NEW YORK, Aug. 4, 2008
Want A Pillow? JetBlue To Charge $7
Airline To Offer Blanket/Pillow Sets For Sale On Flights Longer Than 2 Hours
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(AP Photo/Rick Maiman)
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The carrier has done away with the recycled blankets and pillows used on its flights, and will begin offering an "eco-friendly" travel blanket and pillow that can be purchased for $7 on flights longer than two hours. The pair will come in a kit with a $5 coupon to home furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond.
The carrier claims the pillow and blanket feature a fabric technology, developed by CleanBrands LLC, that blocks pesky critters like dust mites, mold spores, pollen and pet dander.
JetBlue already offers free "Snooze Kits" on overnight flights from the West that include an eyeshade and ear plugs.
But the blanket and pillow kit is the latest in a string of a la carte items the company says are providing a revenue boost to help offset the soaring price of jet fuel.
"An airline ticket today allows you to step foot on a plane and step foot off the plane," said Rick Seany, CEO of FareCompare.com. "Anything else besides that, except for airlines like Southwest, you're gonna pay an extra fee for."
Add those extra fees to higher fares, check websites like FareCompare.com, and you'll find the cost of a plane ticket hasn't risen this much in nearly 30 years.
To offset soaring fuel costs, the average airfare is up 20 to 25%, reports CBS News business correspondent Anthony Mason. In some markets, it's gone sky high. Like U.S. Airways Chicago to Minneapolis route, which is up 276%. A Continental ticket from Atlanta to Boston, and United's Dallas to Miami fare are also up more than 200%, Mason reports.
A JetBlue spokeswoman declined to predict how much the sale of these kits will bring in, saying that the company only provides revenue details for specific items in its quarterly earnings conference calls.
The carrier said last month it expects to collect about $40 million from customers buying seats with extra leg room this year. Its $15 fee for a second checked bag is expected to translate into about $20 million in additional revenue.
A ticket change fee, which doubled to $100 in the second quarter, is part of a "basket of fee changes" expected to produce about $50 million in extra revenue in 2008.
©MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Add a Comment See all 33 Comments
- AirFare - $435
Booking Fee - $15
1st Bag Fee - $15
2nd Bag Fee - $25
Carry On Bag - $10
Admission into The Gate - $10
Waiting Area Seat Fee - $10
Boarding Fee - $10
Seatbelt Fee - $10
Restroom Fee - $15
Beverage Fee - $10
Reclining Seat Fee - $10
Oxygen Mask - $25
Asking The Stewardess A Question - $5 each
In Flight Movie - $10
Taxi Delay Charge - $12 per minute
Misc Fees & Charges - $235
Thank You For Flying Ben Dover Airlines - Reply to this comment
- Not a bad idea for Jet Blue
Charge seven dollars for a pillow you can get for a buck at the dollar Store and throw in a blanket as an extra - Reply to this comment
- Just wear a sweatshirt on and roll it up for your free pillow.
- Reply to this comment
- Anyways I''''ll see you on the Greyhound bus to Chicago just like in other 3rd World Countries but now in Hannity''''s 3rd World Americaa!
Posted by whitemale08
......................
Hey stick around, you ain''t seem nothing yet. Snicker, chortle, laugh, guffaw. - Reply to this comment
- The twisted logic of the airlines - limit luggage, and then force the public to use that limited allotment to bring their own food, pillow, blanket, beverage.
Remind me again why we fly? It''s getting to be more trouble than it''s worth. - Reply to this comment
- Airliners are suffering really bad here. They are not making any profits right now.It doesn''t really matter anyway because who asks for a pillow anyways.
- Reply to this comment
- Let the airlines get petty and ''nickel and dime'' the passengers to death---sooner or later---Congress will be FORCED to act and NATIONALIZE the airlines!
Everybody say it, ''NATIONALIZE THE AIRLINES''!
It''s ONLY a matter of time! - Reply to this comment
- GOP_forever
I have no problem with Pooping my pants and on the plane and sitting right next to you for the entire flight from L.A. to Atlanta or New York, just to ruin your life GOP_forever.
Posted by XmanBorg at 03:29 PM : Aug 04, 2008
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Hey, wiseguy! I''d be careful about doing this! You might wind up like that guy on the bus in Canada who rode next to ''Canuck the Beheader''! Be a jerk at risk to yourself! - Reply to this comment
- Welcome to Hannity''s 3rd WORLD AMERICA!!!
Afterall it was junkyard dog Sean Hannity who taught ditto-heads that "tax cuts for the rich" was going to "trickle-down" to the middle class.
It''s a fact that "tax cuts for the rich" and a fiat currency is THE cause for inflation which is why the Airlines can''t make money. Yet Republicans blame "not drilling" as if that can stop inflation.
We live in a country fool of stupid people unfortunately and most of them belong to the Republican party.
Anyways I''ll see you on the Greyhound bus to Chicago just like in other 3rd World Countries but now in Hannity''s 3rd World Americaa! - Reply to this comment
- Next Jet Blue is going to make it so you have to insert a dollar in a machine to gain access to your emergency oxygen mask.
- Reply to this comment
- The next thing the airlines will do is install pay toilets.
- Reply to this comment
- One more reason not to fly, let ''em fail. We need a new approach to mass transit anyway.
- Reply to this comment
- I would like to say none of this bothers me, because I haven''t taken a flight since 1983, when I returned from Germany. During the years prior to that, I logged hundreds of hours on flights around the world, and for the most part the airlines I used had good if not great service. Back then flying was enjoyable, sometimes fun, and nearly always comfortable. Very few things were an extra expense, and many times the drinks were free. The food was tolerable, and the service was A+. It saddens me to know that what was once a great way to travel has now became so blemished and burdened. Everything about flying a commercial airline has now become anything but enjoyable. Long waits, canceled flights, lost baggage, and strict and heavy handed security have all become an excepted part of the flier''s experience. I doubt that I will ever fly a plane again. I have been around the world, and seen more than most could ever hope to see, but I sympathize with today''s travelers. Today''s cheap flights have taken on a whole new meaning.
- Reply to this comment
- I''ve only flown twice since 9/11. OK with me if I never do it again. I can drive south for a winter vacation and north for a summer vacation. The airlines deserve to be punished for their psychopathic greed. Not much we can do to punish them. If millions like me never fly again, the airlines don''t care. Their joy comes from making people miserable.
- Reply to this comment
- I don''t use airline pillows or blankets. I can barely stand to put my head on the headrests. None of this stuff is ever cleaned it just gets thrown in the overhead until someone needs it. It has to be a matter of time before you get headlice if you use these items.
- Reply to this comment
- I flew in the back seat of a Cessna 172 a few times. When the pilot rolls his seat up to the controls, there is SOOOO much leg room back there, it is absolutely amazing! Hard to believe for such a small single-engine plane.
I would sooner fly in one of those from LA to New York, than any airline, any day! - Reply to this comment
- GOP_forever
I have no problem with Pooping my pants and on the plane and sitting right next to you for the entire flight from L.A. to Atlanta or New York, just to ruin your life GOP_forever. - Reply to this comment
- Thats not fair, I am a Pillow Biter and I need Pillows to Bite on Airplanes and I dont want to pay $7 so I can Bite a Pillow, that should be free.
Plus: GOP_forever if they ever charge for the use of a toilet on a plane then I will poop in the isle or soil my self and make sure I sit right next to you and up wind from you so you can get some aroma. Doesnt that sound delicious and make for a fantastic flight!
- Reply to this comment
- Can the pay as you "go" toilet be very far behind?
I''ll just bet if this idea flies, it won''t be dime
either. - Reply to this comment
- "Jet Blue..... isn''''t that the stuff in the toilet tank?"
Posted by deacon20081
Hahahahahahaa!!!! Great one! :D - Reply to this comment
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