JFK isn’t exactly in the middle of nowhere but, for business travelers, it might as well be. JetBlue has decided to address that situation by starting its own competitor to the Boston – LaGuardia shuttle. They’ll be flying six times daily during the week, with a couple more flights on the weekends. And, because it’s JetBlue, they’re throwing in a few extras.
First, JetBlue’s Fares…
One-way trips between the airports are starting at $34, and I found plenty of those available. Even the next bucket appears to be $59 during the week. That is an astonishing price for the BOS-LGA shuttle route, where trips on American or Delta are often several hundred dollars. We’ll see how long these fares last, or if this turns into an experience like Southwest had in Philadelphia, where it bled red ink as US Airways matched its pricing. Unfortunately, JetBlue gives TrueBlue points based on dollars spent rather than distance flown, but if you need a few segments to make Mosaic Status, this is an easy mileage run.
Next, JetBlue’s Bonus…
The bullet points say it all. Three round-trips, or an assortment of one-ways, will earn you 6,000 points. I value JetBlue points at about 1.5 cents each, so that’s a $90 bonus. It’s probably not enough to affect my booking but, combined with the low fares, it’s a pretty powerful incentive. Naturally, you have to register for it, which you can do through the website.
One thing that I hate about JetBlue promotions: previously booked flights are generally ineligible for the bonus, which is the case with this one. I understand why they do it. A promotion is not to reward you for travel already booked, but rather, to stimulate future demand. There is a risk in that strategy, though, in that customers could delay booking if they think a bonus is coming. I seriously doubt that they lose a lot of potential revenue through the current system, though. It’s not going anywhere. The upside is that if you have Mosaic Status, you can change your flight for no fee (although you do have to pay the difference if the fare increases).
