A trivial but persistent question: to those who frequently fly JetBlue: in your observation, have the new tiered fares (which now charge extra for checked bags) resulted in increased percentages of forced gate-checking, or no?
We always travel carryon-only, and this may make a big difference to our seat selections. (We'll be booking our flights in about a week, so I want to be prepared.) Since JetBlue loads "Even More Space" first, followed by 5 rows at a time from the back, choosing a seat up front would seem to almost guarantee that you'll be forced to gate check your carryon bags because the overhead bins will already be full. That was always a danger for the first five rows or so even before the baggage fees went into effect, but are those who choose seats in the middle now in danger, too? We like to sit just ahead of center (less turbulence, and we don't end up waiting an inordinately long time to get off the plane), but if the price for it is a forced gate check situation, we'll sit further back and endure a few more minutes' wait to get off the plane (while the passengers ahead of us, who always seem shocked and startled that they have to get off of the plane at the end of their journey, poke around, wandering up and down aimlessly trying to remember where they stowed their carryons, deciding that this would be the perfect time to stop, stand in the aisle and rearrange the contents of their luggage, slowly pull on outerwear, put away the several dozen things they got out to feed and entertain themselves -- you know, because getting through a 2 1/2-hour flight requires five courses of snacks and your entire electronics collection -- before finally moseying up the aisle, getting their too-wide luggage stuck between the seats repeatedly along the way, and generally driving me insane).
We always travel carryon-only, and this may make a big difference to our seat selections. (We'll be booking our flights in about a week, so I want to be prepared.) Since JetBlue loads "Even More Space" first, followed by 5 rows at a time from the back, choosing a seat up front would seem to almost guarantee that you'll be forced to gate check your carryon bags because the overhead bins will already be full. That was always a danger for the first five rows or so even before the baggage fees went into effect, but are those who choose seats in the middle now in danger, too? We like to sit just ahead of center (less turbulence, and we don't end up waiting an inordinately long time to get off the plane), but if the price for it is a forced gate check situation, we'll sit further back and endure a few more minutes' wait to get off the plane (while the passengers ahead of us, who always seem shocked and startled that they have to get off of the plane at the end of their journey, poke around, wandering up and down aimlessly trying to remember where they stowed their carryons, deciding that this would be the perfect time to stop, stand in the aisle and rearrange the contents of their luggage, slowly pull on outerwear, put away the several dozen things they got out to feed and entertain themselves -- you know, because getting through a 2 1/2-hour flight requires five courses of snacks and your entire electronics collection -- before finally moseying up the aisle, getting their too-wide luggage stuck between the seats repeatedly along the way, and generally driving me insane).
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