JetBlue Special Slashes NY Rates

JetBlue Airways is making sure travelers will no longer feel blue when paying for airline tickets: beginning Nov. 8, JetBlue customers will be able to fly from Boston to New York and back on select dates for $25 each way if their tickets are purchased by Oct. 20.

After that promotional period ends, fares will range in price from $40 to $120 before taxes. Price quotes for non-stop flights at rival companies on November 8 range from$50 to $300, according to orbitz.com.

“It’s what our customers are hoping for” said JetBlue representative Brandon Hamm of the company’s decision to offer up to 10 direct daily flights between Boston and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

While Hamm says the deals are not specifically targeted at college students, the low prices do mean that some Harvard students will likely be taking JetBlue flights more than once in a blue moon.

“Oh my gosh, that is so cool! I want to go book my ticket now,” said Long Island resident Ashley M. Fry ’09 when informed of the low-cost JetBlue shuttle service.

JetBlue Airways was founded in 1999 with a business philosophy of offering ow-priced fares with quality service, according to Hamm. JetBlue keeps its ticket costs low, he says, by minimizing its operating costs.

“JetBlue only offers one class seating and we don’t use beverage carts in our aisles so the configuration of our aircrafts are much different” said Hamm. “We don’t issue paper tickets; we encourage our customers to book online and print their own tickets.”

In addition to lower ticket prices, JetBlue hopes to attract potential customers with its fleet of brand-new 100-seat Embraer 190 jets. Along with the traditional leather seats, travelers on the 70-minute Boston-New York flight can enjoy such amenities as 36 channels of free DIRECTV programming on 6.8” LCD monitors and more than 100 channels of XM Satellite Radio.

While many students plan on taking advantage of the JetBlue promotion, not all potential travelers are impressed. “I am happy that it is there as another option,” said Divia D. Melwani ’06, who is from New York. She added, however, “I don’t like dealing with the airports in New York, so although it would be faster to fly, I would rather take the bus.”

The other option for the Boston-New York commute is Amtrak—tickets on Amtrak trains range from $54 to $90, and tickets on the Acela express can be as pricey as $117.

The JetBlue expansion will not stop with New York. The company plans to triple the number of destinations accessible to Boston travelers by the year 2006, according to its press release. Pheonix, San Diego, and Seattle are among the cities included on the list.

“JetBlue is committed to growing our Boston base,” says Hamm. “Bostonians have seen a significant growth in that market from JetBlue and we have received great feedback from the customers.”