Review: Jetblue Aguadilla to Tampa Economy Even More Space

NI always love going to smaller airports. Having been born and raised in Puerto Rico, I always knew of the smaller airports across the island. My family flies out of SJU (San Juan International), and have wanted to fly out of the smaller airports. I finally got a chance to fly out of Aguadilla (BQN) to Tampa on Jetblue. Enjoy my review Jetblue Aguadilla to Tampa in Jetblue’s extra legroom seats (Even More Space).

Note:

Dear Reader,

Before you begin this review journey with me, I want you to know that this review is a bit dated. It is from before the COVID pandemic. I had planned on publishing this one and others slowly during and after the pandemic. However, my job at the time requested I not write them. As some of the airlines were their clients, they explicitly requested I refrain from writing anything that could imply any conflict of interest. Recently, after starting a new job, I have decided to publish this one and others. I will note wherever I can what has changed, and include a year for when the flight happened, in the interest of clarity. Please enjoy this review!

Aguadilla Airport & Check In

After spending the morning at Arecibo (one of the larger towns in the northwest of Puerto Rico), my family dropped me off at the Aguadilla airport. The airport is very small and only opens three hours before a scheduled departure. There is a USDA station before you enter the check in area. There are a total of three check zones, one for United, Spirit and Jetblue. With only two flights leaving during the daytime hours, the area was mostly desolate, but for the two Jetblue agents and some airport management staff chatting with the owner of a coffee shop.

Check-in was a breeze, with our boarding passes printed from the check in machine less than 3 minutes after passing the USDA station. The security line opens 90 minutes prior to departure of any flight. There is a TSA PreCheck lane.

Terminal & Boarding

After security, there is one large waiting area for flights. There was one coffeeshop in the terminal, as a duty free shop. At most, there are two 737-sized flights leaving in the wee hours in the evening. The terminal would comfortably fit the 300ish people. There are very few power ports, and no tables to work on.

The inbound flight was late, and boarding was called 15 minutes after scheduled departure. As there are no jetbridges, we boarded the flight through stairs. Unusual to the United States, they were boarding from the front and aft stairs. I asked to board through the aft stairs. Not often I’ve gotten to do that!

Jetblue A320 Economy Class Cabin

Jetblue’s A320 cabin is equipped in an all economy layout. The interior was outfitted with the most recent seat covers and IFE screens. The humidity made the cabin look eerie, with condensation coming out of the air vents.

The flight was mostly full, with only a couple of middle seats open across the aircraft.

Even More Space Seat

Even More Space is Jetblue’s extra legroom product. It has about 3″ more pitch than their regular economy seats. (37″ vs. 34″). As the aircraft was recently refreshed, it has the newest IFE screens. There was also Jetblue’s FlyFi fast Wi-Fi, that was available from the ground. Although there is no live TV on flights to Puerto Rico, I was able to use the FlyFi to stream Youtube TV on my phone.

For most of the flight, I kept the screen on the moving map, my favorite tool on IFE screens. There were also USB ports at every seat.

Aguadilla Airport Departure

Once the fight was done with boarding, we had to wait a few minutes as there were storms near Tampa. When we pushed back, there was a ramp agent wearing a “pava” (a traditional Puerto Rican straw hat). It was a nice touch. The hat combined practicality with a “one last view” of Puerto Rican culture as you depart.

The views leaving the Puerto Rican northwest coast were so special. I was raised in Puerto Rico and had never had a chance to view the West Coast this way.

Even More Space Service

As an economy plus service, there was not much product differentiation between regular economy and Even More Space service. I ordered a soda (rare to see Pepsi on US airlines) and some plantain chips.

The flight attendants were friendly, and after the free snack service, they came by asking if people wanted anything from the buy-on-board menu. After that, they came by the Even More Space seats a few times, offering cups of water.

Arrival at Tampa Airport

Having avoided the storms, we landed on a wet and sunny Tampa in the afternoon. We landed about 30 minutes late. The taxi to the gate was quick, and we arrived at the famous “flamingo” terminal.

Conrado’s Thoughts

This flight was a treat. It was very special to be able to fly out of the Puerto Rican western airport. Jetblue still provides a top-notch economy class product, with quality IFE, free Wi-Fi, and a variety of free snacks and drinks. I do hope they continue their commitment to Puerto Rico, as they are the only airline currently flying to all three major airports. I am excited to fly into/out of Ponce Mercedita airport, the third large airport. It is located on the south of the island, about an hour and half away by driving from San Juan, but close to some of the other fun things to do in Puerto Rico, like coffee farms, a bioluminescent bay, and the only desert biome in Puerto Rico.