The opposite day, I used to be serving to a good friend guide a JetBlue flight.
He requested me to assign him an extra-legroom seat, and once I acquired to the seat choice display screen, I used to be floored.
JetBlue wished a whopping $149 for an extra-legroom seat — an “Even More Space” seat, in JetBlue parlance — for a flight of lower than three hours from New York to West Palm Seashore.
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I have been a frequent JetBlue flyer for a few years, and this was the primary time I might seen such an costly buy-up for an Even Extra Area seat on a flight from New York to Florida. The final time I helped this good friend just a few months in the past, he paid round $65 for a similar seat on the identical route.
I took to X (formerly Twitter) to ask if the $149 buy-up was a fluke, however JetBlue confirmed that it launched a dynamic pricing algorithm for Even Extra Area seats.
I then searched 5 pattern JetBlue routes to see how the airline’s dynamic pricing algorithm stacks up towards the competitors’s extra-legroom decisions, and in lots of circumstances, the outcomes weren’t fairly.
Westchester to West Palm Seashore
| Airline | Aisle | Center | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta | $50 | $50 | $50 |
| JetBlue | $129 | $126 | $129 |
That is the starkest instance that I may discover of JetBlue charging considerably greater than the competitors for an extra-legroom seat.
On flights between Westchester County Airport (HPN) and Palm Seashore Worldwide Airport (PBI), JetBlue was charging a whopping $79 greater than Delta Air Strains on the very same route.
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For years, JetBlue has had a monopoly on service from HPN to Florida, and the common fares mirror that. Final 12 months, the airline’s route from Westchester to West Palm Seashore had a mean gross airfare of $203, Division of Transportation knowledge exhibits. (In distinction, common JetBlue fares from John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport to West Palm Seashore had been $168.)
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HPN’s catchment space contains among the wealthiest communities within the New York suburbs, so JetBlue seemingly feels that it might probably get away with charging a lot for an extra-legroom seat on this market.
LaGuardia to Orlando
| Airline | Aisle | Center | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta | $110 | $110 | $110 |
| Frontier | $33 | $33 | $33 |
| JetBlue | $64 | $60 | $64 |
| Spirit | $65 | NA | $65 |
On this route, Delta was charging essentially the most for an extra-legroom seat, however the comparability is rather more nuanced than the straightforward $46 distinction between the Delta buy-up and the JetBlue one.
For one, Delta’s extra-legroom offering, Consolation+, does not simply embody extra pitch. Consolation+ is marketed as a separate cabin, and vacationers sitting on this part on flights longer than 900 miles obtain a greater complimentary snack choice than in customary economic system.
Moreover, on flights longer than 251 miles, Consolation+ vacationers can take pleasure in free beer and wine, and on flights longer than 500 miles, they’ll additionally take pleasure in free spirits.
In the meantime, on JetBlue, every can of wine will run you $11, and if you happen to’re trying to begin your go to to Mickey Mouse with somewhat buzz, the distinction between the Consolation+ and Even Extra Area narrows.
New York to West Palm Seashore
| Airline | Aisle | Center | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta | $120 | $120 | $120 |
| JetBlue | $149 | $144 | $149 |
| Spirit | $118 | $NA | $118 |
| United (from Newark) | $84 | $79 | $84 |
Here is one other instance the place JetBlue’s Even Extra Area seats had been priced greater than the competitors.
This was the route I discussed within the introduction, however trying on the distinction between Even Extra Area and the competitors reveals some fascinating insights.
If confronted with the selection, I might fly Spirit Airways on this route. That is as a result of the airline’s most premium extra-legroom providing, called Big Front Seat, is extra like a home first-class product than an Even Extra Area seat.
Spirit’s Massive Entrance Seats are organized in a 2-2 configuration and supply further legroom, extra width and bigger tray tables. The one draw back is that the seats are pre-reclined, however I might nonetheless say {that a} Massive Entrance Seat is extra snug than an Even Extra Area seat.
After all, we’ll have to attend and see what adjustments with the pending merger between JetBlue and Spirit, however till then, I might be tempted to decide on Spirit over JetBlue — particularly with the latter charging $144 for an extra-legroom center seat.
New York to Boston
| Airline | Aisle | Center | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| American | $32 | $31 | $32 |
| Delta | $60 | $60 | $60 |
| JetBlue | $39 | $39 | $39 |
| United (from Newark) | $29 | $29 | $29 |
Even Extra Area wasn’t all the time the priciest possibility on each route that I searched.
On this case, JetBlue’s extra-legroom providing was the second-most-expensive one after Delta’s Consolation+.
But it surely’s fascinating to see that American Airways and United Airways had been undercutting JetBlue’s buy-up on the quick flight between New York and Boston.
New York to Los Angeles
| Airline | Aisle | Center | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska (from Newark) | $84 | $84 | $84 |
| American | $74 | $67 | $70 |
| Delta | $250 | $250 | $250 |
| JetBlue | $159 | $153 | $159 |
| Spirit | $249 | NA | $249 |
| United (from Newark) | $159 | $152 | $159 |
New York to Los Angeles is among the nation’s most closely contested aviation markets, so I used to be curious to see how six of the biggest U.S. airways stacked up.
JetBlue was as soon as once more the second-most-expensive possibility after Delta, however the distinction between JetBlue’s pricing and Alaska Airways’ was fairly noteworthy.
Alaska manufacturers its extra-legroom seats as “Premium Class,” and these seats additionally embody free booze on flights longer than 350 miles.
So not solely is Alaska’s pricing among the many lowest of the aggressive set, however the worth can also be fairly good.
JetBlue’s response
Once I observed how costly the Even Extra Area seats have grow to be, I reached out to JetBlue to ask about what occurred.
It confirmed the existence of a dynamic pricing algorithm primarily based on varied components, such because the route and demand, as you possibly can see within the full assertion beneath.
JetBlue’s Even Extra Area seats are a very fashionable alternative for a lot of clients, who not solely make the most of as much as 7 inches of extra legroom on board, but in addition get earlier boarding and overhead bin entry, in addition to entry to our Precedence Safety strains at choose airports. JetBlue’s Even Extra Area pricing varies from flight to flight and is set primarily based on routes, demand, and different market components. Even Extra Area seating stays free for our most loyal Mosaic clients and an non-obligatory enhancement to different JetBlue clients’ journey expertise.
Backside line
With the introduction of a dynamic pricing algorithm for Even Extra Area seats, JetBlue’s extra-legroom providing is now among the many most costly within the sky.
The buy-ups are pricier than ever earlier than, and that is with out JetBlue introducing any new perks, similar to free drinks, which you’d discover on Alaska and Delta.
Even Extra Area does embody precedence safety (a perk you will not discover on every other main U.S. competitor), however vacationers with Clear or TSA PreCheck in all probability will not worth this further profit all an excessive amount of.
In case you’re nonetheless set on flying in an Even Extra Area seat, there are just a few choices to decrease the associated fee.
The primary is to take an in depth take a look at the seat map. As a part of the dynamic pricing mannequin, some seats are dearer than others. For example, on the Embraer E190 flying between New York and Boston, the bulkhead seats had been $42, however these in the midst of the aircraft had been $39.
Alternatively, you would possibly need to wait till the check-in window opens. Some vacationers have reported that JetBlue reductions unsold Even Extra Area seats because the flight approaches.
And eventually, JetBlue’s Mosaic members have entry to free Even Extra Area seats at reserving or check-in, relying on the tier. If Even Extra Area is one thing you worth, you may all the time swipe your way to Mosaic status to take pleasure in free seats for you and your touring celebration.
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