Since 2004, jetBlue has been my favorite airline, and the one I fly the most. So I notice when they change things. Well, it seems like every day now they’re changing the seat pitch in their Airbus A320 aircraft. I decided to do a little research into what the seat pitch has been over the years. Here is what I’ve come up with. (All dates are approximate.)
Prior to November 2003 (source)
Rows 1-27 = 32 inches of seat pitch
Seat pitch was roughly identical for every row on the plane.
November 2003 to February 2007 (source)
Rows 2-10 = 32 inches of seat pitch
Rows 1 and 11-26 = 34 inches of seat pitch
One row of seats was removed from the plane, and 17 rows (mainly in the rear of the plane) received an extra two inches of seat pitch. A trade off was created – sit in the back and get extra legroom, or sit in the front and get off the plane quicker.
February 2007 to March 2008 (source)
Rows 1-11 = 36 inches of seat pitch
Rows 12-25 = 34 inches of seat pitch
Yet another row of seats was removed. This allowed the rows in the front of the aircraft to gain additional legroom, thereby ending the trade off. Sitting in the front of the plane was now a win-win, more legroom and quicker deplaning.
March 2008 to Present (source)
Rows 2-5 and 10-11 = 38 inches of seat pitch (called Even More Legroom™)
Rows 1, 6-9 and 12-25 = 34 inches of seat pitch (called Lots of Legroom™)
Some rows in the front gained legroom, other rows in the front lost legroom, and the rows in the back didn’t change. Now it costs extra to choose to sit in one of the rows with the greatest legroom, whereas previously you could make the choice for free.
Interesting analysis. I flew close to 200k miles last year but none were on Jetblue.
As I read the title I expected that the blog will show how JetBlue cut back on leg room because that is the trend I see with all other airlines.
I have to say I am impressed with their work and might try to fly them more often.
When I lived in Houston is what I used to fly Continental regularly. But after moving to Detroit my options are limited to Northwest, United, and American. It is like having to pick between the lesser of three evils.
Qualitative resource
Thanks so much – this was exactly the info I was looking for!
JetBlue is awesome, especially when you realize they’ve only made it better since 2003, rather than teasing us with a good start and then cutting back over time. 34″ is way above industry average for ‘cheap seats’.
Do you have any experience with the new “BetaBlue” planes that have Wi-Fi? How many of these planes do they fly? Is there a decent chance of getting on one? How fast is the connection? Can you do anything besides e-mail and Amazon.com?
Glad my post was able to help. I couldn’t find anything like it on the web at the time, so that’s why I made the post.
I thought jetBlue only has one BetaBlue plane. I haven’t had any experience with it. All I know is just what’s on their website.