JetBlue are going to offer an entirely new service concept for passengers in coach – that’s economy class to you and me – on their transatlantic flights. Could this mean they ditch the cart to provide better on board service?
Today’s announcement reveals they will allow people to select their meals from their entertainment screen. There’s a sample menu right here. The concept is that you choose one main and two sides and get what you asked for delivered to you. But how?
Will They Ditch The Cart?
Another writer mentioned possible issues and wrote, “Having a single aisle aircraft complicates meal service; if someone needs to use the restroom the service cart often needs to be moved around.” They also made comments around the method of selection possibly slowing service. Quite true!
However, it is possible things will be done entirely differently. Before the advent of the Boeing 747, airlines mainly served meals directly from the galley. The meals were plated up and crew members delivered them individually by hand.
If it’s the latter, people won’t all eat at once and there will be plenty of time for the flight attendants to take the meals out on demand. Since they’re all complimentary, you would assume most would want to eat, but not everyone needs to eat at once.
Overall Thoughts
JetBlue is really innovating here. What with complimentary meals, free drinks, unlimited free high speed WiFi, and the pantry, it appears to be a winner all round. Let’s hope the execution is just as good as the marketing guff.
You can see all the details about the new London onboard service here. It certainly looks exceptional and is a very exciting development all round. Now all we need to see is the price. Since a launch is obviously imminent, my credit card is waiting and ready for action!
What do you think JetBlue will do? Will they ditch the cart or will they do a traditional cart service? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Images via JetBlue.
B6 has to differentiate themselves. Mint is one way, this another. jetBlue doesn’t fly to my home airport (St Louis) and even if they did, the markets they might serve from here are of little interest to me (NYC/BOS/MCO/FLL) and the connecting opportunities would be limited. But they are jumping into shark-infested waters going TATL and a unique product may give them whatever advantage they can to win over their loyal (coastal) customers. I wish them the best.
Me too! I think they can carve out a niche for themselves and make money, so hopefully it all works out for them.
It looks like they’re getting rid of the carts – the website says:
Tap your seatback screen to build one of 9 possible combos of mains + bases and sides from a rotating menu of seasonal hot and chilled ingredients
Yes, that’s what I saw as well. I was just surprised another blogger was all concerned about service carts, as though that was some kind of must. I also reckon they would be getting rid of the carts, and if they aren’t, then they should really think about that. Thanks for the comment!
It’ll be interesting to hear what the FA’s think about this…
Yes, I agree! It’ll be different, that’s for sure… if that’s what they do.