Re: Southwest vs. Jetblue

Re: Southwest vs. Jetblue

Southwest vs. Jetblue

I used to fly SW all the time before I moved to NY and it was very efficient, low cost and easy. Then I moved away and flew JetBlue and love it.

Came back and flew SW .... once.... just freaking once... OMG HATED IT! I signed in at the exact moment 24hrs in advance to get my group # and ended up in the middle of the pack. Sat between some strangers (I prefer windows). I also had to once sit way from a coworker who was flying with me and some monster drunks between us. I just hated the whole thing. Sitting around camping out to get into your spot first so you could be the first of your group in that alpha number sequence. I hated it. I love my American Airline!

Now I've got to fly them again and I've heard its worth the extra $ to go up to the 'business class' so I can get A1-15.

We don't have JetBlue since SA is SW's HQ. But Austin does! So I now drive to Austin (2hrs) to fly out on JetBlue. So worth the savings and less headache!

But now that I've booked my business flight I'll see if this is 'better'. Families board after the A group so for a solo flyer in Group B it was nearly impossible to get a decent seat by my standards.

Re: Southwest vs. Jetblue

I flew southwest last year out of Islip but i remember paying a couple bucks more for the A group. It really wasn't to bad at all. And they offered wifi for 5 or 10 bucks too.

Jetblue is so much better their terminals in JFK and LGA are really nice obv JFK is better with restaurants and lots of food choices and shops. I don't find JFK confusing or hard to get around either. Its pretty straight forward.

I am pretty sure southwest has curbside checkin, We always do the curbside check in at JFK its awesome

Re: Southwest vs. Jetblue

Re: Southwest vs. Jetblue

Message edited 1/7/2014 5:17:12 PM.

Re: Southwest vs. Jetblue

Re: Southwest vs. Jetblue

Re: Southwest vs. Jetblue

I love JetBlue and its always my preference when they fly to my destination but they don't fly to the city I fly to most often. I flew southwest recently for the first time bc they were cheapest and was very happy. I was really worried about the open seating but it worked out well for us. Going there we didnt realize kids over 2 counter toward priority boarding until after we boarded in group b and they told us. We still got 3 seats together and had our choice of row in the back. We were able to pick a row with a nicely placed window for DS which I really liked bc you never know where your window will be when you choose seats online. And it was great to be able to check bags free. On the way back we did the family boarding and again got our choice of row and window. And we checked 4 bags coming home all free! I think you would save more flying southwest and paying $15 for priority seating than flying a diff airline and paying for checked bags. I would fly southwest again if the price was right. And I flew from LGA. Islip would be even more of a perk.

Re: Southwest vs. Jetblue

Message edited 1/8/2014 8:08:15 AM.

Re: Southwest vs. Jetblue

Islip definitely has curbside check in - it's by the doors just outside of the Southwest counters that are inside the terminal.

As far as parking, if you are a resident of the Town of Islip, you can get a sticker to park in the residents' lot. I want to say it's $35 for 2 years. Of course, the residents' lots are further away than the "pay" lots, but for $35 for 2 years what do you expect!

Re: Southwest vs. Jetblue

I love MacArthur airport. I always pull-up to the curb (security knows me now and allows), check bags then park in long term parking. There is a shuttle bus that runs constantly that will drive you from the parking lot to the airport if you prefer not to walk.

I am an A-list member with Southwest but rarely take advantage of that perk since the security lines at MacArthur usually aren't crowded and move quickly. Being an A-list member, I am also guaranteed an A1-A15 boarding pass. If not an A-list member (as i once was), it can get a little frustrating with their boarding policy.

When purchasing tickets there is an early board option (i think $10 extra per flight) that will automatically check you in 36hrs prior to the flight. Although saving seats is sometimes irritates other passengers, if traveling with a family, one member can purchase the early bird check-in option, board the flight and save seats for the other members in their party.

In re: to higher fares, I have to disagree. More often than not, SW is cheaper than their competitors. I am traveling next week to FL and compared rates prior to purchasing (2 wks ago) and SW was A LOT cheaper ($91 each way) than the other airlines.

The only complaints I have with SW are that many flights are non-direct are often delayed.

Message edited 1/8/2014 11:09:28 AM.

Southwest vs. Jetblue

We have the Town of Islip parking pass for MacArthur, and it is not further away then the other lots - actually it's very close. It makes it so convenient because we would have to take a car service to JFK or LGA which would cost over $100 each way, or pay a huge fee for parking at the airports. The convenience and cost alone make SW worth it. I do hate that there aren't assigned seats and DS prefers the tvs the Jet Blue has, but otherwise not a big issue. Jet Blue has better snacks and drinks too. I'm hoping Jet Blue opens at MacArthur - that would be the best of both!

Re: Southwest vs. Jetblue

We flew with our 2.5 year old DD this past September to Wyoming via Southwest Airlines and we had a connecting flight in Baltimore.

Normally, we are JetBlue tried and true customers, but for this trip, we couldn't for two reasons:
1. JetBlue flight times to Denver were ridiculous. If we were all adults, it wouldn't have been a problem, but little kids on red eyes. I didn't want the issue and I didn't want a late flight arriving there at 7pm.
2. As this was DD first flight, DH wanted to make things easy for me and him and wanted me to look at Islip.

So, Southwest it was.... We each had 2 bags (we were staying for 2 weeks in WY and had to prepare for summer and winter weather), plus a car seat in one of those wheeled bags and stroller. We checked in online the 24-hrs prior to the flight and got mid-group B. Luckily, Southwest makes an announcement after the A-group is boarded for anyone with small children or needing extra boarding time to now come up to board. We took advantage of this for each leg of our trip without any issue. We always got to sit with one another - sometimes it was towards the back of the plane, but one can't complain.

Southwest now has free satellite TV for devices that support it during their flights. During the flight, we gave DD our iPad or iTouch and she watched a few cartoons (Pound Puppies and My Little Ponies) or one of the saved shows/movies we had on the device and she was happy.

One thing to take into account when deciding on your flights is time. We were looking at a 6-hour flight and we were all going to be tired when we came home. To drive the 45-60 minutes from JFK to out east where we live wasn't realistic. By flying out of Islip, we landed, got in the car and we were home within 20-minutes. DD could stretch out, run around and then she ate a little dinner and crashed early for bedtime. If we fly again with young children, we'll do it this way until they are old enough to handle a longer trip to airport.


Hope this helps!