Jetblue or Southwest into FLL advice?

I'm looking at flights from Buffalo into FLL. I am very familiar with Southwest but not so much with JetBlue.

Can someone please let me know how they differ.

Are the planes newer?

Entertainment on the planes?

Snacks?

Seating comfort?

How do they assign seats, can I likely sit together with my family?

Are they often on time?

Anything else?

Price is actually better to do one way Southwest and one way JetBlue.

Since JetBlue announced they will start charging for bags, we booked flights for our next cruise on SW - cheaper and no bag fees. :cool:

Since JetBlue announced they will start charging for bags, we booked flights for our next cruise on SW - cheaper and no bag fees. :cool:

I'm more interested in the other info though. The price is comparable with the bag fee....

As the questions you have are all about the airline, it's amenities and such, and not really about Florida, I would be asking on the Cruise Air board. There you will find LOTS of people who have flown JetBlue and Southwest and can compare them.

I would MUCH rather fly JetBlue than Southwest. Entertainment? JetBlue has complimentary DirecTV at every seat - Southwest has none. JetBlue also has more standard legroom than Southwest, or any other major airline for that matter. But the biggest thing, especially when traveling as a family, you pick your own seat assignments when you book. Southwest has no seat assignments, and there is always a chance your family won't get to sit together. That for me is a deal breaker.

CruiserBruce has it right.

For airlines specific information the Cruise Air board is best to be asking this question.

Keith

As the questions you have are all about the airline, it's amenities and such, and not really about Florida, I would be asking on the Cruise Air board. There you will find LOTS of people who have flown JetBlue and Southwest and can compare them.

THIS.

Plus by using Google you can compare airline/ planes used for the particular flight/route. All details (and reviews) are available. Just do a bit of researching and you'll find all the objective info you want.

Don't fly southwest, where my family used to live I would have to leave out of Newark.

Nephew just finsihed four years at SUNY Fredonia so flew to Buffalo a few times.

Jetblue from Buffalo you will have to change in Boston or JFK. Most flights it is change at JFK.

Most flights out of BUF are on E190 which is two by two seating but still get DirectTV and Sirrus Radio. From experience there are one or two A320 (3x3 seating) flights out of Buffalo. They are rolling out WiFi but on their bigger planes (A320/21) first. Their movies on fights greater than 2 hours is $5.

Free snacks and non alcoholic drinks but on the short flight out of Buffalo you will get express service which is a drink and only one or two choices of snacks. On board service is different, no cart down the isle. The come get your drink order and then come back with it. Without a first class all three flight attendants work the entire cabin so it is quicker. Full service you have the "blue chips" to nachos to cookies. Even with the express service I've seen people ask for a 2nd drink and not be refused.

Yes you now have to "pay" for a bag they redid their price structure but it starts at about $14 more for the first bag. If you buy the ticket without paying up front for a checked bag its $20 online $25 at the airport which is equal or better than most. Quick look is $15 price difference between no bag and one bag for BUF to FLL. They also lowered the 2nd bag fee. There is their third pricing level that includes two bags and no change fees (pay fare difference) as well.

You could also fly into West Palm Beach (PBI) an hour or so drive south if pricing was better. Jetblue website when you type in FLL will give you the option for South Florida airports which would be both of them.

You choose your seat, JBU still advertises "most room in coach" and at 6'8" I don't pay for the "even more space " seats on the flight to/from Buffalo but will to Florida.

Even more space on the E190 is the first row and exit row and two more rows behind the exit. A320 it is the five front rows and the two exit rows. I haven't been on an A321 but they have a another row as there are two exit rows.

Currently even more space comes with even more time so you are the second group to board behind those needed assistance and their high mileage loyalty members. You also get priority security with even more time at certain airports.

Regular boarding after loyalty and even more time is back of the aircraft forward. They will call the high end rows and move forward rather quickly.

I've seen various enforcement of the "need assistance" boarding from only allowing the person and ONE person to board, to the "Miracle Flights" where you MUST be in a wheel chair to board first to nothing enforced.

Same for row number, stopping lower numbered rows when boarding the rear of the aircraft to non-enforcement. You will NOT have the southwest boarding experience but overall majority of the time it is smooth.

My family just moved to Florida so I'm going from flying the majors with never having a direct flight flying south to change planes to go north to now flying Jetblue and I like it!

Let me know if I missed anything.

As the questions you have are all about the airline, it's amenities and such, and not really about Florida, I would be asking on the Cruise Air board. There you will find LOTS of people who have flown JetBlue and Southwest and can compare them.

Thanks for the tip. I'd never noticed that forum and wasn't sure where to best post this. Thanks.

Jetblue from Buffalo you will have to change in Boston or JFK. Most flights it is change at JFK.

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Jet Blue has one direct, non stop flight a day to Ft. Lauderdale and to Buffalo.

If schedule and price (including bags) are the same. JetBlue in a heartbeat. Planes are nicer, best legroom and entertainment on any domestic carrier.

I had been comparing flight prices from Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale on the major search engines and forgot that JetBlue isn't on them. So, I went to their website and found that they have a non-stop that was nearly 1/2 the price of the other carriers ... and all of the others forced connections in Chicago, NYC, Atlanta, etc. We booked JetBlue.

I was just faced with the same decision this week when I purchased my cruise air to Port Canaveral. After checking with seatguru.com and comparing the actual planes that I would be flying on, JetBlue had slightly wider seats and more legroom. They also had more free in-flight entertainment with a screen on the back of each seat. Also, on Jetblue I could get an assigned seat at time of purchase. Southwest doesn't assign seats and I usually spend another $12.50 per ticket each way to get an "A" number in the boarding process. In addition, if you happen to be cruising on Royal Caribbean, JetBlue participates in the Choice Air program and Southwest does not. Either way, have a safe flight and a wonderful cruise!

We recently booked with Jet Blue over Southwest, same flight Buffalo to FL, and it was half the price of SW.....can't beat that!

we also booked before they added the baggage fee, so that was a bonus, but even with the new baggage fee it was cheaper with JB.

we have even selected our seats at time of booking, no extra charge!

I had been comparing flight prices from Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale on the major search engines and forgot that JetBlue isn't on them.

They're on Kayak, I use that one all of the time.

I have flown both airlines to Fort Lauderdale, and I really like Jet blue, they have tv's in the back of every seat, makes the time go fast. And I am pretty sure Jet Blue is now owned by Southwest.

And I am pretty sure Jet Blue is now owned by Southwest.

You must be thinking of Southwest's purchase of AirTran, which actually occurred several years ago but the AirTran brand remained until late last year.

And I am pretty sure that if the two largest non-legacy airlines had merged there would have been some serious discussion and publicity (in the extreme unlikelihood that the government would approve such a sale in the first place).

I had high hopes for JetBlue since they are coming into Albany in December. Well, "high" was what they were -- at least the prices were. Well over two times what we are paying on Southwest and no flexibility offered with their lower fares. I like the fact that we can cancel/re-book if the flight gets cheaper on Southwest and have a year to use the funds.

While I wouldn't say no to choosing my seats ahead of time, I'm not paying an extra $250+ per person for that privilege. I'm really disappointed that JetBlue's prices are no where near competitive in our market.

They're on Kayak, I use that one all of the time.

Thanks zdcatc12 ... In haven't used Kayak but will add them to my list!!

We booked Southwest from Cleveland to FLL and Jetblue for the return flight from FLL to Cleveland. I have flown Southwest often and am usually pleased. In this case I chose based on flight times and price. I was lucky to have booked on Jetblue before they started charging for baggage.

Jetblue is my favorite domestic airlines for all the reasons everyone's posted.

One tip: when the snack basket comes around, which is usually twice on a 2.5 hour trip and more for longer journeys, you can take as many snacks as you want. My favorites are the blue corn chips and usually a couple of packages of Famous Amos cookies.

Another tip: if you're a member of Amazon Prime, you have access to Amazon's Instant Video library on the Jetblue screen, including all the free Amazon Prime videos.

I'm looking at flights from Buffalo into FLL. I am very familiar with Southwest but not so much with JetBlue.

 

Can someone please let me know how they differ.

 

Are the planes newer?

Entertainment on the planes?

Snacks?

Seating comfort?

How do they assign seats, can I likely sit together with my family?

Are they often on time?

Anything else?

 

Price is actually better to do one way Southwest and one way JetBlue.

If your considering flying from BUF you should also check cheapy airlines Spirit and Allegiant that fly from IAG airport (30 min closer then BUF coming from Canada)

Depending on the month your going sometimes you can get great deals on Spirit from $34 to $58 each way. Best price I ever seen was $25 each way (yes thats not a typo $25 for a direct flight to FLL cheaper then 2 meals at a fast food chain in Canada or case of beer lol)

JetBlue is not owned by Southwest, JetBlue does have direct flights to FLL daily- there may be a connection on other flights and yes they could be in BOS or JFK. A direct flight BUF-FLL is approximately 2.5 hours so it really depends on your choice- price vs. amenities. Our last trip April, 2015 we flew JetBlue BUF-JFK-FLL. It was great. Our return trip was on Delta FLL-DTW-BUF- we flew first class for less than some paid to fly in coach. It all depends on what a person wants.:):D:cool:

We fly BUF to FLL frequently and almost exclusively on Southwest. We love SW! If you book all of your tix at same time (one confirmation #) and then check in right at 24 hour before you most certainly will get seats together. The absolute BEST advantage to booking with SW is they have no charge for cancellations and offer price protection. So if the price of your flight goes down at anytime before your departure you can get the difference in a future credit. Or if you have to cancel they just hold the amount you paid (without penalty) for a future flight. Southwest also has non-stops from BUF to FLL. I just paid $123 for a NS for my February cruise. No baggage fees either. Also, they do have free wifi and some flights have the screens on the back of the seats or you can watch satellite TV for free on your laptop, phone, etc. You can't go wrong with SW!