Jet Blue Closes Overhead Bins To Low-Fare Pax

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Budget fare customers flying JetBlue won’t have to worry about finding overhead bin space because they won’t be allowed to use it. Starting Feb. 25, on flights booked from July 20 onward, passengers with “Basic Blue” tickets will be barred from using the overheads and anything they carry on will have to fit under the seat in front of them. There’s also no guarantee those bags will get in the cabin, either. “Mosaic members, travelers combining a Blue Basic fare with an Even More Space seat, active military and unaccompanied minors may still bring a carry-on bag, but only Even More Space customers are guaranteed to get their bag onboard.”

The restrictions on low-fare customers do pay dividends for those who buy Jet Blue’s more expensive seats. There will be enough room in the bins to guarantee those in the top three fare classes a spot for their bag. If the calculation is off, those who have to check their bags will get a $25 voucher for a future flight.

Russ Niles
Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.

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11 COMMENTS

    • It began not long ago when they came up with Blue Basic fares. That fare was the same as a fare that included a seat selection prior to the fare restructuring. It also put you last in line to get onboard, thus risking not being able to get overhead bin space. It was a passive aggressive move to get you to pay more for the next level fare. Now they are putting more pressure on people to pony up more money by eliminating the carry on in the basic fare. In time they will devise more ways of getting more money for less service. Maybe the worst thing they did to me was switch from Coke to Pepsi products!

    • Prior to getting on, there will probably be a bag size check to make sure it fits under the seat in front of you. No fit, not flight.

  1. Looks like the Yellow cab riders who want limo benefits are being reminded they are only paying for a yellow cab! People want the world when they fly and some even act inhuman when they do it, yet they want, want, want. Hay, if you don’t like it take the bus.

  2. While employed in the industry some years ago, I remember seeing the bag measuring device located at the jetway entry. Many of the carry on bags didn’t fit and were boarded without complying. The result was oversize people trying to fit oversize bags into overhead containers. The struggle ensued and reminded me of a couple of summa wrestlers trying to get the other fellow into the corner.

    After numerous decades of observing that pax want more for less, decided the best way to handle this would be to sell tickets based on your total weight boarded. Having a scale next to the ticket counter and the display in big letters might convince some folks to downsize a bit.

  3. Another case of the bait and switch shell game played by the “bargain” airlines. Also, one more reason to fly myself and avoid the hassles.

  4. I first read this as “Jet Blue Closes Overhead Bins on Low-Fare Pax”, which struck me as a good idea. Otherwise the low-fare passengers riding in overhead bins might fall out onto the regular-fare passengers …

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