JetBlue

JetBlue makes it easier to earn perks and status

Airlines, Uncategorized,


New York-based JetBlue Airways has revamped its True Blue loyalty program, making it easier for both frequent and infrequent flyers to earn incremental perks and attain status with the airline.

You can get into all the nitty gritty details here. But basically, your ‘points’ and loyalty are now measured and accrued in “Tiles.”

And JetBlue customers can earn some desirable perks, even if they don’t fly very often.

In the new program, one tile is awarded for every $100 in qualifying purchases on JetBlue, its associated programs such as JetBlue Vacations, and on flights on its partner airline, American Airlines.

One tile is also earned for every $1,000 spent on any JetBlue credit card.

Every time a TrueBlue member earns 10 (until reaching the airline’s Mosaic status at 50 tiles) they get to pick from a menu of rewards or perks, including early boarding, access to priority screening, a free alcoholic drink each flight, or bonus points. And once selected, a picked perk is valid from the date it’s earned through the end (12/31) of the following year.

JetBlue’s Mosaic tiered status program is also updated.

JetBlue’s tiered status program, called Mosaic, is now also updated with four levels.

Travelers reach Mosaic 1 status with 50 tiles, Mosaic 2 status with 100 tiles, Mosaic 3 status with 150 tiles, and Mosaic 4 status with 250 titles. And, as you may imagine, each tier comes with a better set of perks.

The basic set of perks, granted with Mosaic 1 status (50 tiles) includes:

  • First Two Checked Bags Free.
  • Beer, Wine & Liquor.
  • Even More® Space at Check-In.
  • Same-Day Switches.
  • Early Boarding.
  • Priority Security.
  • Dedicated Check-In.
  • Dedicated Support Line and Priority Chat Assistance.
  • Heathrow Express Upgrade.

The Mosaic 2 tier (100 tiles) grants all of the above perks, plus the ability to book upgraded Even More Space seats during booking.

Mosaic 3 (150 tiles) adds four certificates that let you upgrade from Core to Mint seats.

And the Mosaic 4 tier throws in two more upgrade-to-Mint certificates. Plus 4 one-way BLADE airport helicopter transfers between Manhattan and JFK or Newark (EWR) airports.

And as an added bonus, each time your move up a Mosaic level, there’s another pack of perks to choose from. And that list includes a waiver of the $125 per flight fee to jet with a pet. Which will be very popular.

JetBlue Flying Next To: Amsterdam.

Airlines,

JetBlue’s 3rd European Destination? Amsterdam.

JetBlue announced on Tuesday that it will be adding Amsterdam to its list of international flight destinations.

Service will start between New York’s JFK International Airport and Amsterdam Schiphol sometime “late this summer,” according to a JetBlue statement. And flights between Boston Logan and Schiphol are “to follow,” subject to government operating authority.

JetBlue already flies to London’s Heathrow and Gatwick Airports and will begin flying to Paris in June.

As with its other European flights, the daily Amsterdam route will be served by the carrier’s Airbus A321 Long Range (LR) single-aisle aircraft, which has 114 economy seats (“Core”) and 24 new fully lie-flat private suites with sliding doors.

How Airports & Airlines Marked April Fools Day

Holidays, Uncategorized, , ,

We were pleased to see so many airports and airlines – and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation – Amtrak – having so much fun on April Fools Day.

Aviation museums also got in on the fun.

Here are some of the April Fools Day “news items” we encountered. Let us know if we missed some your faves.

UFO Displayed at Seattle’s Museum of Flight

In an April 1 release, the Museum of Flight in Seattle announced it would put on display an unidentified flying object (UFO) recently recovered from a crash site in a remote area in Washington state.

Here’s what it looks like:

Clearly, it’s an April Fools Day joke. But we love that the museum created a full backstory for this UFO:

Following a rash of inexplicable UFO sightings worldwide, the wreckage and debris field from a small disc-shaped object were discovered at a remote desert location near the decommissioned Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington state. The UFO was initially detected by NORAD as it raced through the restricted airspace of Hill Air Force Base in Utah. The phenomena continued erratically on a northern flightpath and fiery descent to an impact zone in the remote desert hills of Benton County, Wash.

Military officials quickly removed tons of topsoil from the crash site to preserve any toxic fluids or alien biological matter that may have exited the disc. The object has displayed no signs of hostile intent, but extra security measures will be in place while it is on display at the Museum.

Plenty of airports and airlines got in on the fun. And many ‘announcements,’ such as Charlotte Douglas International Airport’s notice that it was removing the rocking chairs to make more room, no doubt made readers look twice.

But others, like KLM’s recline alert system and Geneva Airports’ ski-through-the-terminal updates aren’t totally silly ideas.

Off to Gatwick. But first, bumper car rides at JFK

Hotels, , ,

Stuck at the Airport is heading to London today for a week-long adventure organized by airport mascot Gary Gatwick and his friends at Gatwick Airport (LGW), who suspect that not that many Americans don’t know the airport is just half an hour from downtown London by express train. Or that gin is distilled at the airport. (Stay tuned for that…)

Our journey to London starts in Seattle with a direct flight to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on JetBlue and an overnight at the very hip, super retro, landmark TWA Hotel.

We’re looking forward to hanging out in the Sunken Lounge, taking a dip in the rooftop infinity pool with runway views, visiting the Twister Room, and touring the onsite museum about TWA’s history and the Jet Age.

And, of course, we’ll have a cocktail or two in the Lockheed Constellation “Connie” that has been transformed into a cocktail lounge.

We missed out on the roller skating rink the hotel had on its tarmac, but we are pleased to see that bumper car rides are now offered instead on a race course near the Connie cocktail lounge.

Cars have names like Hammer Time, The Bumpty Dance, Nervous Wrecker, and One Hit Wonder. And operate Fridays from 4 to 8 pm and Saturdays and Sundays from Noon to 8 pm. Which is perfect for our day-long layover.

Ride sessions are $20 for adults and $16 for kids under age 12. No reservations are available; it’s first come, first served until November 2022.

Maybe we’ll bump into you there.

JetBlue inks deal to buy Spirit Airlines

Airlines, ,

Big news in the airline world. JetBlue is buying Spirit Airlines. Price tag: $3.8 billion.

Read these stories to learn more.