JetBlue is adding a new premium travel tier to its flights with perks including more leg room, two complimentary alcoholic drinks and early boarding as part of the airline’s blitz of higher-end options to draw more travelers to its flights.
The so-called EvenMore seats are located at the front of aircraft or directly behind the airline’s first class Mint seats, and offer a handful of amenities designed toward making customers’ air travels less cramped and more enjoyable. As of Thursday, customers can begin booking EvenMore seats through the Queens-based company’s website; the first flights with the new travel tier will take to the skies beginning on Jan. 28.
How much extra the new travel tier costs fliers varies by flight, but can more than double a standard plane ticket. For instance, a Blue Basic ticket for a March weekday flight from New York to San Francisco would cost $149, while an EvenMore seat on the same flight costs $357.
The new EvenMore tier is a new offering that uses existing mid-cabin seats on JetBlue planes that offer more legroom, and is part of a series of new initiatives from JetBlue to lean into deluxe features as a route toward profitability. Among those efforts is culling dozens of money-losing routes while expanding in high-traffic markets, such as New York, and opening its first airport lounges at JFK Airport and in Boston, to win over customers willing to shell out for travel perks.
Airlines, namely Georgia-headquartered Delta, Illinois-based United and Texas-based American, are reaping the financial benefits of doubling down on their premium cabins to help them recover from the financial hole created by a surge of cheap economy seats in the market this past year. Delta, United and American all reported spikes in premium seating revenue last year. The trend has left JetBlue and other discount carriers, like the Texas-based Southwest Airlines, scrambling to catch up.
JetBlue has struggled to compete with larger U.S. airlines since the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, the company reported $260 million in losses and an adjusted loss of $151 million in 2023. Within the first nine months of 2024 JetBlue reported losing $173 million, and the company had its effort to purchase discount carrier Spirit Airline blocked by a federal judge. A separate court last year similarly upheld a ruling that American Airlines cannot partner with JetBlue because it would stifle competition. Leadership at JetBlue has since doubled down on travel perks and adding new routes, particularly in the Northeast.
Equity analysts are hopeful, but still wary of JetBlue’s path to profitability. In a research note last Friday, Bank of America downgraded the airline’s stock to a rating of underperform from neutral. UBS and Goldman Sachs restated a sell rating for the company’s stock late last year.
JetBlue’s stocks were trading at over $8 per share — a more than 2% increase from the market’s opening bell — as of midday on Thursday.
Also this week, JetBlue noted it has begun accepting payments through Venmo, which is commonly used for peer-to-peer transactions. The option is live for bookings made through JetBlue’s website and will be available on the airline’s mobile app in the coming months, said the carrier.
Other airlines, including Delta, United and American, currently accept payment through PayPal, which is owned by Venmo.
