JetBlue Blog

Turkeys are defrosting, yams are baking, and folks are packing to make the journey to spend Thanksgiving with friends and family. Is JetBlue a part of your Thanksgiving plans? If so – thank you!

Here’s how the weekend is shaping up. Delays are possible, but as our Chief Operating Officer Rob says in this video to our crewmembers, our job is to get you to you where you need to go for the holidays and back.

Interesting factoids about our holiday operations:

• We’ll be operating more than 3,500 flights between now and Sunday
• We’re flying more than half a million people to their turkey destinations of choice
• To ease congestion in the air, we’re taking advantage of the FAA’s Holiday Airspace Release Program (HARP) Tuesday through Sunday
• We have spare aircraft dedicated to supporting the operation over the holidays
• We’ve added flights for the holiday week to reduce potential travel delays and meet customer demand
• Our Terminal 5 at JFK has a spacious check-in lobby and the largest single security checkpoint in America to ease your holiday travel experiences
• You can bring your turkey and your pumpkin pie on JetBlue (so long as you can fit in under your seat or in the overhead), but mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce might not make it through TSA security. Visit TSA’s site for information about what holiday food you can travel with

Tips for navigating the holiday travel weekend :

• Stayed tuned to weather.com for the latest Thanksgiving forecast in both your departure as well as arrival cities
• Check your flight status before heading to the airport
• Follow any social media-friendly airports you’ll be flying out of and into (or your favorite airline, JetBlue) on Twitter or Facebook for timely information
• Leave some extra time to get through security if you’re flying this weekend
• If delayed, pack your patience (and maybe a laptop) and check out which airports offer free Wi-Fi for your web surfing convenience
• If you’re traveling through our home base at JFK’s Terminal 5 (T5), you can take advantage of our free Wi-Fi, plug into one of our many available outlets to recharge, or recharge the old-fashioned way with a quality meal or some shopping in our 55,000-square-foot Marketplace

And remember, your first checked bag flies free on JetBlue!

Leave your own holiday travel tips in the comments section below.