JetBlue Airways Corp. on Tuesday rolled out a new fare
structure, setting a minimum $20 fee on the first checked bag for
customers who book its lowest fares, leaving rival discounter
Southwest Airlines Co. as the only major carrier offering free
checked luggage.
JetBlue, a stylish budget carrier based in New York, had long
been a holdout by allowing at least one bag to be checked free. It
made the change as part of a revamp of its fare options, a plan it
laid out without details in November at an investor-day event.
Customers who buy the cheapest "Blue" tickets will have to pay
$20 for a first bag when booking online or at a kiosk, and $25 at
the check-in counter. A second checked bag is $35, the company
said. Marty St. George, executive vice president of commercial and
planning, said in an interview that JetBlue hopes customers who
need to check a piece of luggage will buy up to a "Blue Plus" fare,
which on average is only $15 higher.
Blue Plus fares confer one free bag and the higher "Blue Flex"
and first-class "Mint" fares allow two free checked bags.
Exceptions will be made for flights to 10 Caribbean and Latin
American destinations, where Blue and Blue Plus fares will allow
one free checked bag, the company said.
Bookings made before Tuesday will still allow one free checked
bag, the company said. JetBlue estimates that about half its
customers don't check bags.
For a flight in mid-July from New York's John F. Kennedy
International Airport to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Mr. St. George
said, a Blue fare will be $142 one way, compared with a Blue Plus
ticket at $156 and a Blue Flex fare of $241. Blue Flex fares
generally are $85 higher than Blue Plus fares, he said. Blue Plus
and Blue Flex buyers also will receive higher online booking
bonuses in JetBlue's TrueBlue frequent-flier plan.
As part of the revamp, JetBlue reduced the change fees it
charges on the Blue and Blue Plus tickets. Instead of the previous
tiered charges of $75, $100 and $150, depending on the price of the
ticket, Blue change fees will range from $70 to $135 and Blue Plus
fees from $60 to $120. Blue Flex fares won't carry any change
fees.
Mr. St. George said JetBlue estimates that when the program is
fully implemented, it will generate $200 million a year in
additional revenue. The carrier, under a new CEO, has been trying
to woo Wall Street with changes to its product that retain its
passenger-pleasing reputation but generate more revenue. It is
adding more seats in some coach cabins and has launched its
first-class offering, Mint, on competitive routes to Los Angeles
and San Francisco from New York, and coming this fall, from Boston.
Mint fares range from $599 one-way to $1,299.
But the company, which routinely wins awards for its service,
still has generous legroom, offers free snacks and free Internet,
DirecTV and Sirius XM Radio. Two carry-on bags that go in the cabin
still are free. Mr. St. George said the new website went live at 5
a.m. Tuesday morning "and we've already taken bookings in all three
[fare] categories."
Write to Susan Carey at susan.carey@wsj.com
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