When an airline that’s positioned itself as being customer-friendly starts offering bare-bone fares, there’s bound to be some confusion. This was precisely what happened to a reader when they booked a Blue Basic fare on JetBlue and were surprised they needed to pay for a seat assignment.
Up until November 2019, picking a seat on a JetBlue flight was included with even the least expensive ticket. That was until the introduction of Blue Basic (JetBlue’s version of basic economy) fares.
Here’s what JetBlue’s website says about these new fares.
We’ve heard you loud and clear, and are excited to offer you new fare options so you can choose what’s most valuable to you, such as ability to change or cancel, advance seat selection, boarding priority, points earned and more.
If you book a Blue Basic ticket, there are several changes from the typical JetBlue experience you’ve become accustomed to:
- Additional fee required to pick seats more than 24 hours before your flight
- Boarding with the last group
- Ticket changes are not permitted
- Cancellations forfeit the entire ticket price
- Same-day standby is not permitted
- Tickets earn 1 TrueBlue point per dollar spent
Both Blue Basic and Blue fares include a free carry-on bag and personal item (space limited). Neither of those fares includes a checked bag, but if you have the JetBlue Plus Card, you get the first checked bag free for the cardholder and up to three companions on the same reservation for both fare types.
If you’ve purchased a Blue Basic fare, you can pay for a seat assignment at any time, including paying for an Even More Space seat, which also includes boarding with Group 1. That could be a great deal depending on how much less a Blue Basic fare is from the Blue ticket price.
Final Thoughts
When booking with JetBlue, make sure to know what each fare type includes. While having a co-brand credit card or Mosaic status can override some of the restrictions with Blue Basic fares, some of them remain like not being able to make same-day changes, flying stand-by, or fee-free cancellations.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
1 comment
Beware – even if you pay for seat assignments, you likely won’t be able to sit together. We paid extra for seat assignments, but weren’t allowed to choose seating until 24 hours before the flight. At the 24 hour mark, my wife tried to log in to choose seats and the page kept refreshing with fewer choices and we couldn’t get seats together for our family. What a joke.