By the end of 2020, US airlines lost an estimated $35 billion according to FactSet. The stocks of prominent airline companies dropped the most in recent years. American Airlines’ stocks dropped 45% while Delta Air Lines lost 31% and United Airlines shrunk by 51% in 2020.
To cope and hopefully survive the pandemic, low-cost airline companies like JetBlue need to come up with strategies to attract passengers. JetBlue’s COO Joanna Geraghty wants to make the company stand out by shaving the ticket change fees on most of its tickets. On top of that, expect their cheapest ticket to get cheaper.
However, there is a catch. You can expect a no carry-on bag policy. Once fully implemented, travelers can only bring a small bag that can fit underneath their seats. Anything bigger will have to be checked in.
This policy is going to start on July 20 but the budget airline company guarantees that there will be an overhead bin space for the Standard Coach up to its Mint Business Class ticket seats. If you booked the Blue Ticket, which is the company’s cheapest ticket, you aren’t allowed to use the overhead bin.
JetBlue isn’t the first company to have this policy. United Airlines already has this policy when the company started selling the no-frills basic economy tickets in 2017.
JetBlue Competing Against Other Airlines
The competition in the aviation industry has been tough in the last few years. Even before the pandemic, airline companies try to find a way to attract passengers. Delta Airlines came up with their basic economy fares worldwide in 2018. Basic economy passengers are going to board last and they can’t pick their seat.
JetBlue decided to make the policy changes to compete against Spirit and Frontier that have used a similar strategy. Also, a large chunk of these airline companies’ revenue came from add-on fees including check-in baggage and seat selection.
