airport – Terminal
A
Airlines: JetBlue, Southwest/AirTran, Air Canada, Frontier, Sun Country
Speed: A
Technology: D
Food: N/A (did not eat)
Restrooms: C
This is the first time I’ve flown out of the original terminal at
Reagan. It is a very small terminal and is pretty quick to get through, which I
appreciate. Because it is old, though, it is not the nicest of terminals.
The nine gates form a circle with a coffee shop in the center and a
couple other restaurants in the tunnel between security and the gates. There
are power ports installed in central docks at a few gates, but even on a slow
Saturday afternoon they were mostly full. Certainly not enough to cope with
popular travel times. It is nice that there are any, because some airports have
almost none. One thing I really dislike about Reagan though is the wifi. It’s
free, but I’m only able to even connect to it, let alone use it, 10% of the
time. It is an incredible slow network, even when the airport is empty. I also
have a paid Boingo account but that has yet to work at Reagan in all the times
I’ve been there.
One thing I will say about Reagan is that it has beautiful sinks in the
bathrooms. They’re made of this very nice dark marble. But aside from the sinks
I’m not a fan of the restrooms. In both terminals there is only one restroom
for each gender, and unfortunately this is woefully inadequate during any but
the slowest of travel times.
JetBlue
Booking
Website Speed: A
Website Useability: A
I booked this fare through my company’s travel site, but I picked my
seats on jetblue.com. The site is very easy to navigate and loads pretty
quickly, something you don’t see on every site (looking at you Delta and US Air).
Pre-Flight
Gate Agent Friendliness: A
Gate Agent Announcements: F
Boarding Process: A
JetBlue flies a small plane (an Embraer 190) on the DCA-BOS route, so I
wanted to check how much it would cost for their “Even More Space” seats, which
provides extra legroom compared to a normal coach seat (there is no business
class on JetBlue planes). The gate agent promptly invited me up to the counter
and said it would cost $20. It sounds like nothing, but a lot of times with
other airlines, gate agents will pretend not to notice you if they’re doing
something else. I really appreciate when a gate agent tells me it will just be
a moment. I like being noticed!
I also appreciate when gate agents keep me informed of what’s going on
with the flight. Unfortunately, these agents did not do so. The boarding time
for my flight said 3:29pm, but at 3:29 the plane was still not even at the
gate. Now granted I checked my FlightAware app to see where the incoming plane
was, but I would have appreciated an update from the gate crew. We ended up
beginning the boarding process about 15 minutes late, but leaving on time.
Still, it’s very little effort to make an announcement or two to the waiting
passengers, and can make all the difference to people who are wondering what’s
going on.
JetBlue’s boarding process is fantastic. First they board their elite
members, called “Mosaic”. Then they board families with children. Then they
board by row starting at the back. This is honestly how every airline should do
it. It took about 10 minutes to do the whole boarding process and there was
minimal waiting either walking down the jetway or standing in the aisle. If
timed correctly almost nobody would have to wait any amount of time between
scanning their boarding pass and getting on the plane. I get really bothered
when airlines either don’t announce their boarding procedure or don’t force
passengers to board in their assigned area, because it causes confusion and
disorder around the gate area.
Flight
Pilot Friendliness: A
Pilot Announcements: A
Flight Attendant Friendliness: A
Coach Legroom: A
Coach Seat: B
Coach Food: A
In-Flight Entertainment: A
In-Flight Wifi: N/A
You may be sensing a theme here. I like information and updates. The
pilots got on the PA immediately after we pushed back and told us how long the
flight would be and what position we were for takeoff. They never got truly
tested though, as we never sat around at the gate or on the tarmac. Those are
the times I most want information from the crew about why we’re not moving.
The flight attendants were very friendly as well. They came through
making sure everyone was getting their bags up overhead, making the boarding
process much faster. The in-flight service included free drinks and snacks,
both with great variety in the offerings available.
My seat had plenty of legroom for a standard coach seat, probably the
most I’ve seen on a regional jet. The seat itself was reasonably comfortable
and was all-leather, but I’m more partial to Delta’s leather seats and moveable
headrests. I was able to sleep for about 30 minutes.
Every seat has its own TV with free DirecTV service, and a bunch of XM
radio stations. This might not seem like a big deal on a domestic flight, but
it can be very helpfully distracting and can therefore make even a short flight
seem much faster. JetBlue’s regional fleet doesn’t have wifi, so I couldn’t
rate it.
Wenneker Stamps of Approval
Reagan - Terminal A: Yes
JetBlue: Yes
While Reagan Terminal A doesn’t have the amenities of some of the newer
airports, what I really care about is getting through quickly, and this I was
able to do with ease. This is not a wholehearted stamp of approval, however, as
I always appreciate plenty of restrooms being at the traveling public’s
disposal.
JetBlue is a fantastic airline and this flight went off without a
hitch. The airline wasn’t really put to the test, in my opinion, because it was
a slow travel day and there was no weather or any other delay it had to deal
with. But that being said, its product is a solid one and I’d happily fly them
again.
If you have questions about choosing airlines and flights, consult our
WenneTravel experts at WenneCorp. We’d be happy to help, for absolutely no
cost. Just head over to www.wennecorp.com.
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