While some airlines have decided to reopen sales of their middle seats, and others continue to block them, JetBlue Airways has a partial plan in place.
The airline said it will limit capacity through the holidays, although the current 70 percent capacity number is flexible, and then will re-assess the situation after Jan. 1.
“JetBlue is blocking the vast majority of middle seats on our larger aircraft and the majority of aisle seats on smaller aircraft,” JetBlue said in a statement provided to TravelPulse. “As we head into the fall and Thanksgiving travel, we know there will be more families and groups traveling together and so we will offer a small number of rows where people traveling together can sit together.”
JetBlue has gone back and forth on the issue. Earlier this week, JetBlue President Joanna Geraghty said blocking seats “is not something that’s sustainable,” and that as passenger numbers rise and studies show airplane cabins are safe, the airline will raise capacity on flights.
But a day earlier, CEO Robin Hayes said that, although it is expensive, continuing to block middle seats on flights into 2021 is the right thing to do to ensure the public feels it’s safe to fly.
“Our view is that over the course of time the seat caps will go, but right now it’s a very important issue for customer perception,” said Hayes in an interview with Reuters, adding that blocking its middle seats will be “incredibly expensive” for the airline.
Hayes said the move will go through at least the first quarter of next year, but a spokesman said JetBlue will evaluate things after the holidays.
“As we still experience a higher than usual number of no-shows our crewmembers will proactively monitor and adjust seating assignments to spread out those onboard,” the spokesman said. “Through our ‘Safety from the Ground Up’ program, JetBlue continues to provide a layered approach to safety on the ground and in the air. We continue to rigorously clean and disinfect common surfaces in the airport and on board and utilize HEPA filters on our aircraft.”
Southwest, American and United have stopped blocking middle seats and resumed their sales.
Southwest cited reports from “trusted medical and aviation organizations” for reinstating the bookings, which could have been a reference to a Department of Defense study released the previous week. The study maintains that the risk of exposure to the coronavirus on flights is minimal.
Aviation officials have reported that flying overall is a low-risk proposition.
In extending the policy into 2021, JetBlue joins other carriers such as Alaska Airlines and Delta, both of whom have announced plans to extend their ban on booking middle seats to Jan. 6.
In an interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo earlier this month, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the carrier would block middle seats “well into next year,” although he did not provide a specific date.
