JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty described the forthcoming lounges as “bespoke,” emphasizing that they're being designed for JetBlue’s prospects who desire a extra premium expertise.
“This is going to be different. It’ll be exclusive,” she mentioned. “So as we think about lounges, it’s dipping our toe in the water, trying to get it right, trying to make sure that it doesn’t impact fares because we really want to make sure that JetBlue remains accessible as a low-fare carrier. So we’re starting with JFK and Boston, and then if it works, we will have to grow it from there.”
JetBlue is Logan’s largest provider, servicing almost 30 p.c of the airport’s passengers. But in contrast to rivals Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines, the airline has by no means provided prospects a lounge in Boston. Delta opened an opulent new lounge, the Delta Sky Club, final 12 months, and Chase Sapphire opened a lounge for its cardholders. JetBlue, which has struggled with profitability because the onset of the pandemic and a failed merger with Spirit Airlines, sees the lounges as a approach to attain extra vacationers in search of premium experiences.
“The single biggest tranche of revenue of profit improvements come from the customer side,” St. George mentioned. “And I think you’ll continue to see us focus more on the premium customer. I think what’s worked incredibly well for us is the shift towards premium leisure travel.”
JetBlue started concentrating on monied vacationers a decade in the past when it launched business-class, lie-flat seats in a bit it calls Mint. Since then, it’s expanded the variety of Mint seats throughout its fleet. The lounges are a logical extension of that transfer, giving prospects an total premium expertise.
“Having a lounge is a big part of an airline’s customer experience and how they can differentiate themselves from one another in terms of what they can offer to their business class or their most loyal customers,” mentioned Meghna Maharishi, an airline reporter for the journey business web site Skift.
JetBlue, which Geraghty mentioned began with the mission of “bringing humanity back to air travel,” has confronted elevated scrutiny over its customer support and efficiency. Once one of many top-rated airways in buyer satisfaction and on-time efficiency, the airline dropped to lifeless final in a Wall Street Journal rating of airways final 12 months, partially due to delays and cancellations.
“You never like to be listed last, but the reality is where we fly makes it very, very difficult to get off of the bottom of that list,” Geraghty mentioned. “If you isolate the nationwide performance to the New York level, we are absolutely competitive with all of the legacy carriers within the New York market. So I think New Yorkers understand there’s delays. We don’t like them, but we understand they happen because of the airspace we fly into. But when you’ve got 50 percent of your network in New York, it’s really hard to compare yourself to Hawaiian Airlines.”
To assist deal with the difficulty, she mentioned JetBlue has launched a brand new initiative to each be liked, and be worthwhile.
“We’re not perfect, but hopefully, when you fly us, often you see a difference between how we handle and treat our customers and perhaps how some of the others do,” she mentioned. “That’s by taking care of them and making them feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves.”
Along with the lounges at JFK and Logan, JetBlue will introduce a brand new premium bank card that enables entry to the lounges. St. George was additionally mum on particulars of the forthcoming premium card, however mentioned, “This is not dissimilar from the premium cards that you see from other airlines or even the banks that don’t do it specifically with an airline.
Travelers will be able to access the forthcoming lounges by either using the new premium credit card or by reaching the highest tier of JetBlue’s loyalty program, called Mosaic. Those flying Mint on trans-Atlantic flights will also be eligible. Like other lounges, day passes will be sold.
“We need to figure out the demand before we determine how much we can broaden access,” he mentioned. “We do not want people standing outside waiting to get in. We do not want a world where people come in and can’t find somewhere to sit. So once we figure that out, I think we’ll be able to give a better, clearer answer regarding what the access rules will be.”
St. George was employed as president of JetBlue in February 2024 and mentioned he started engaged on opening lounges at the start of his tenure.
“We spent a lot of time with Massport, and we identified space that we knew would work for both of us,” he mentioned.
Christopher Muther might be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @Chris_Muther and Instagram @chris_muther.
