[FourOneFive]

Did anyone else notice and/or post this story last week?

JetBlue announces SFO flights
Low-cost carrier will compete with United, American, flying nonstops to New York, Boston
- David Armstrong, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 9, 2007

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2007/01/09/bu_jetblue.jpg

JetBlue Airways, the stylish discount carrier that has built a loyal following at Oakland International Airport the past several years, will cross the bay, starting five daily nonstop flights between San Francisco International Airport and the East Coast, starting May 3.

The 6-year-old New York airline plans to announce four daily flights between SFO and New York's John F. Kennedy Airport and a once-daily flight between the airport and Boston's Logan airport at a new conference today at SFO with JetBlue founder and chief executive David Neeleman scheduled to attend.

Restricted introductory fares between SFO and the two East Coast cities will start at $99 one way, though general fares on these routes will be higher, ranging from $159 to $399 one way, according to JetBlue, which has not flown from SFO before. JetBlue will continue to fly from Oakland as it adds San Francisco service.

The San Francisco-to-New York service will include a red-eye flight that departs SFO at 11:50 p.m. and arrives at JFK at 8:15 a.m. the next day.

American Airlines and United Airlines fly between SFO and JFK. JetBlue's fares are generally below those of major carriers, although fares can vary considerably not only between carriers but on the same airline, depending on the date and time of day for a flight.

JetBlue's planned takeoff at SFO, which has courted low-fare carriers with intermittent success while discounters Southwest Airlines and JetBlue have thrived in Oakland, may well take place before the long-planned start of transcontinental service between SFO and JKF by Virgin America, a Burlingame startup low-cost carrier that has applied for federal permission to begin flying but hasn't yet received it.

Virgin America has said it will respond Wednesday to a Department of Transportation tentative ruling on Dec. 27 to deny it permission to fly. Regulators said Virgin America doesn't satisfy federal rules requiring U.S. carriers to be controlled by U.S. citizens. Virgin America hasn't disclosed details of its appeal.

JetBlue portrayed its entry in SFO as driven by consumer demand.

"Our customers continually asked for more service from more airports,'' said Neeleman in a statement Monday. "It's important to our customers to have choice and low fares.''

SFO director John Martin said Monday he is "very excited, very pleased'' that San Francisco will soon be getting service from JetBlue, which has won praise from many travelers for its leather seats, free seatback DirectTV service and other service touches on its all-economy cases flights.

"New York is one of our biggest markets,'' said Martin. "We've been eager to have a very strong competitor on that route. I visited JetBlue's headquarters about five years ago, and obviously nothing happened then. My aviation development staff has been in touch with them for several years. In the last six to eight weeks, things came together.'

"David Neeleman has been amazingly successful in growing that airline, and their brand is very respected,'' Martin said.

"We hope that Virgin America will begin flying here, too, and provide strong competition on fares,'' he added. "That would be a real win-win for the consumer.''

JetBlue's introductory $99 one-way fares are available on a limited basis and require a 21-day advance purchase, according to JetBlue. Introductory fares must be booked by Jan. 22 and travel must be completed between May 3 and June 13.

"Introductory fares may not be available on all days or on all flights,'' the airline cautioned. "Introductory fares are most often found on midweek travel dates.''
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With JetBlue's entry into SFO and Virgin America's pending entry into SFO, I'm excited with all the options that I now have to fly between San Francisco and New York!

I wonder if JetBlue will be using some of the gates in the vacant Terminal 2. Imagine JetBlue and Virgin operating out of the same terminal.

[sf_eddo]

Yup, here: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=2555241&postcount=141

But it's a cool thing, it could use its own thread. :)

[urbanflyer]

Good luck to B6 in this market. SFO-JFK is a marquee premium market that UA and AA have been fighting over for years. It attracts large numbers of high yield customers willing to pay for first and business class, particularly from the finance sector. B6 will probably be able to siphon some economy passengers away from the majors but they will never capture the premium passengers so this endeavor is likely to fail in the long run.

Sometimes Neeleman gets too aggressive for his own good - everyone who has followed jetBlue can recall when they were forced out of ATL after trying to break into DL's superhub. Thus it will be with so SFO and UA.

[J Church]

My roommate the air junkie says they might siphon some market share by offering that slightly later option (8:15 arrival). The United and American redeyes get in around 6 or 7, he tells me.

[rs913]

Well, JetBlue doesn't offer 1st/Business class on any flights and they seem to be doing pretty well across the board anyway, so maybe this route is no exception (as long as they can lure away enough of those coach flyers who aren't already flying JetBlue out of OAK or SJC).

There's no question that JetBlue's coach product is better with in-flight entertainment, more legroom, and what sounds like better service. The food is a draw, with JetBlue's unlimited free snacks vs. UA/AA's buy-on-board pre-packaged light meals. JetBlue's best-case scenario is probably getting a core of customers to try them a few times and then not want to go back to UA/AA hell.

[urbanflyer]

Well, JetBlue doesn't offer 1st/Business class on any flights and they seem to be doing pretty well across the board anyway

They don't compete in any dominantly premium markets - they traditionally take passengers away from the majors in markets that are business traveler-heavy that lack premium service.

SFO-JFK is not in the same league. It's an old school bread and butter route and as good as B6's product is, it can't compete with the specialty service UA and AA offer on this city pair. AA offers its Flagship Suite and United has its 757s specially configured in P.S. format with the majority of the aircraft devoted to business and first. That includes full meal service and international flight-sized legroom. I just don't see the point of going after SFO.

United P.S. Seatmap (http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/United_Airlines/United_Airlines_Boeing_757-200_PS.php)

American Flagship Seatmap (http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/American_Airlines/American_Airlines_Boeing_767-200.php)

My roommate the air junkie says they might siphon some market share by offering that slightly later option (8:15 arrival)

If I were in revenue management at B6, I'd want to time the flights to match those of UA and AA. Perhaps leisure travelers would like to get in early but they'll never get business travelers on those schedules. Most of the folks up front on these flights are the type who only take taxis from JFK and nobody wants to sit in post-8 AM traffic.

[slock]

This ties into a lot of the changing nature of air travel, and particularly why I think the airlines might not fight High Speed Rail as much as expected. Transcon and International flights are where the real money is, so legacy carriers like United and American are going to fight to keep their premium customers. These markets are the most lucrative and are fought on a higher level with more international carriers. JetBlue is really going after Business and Coach passengers here, and might even be taking a pre-emptive step regarding Virgin America.

Here's a piece about American:

By DAVID KOENIG
The Associated Press - Wednesday, December 13, 2006; 12:56 AM



FORT WORTH, Texas -- Few routes are as important to American Airlines as the one that shuttles high-paying business travelers between New York and Los Angeles.

Those are the kind of passengers who value service over price, and American doesn't want them to think that the nation's largest airline has slipped behind the competition on that score.

American is fighting back with upgraded first-class cabins that include flat-screen televisions and personal entertainment devices offering movies, TV, music and video games.

As a bonus, replacing bulky analog tape systems and cathode-ray-tube monitors will free up enough room to add a first-class seat in some planes.

American will announce Wednesday it is spending nearly $20 million to spruce up its fleet of Boeing 767-200 aircraft, which fly the longest U.S. routes. That's about $1.3 million per plane.

"Premium travelers are still the backbone of our revenue," said David Cush, senior vice president of global sales at American parent AMR Corp. "American has always been an airline built around serving the business traveler."

American is already in the process of installing lie-flat seats in first class on Boeing 777s and 767-300s used on New York-London and other international flights _ a nod to the creature comforts on rival British Airways.

"They have to remain competitive with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, premium small startup carriers, and some of the Middle East airlines that can fly to London," said Ray Neidl, an analyst for Calyon Securities who flies often between New York and London.

"Their service is perceived as inferior to the really premium service that BA has," Neidl said, although he gave American credit for a strong frequent-flier program that has won the loyalty of many U.S. corporate travelers.

American focused first on improving service on international routes because they tend to be the most lucrative, "and our international customers demand the most comfort because of the length of the flight," Cush said.

Cross-country U.S. flights rank next in importance. Especially those that tend to carry many corporate travelers, such as New York-L.A. _ American's top domestic route _ and New York-San Francisco, which ranks in the airline's top five, according to Cush.

American has been losing money since early 2001 and hovered near bankruptcy in 2003. It lacked money to buy new planes _ executives have cautioned that parent AMR must pay down debt before it can think of updating its fleet _ or spend much money to improve its current aircraft.

But analysts expect AMR to earn about $400 million for all of 2006. Cush said the airline finally has the financial stability to invest in upgrading cabins. He vows the Fort Worth-based carrier will have the best first-class service among U.S. carriers and the only one to offer wide-body planes on all transcontinental flights.

American is also moving into a new $1.1 billion terminal at New York's JFK Airport _ and reviving helicopter shuttle service from Wall Street for $159 each way. The airline recently opened a new terminal at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and it is adding new Admirals Clubs and giving first-class passengers a one-day voucher to use the lounges.

With security measures making it more exasperating to move through airports, airlines are trying to improve facilities on the ground.

"Since 9-11, customers are spending more time there," Cush said. "If we make it easy and pleasant to get on the airplane, they'll have a much better flying experience."

© 2006 The Associated Press