Welcome to Tech Thursdays, penned by Miguel, tech expert and our Airport Operations Supervisor in San Jose, California. This month’s topic is Google Glass – that cool, new innovation from Google that will allow you to see the world through the eyes of other’s – and what it means for travel.

Technology plays a big part in travel, whether it’s snapping that stunning vacation photo or looking up the best place to eat. Even with today’s smartest smartphones and tablets, you have to pull the device out of your pocket, look down, swipe or punch buttons to access that powerful computing power when you need it. Google plans to make it less visible by putting it’s latest tech, well, right in front of your face.

They’re hoping to achieve this magic trick with Google Glass, high tech glasses that can display and capture information, photos and videos in front one of your eyes. Rather than swiping and touching buttons, Google Glass operates via voice commands, head gestures and simple tap controls. After watching several videos on YouTube, it’s tough to ignore the potential that Google Glass has to change the way we use it while traveling.

At JetBlue, we created some visual examples of how this technology might look like being used by customers flying with us. We like innovative ideas that inspire innovative thinking. Our ideas are just concepts, but conceptual thinking is a great way approach old problems in new ways, and maybe settle on something that really works and is achievable!

Say you’re flying from San Francisco to New York, for instance. You can see flight information as soon as you enter the San Francisco terminal. Upon arrival in JFK, you can tap your Glass and say, “Flight 644 baggage claim.” Viola! The information is revealed without missing a step. Want to know the taxi fare to your Boston destination? Just tap and talk to the Glass.

Since we’re in the “What I would do with Google Glass” daydreaming stage, allow me to take the concept of Augmented Reality a little further with some dreamed up voice commands that could potentially one day make your travel experience even easier:

“Check-in, select seat”

Easy enough for a voice command, right? Glass could return a response showing me a seat map and tell me which ones are available, or even give me the option of upgrading to an Even More Space seat.

“Play”

Once at cruising altitude, this voice command could give me a list of entertainment options in both in-flight or within my own library. I can choose to watch DIRECTV channels or play a game with another customer on board. All within the privacy of my Glass.

“Scan”

The usual view at 38,000 feet is lots and lots of beautiful fluffy clouds. I’m one of those flyers who look out the window and try to make out the landscape and geography. With the “scan” command, I’d get a display telling me information about the land, mountains and waterways while I’m flying over it. Add this to the complimentary DIRECTV and SiriusXM radio and that five hour flight just got extremely short.

“Translate”

With the built-in microphone, the Google Glass can also “hear” audio. Could can employ Glass to translate the language of the person talking while in, let’s say, Puerto Rico? With a little homework, you should be able to respond in proper Spanish with guidance from Glass.

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement with all the Google Glass news, YouTube videos and blogs. The concept of augmented reality intrigues and amazes, but how augmented do you want your reality to be? After watching my 50-pound computer shrink to fit my pocket, play video games simultaneously with 500,000 players worldwide and witnessing my cousin’s wedding live from 9,000 miles way, I say, “Why not?” I really doubt that this Glass is half-empty.

Read Miguel’s previous column Sharing the Gift and Don’t Leave Your Gadgets Behind.

Learn more about Miguel and stay tuned for the next edition of Tech Thursdays!

Today we’re hosting Analyst Day, our annual opportunity to take a deep dive with the financial community and share what makes JetBlue different and unique in our industry.

In addition to reviewing the current landscape with our investors, we’re sharing some new and exciting plans that we have on the horizon. Check out some of our updates below and stay tuned throughout the year for more details to come!

Inflight Wi-Fi

On our road to deliver the fastest in-flight wireless experience, the finish line is in sight! Today we’re pleased to share our latest milestone, the name of the best in-flight wireless service will be: Fly-Fi!

Most fliers probably agree that in-flight Wi-Fi is a cool concept, but those who have tried it don’t love the options they have today. Our service promises to up the experience to satisfy the increasing appetite for connectivity across multiple devices. Fly-Fi will be smarter, newer, faster and better than anything on the market today for commercial aviation. The up-side is, you’ll soon be able to experience Wi-Fi connections that do more than just frustrate you, the down-side is that because it’s a completely new way to deliver connectivity, there’s still a lot of testing to be done before the FAA, signs off, and our customers start seeing it on their JetBlue flights.

Check out this video demonstration where ViaSat compares the time required to load 10 web pages on our new Wi-Fi versus the existing service. 

* Real-time example of current services alongside Exede Internet satellite-to-ground test (not yet tested in-air). Actual speeds for all products will generally vary.

Extensive ground testing is currently being conducted by our partners, LiveTV and ViaSat, to make sure our Wi-Fi works well when deployed in the sky. We plan to install the Wi-Fi equipment on our first aircraft coming soon, at which point an extensive FAA certification process begins. Barring any setbacks during certification, we expect our first Wi-Fi-enabled flight with customers to take to the skies later this year.

Learn more about our Ka-Band-powered Wi-Fi

Premium Transcon Product

We announced this morning our intent to introduce a premium transcon product. Just as we started JetBlue with the mission to “bring humanity back to air travel,” we’ll continue to deliver the best core product and service in the skies with the things you’ve come to know and love like: the full can of soda, free TV and radio at every seat, the most legroom in coach, first checked bag free, and excellence in customer service.

We’ll plan on introducing a premium experience that offers a better product at a lower price in the highly competitive transcontinental market. We’re approaching our plans around a premium transcon product with a target launch date in 2014. Stay tuned for more plans to be unveiled later this year!

Growth in South Florida 

We’ll continue to focus our growth in the Northeast and New England, where we’re the largest domestic carrier at New York’s JFK and Boston’s Logan, and we’ll also look to grow our service in South Florida. Think: Fort Lauderdale south. Oh, the possibilities! Palm trees anyone?

We’re excited about our growth strategy and look forward to continuing to expand our network and product and service offerings through responsible and sustainable business practices.

GIFSoup

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, I decided to draw some vacation inspiration from the luck of the Irish and explore Ireland for the first time. As a JetBlue flight attendant, I am fortunate to have the freedom to travel often. For this trip I wanted to tour a new destination that felt far away, but was possible to explore over a long weekend. Ireland perfectly fit the bill!

Who knew a trip to Ireland could be so easy? JetBlue’s partnership with Aer Lingus makes travel to Dublin, Shannon and an array of other destinations across Europe fast and convenient. You can fly to Ireland or beyond through JetBlue’s gateway cities, New York, Boston or Orlando, and your checked bags will automatically transfer through to your final destination. I opted to fly through the night so I could sleep on the plane. When I arrived in Dublin, it was time to start my day and embark on my wonderful Ireland adventure.

I always imagine what a new place will be like before I arrive, and Ireland was exactly what I had envisioned and hoped for. It was so beautifully green, and of course rainy and foggy too. I packed an array of outfits but in the end I only needed a rain jacket and my Wellies. Despite — or maybe even because of — the gloomy Irish weather, which only added to the old-world charm and romanticism, I had a wonderful trip.

After arriving in Dublin, I rented a car to drive the Giant’s Causeway to Northern Ireland. The journey wound through many little coastal towns with beautiful seaside cottages. At points it was so foggy I couldn’t take pictures of the scenic villages, and I’ll have to keep them only in my memory. But the fog made the little villages feel even more remote and quaint.

Next I visited Belfast, trading small villages for a large city. While there, my favorite sightseeing outing was visiting the authentic Titanic landmark. The Titanic was built in Belfast and the museumtakes you through the building of the great ship and its unfortunate history.

After Belfast, I made a trip to Larne, a famous coastal area. From there, I passed through more picturesque seaside villages and journeyed to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge in Ballintoy. The bridge, an historic landmark run by the National Trust, is positioned at a high altitude and offers amazing views. While I loved the adventure of walking across the bridge, other visitors wouldn’t cross due to their fear of heights. Even if you just gaze up at the wonderful creation, it’s a must-see destination.

Later, I visited Dunluce Castle, the remnants of a medieval castle. I was completely swept up in the history and romanticism of the castle and captured the most beautiful photographs. The scenery is so majestic and dramatic it turns even an amateur shutterbug’s photos into professional-quality shots.

Then it was back down through the countryside, balancing the sea views from the first leg of the trip with beautiful green rolling hills. Many colorfully-dyed sheep populate the countryside. Their wooly bodies of pink and blue pop against the deep green background and create a gorgeous, colorful vista.

I also had a chance to visit the Guinness Brewery in Dublin, the city of Derry and the village of Bushmills and its whiskey distillery. Considering I arrived on Friday morning and departed on Monday, I truly cannot believe all the amazing places I was able to cover in such a short visit. Ireland truly is a navigable and magical place.

Visiting the building site of the Titanic, crossing the exhilarating Rope Bridge and basking in the romance of the Dunluce Castle were by far the highlights of my trip. The beauty of the landscape is awe-inspiring and, with so many historical places to see, Ireland is a trip you won’t soon forget.

Remember when you travel to Ireland to train your brain to drive on the left side of the road. I absolutely recommend renting a car, but driving on the opposite side of the road definitely throws you for a loop at first. Also, a GPS is a must! With so many roundabouts, a GPS comes in very handy. You can get one at the local car rental facility.

The trip wouldn’t have been complete without learning about those mystical creatures, the leprechauns. Also known as the “wee folk,” leprechauns are relayed as being both friendly and cranky and enjoy good-natured trickery from time to time. Supposedly, if one of these mystical little beings befriends you, you’ll have a friend for life.

As you prepare for your St. Patrick’s Day festivities, remember that no Irish celebration is complete without music, singing and dancing. Sláinte!

Check out Tracy’s slideshow with images from her trip on Huffington Post
Read Tracy’s previous columns
Learn more about our Wingwoman Tracy

Welcome to A Day in the Life, where we take you behind the scenes at JetBlue to learn more about the important jobs that work in concert together to run a major airline. This time, we visit with Rick, who manages our National Sponsorships.

Rick sporting of all his sponsorship swag

Rick’s overarching task is to identify and suggest potential partnerships that align with our commercial goals and match our sensibilities as a brand. Innovative brands with passionate fan bases, like our partnerships with Barclays Center in Brooklyn and USC Athletics, for instance, are a great fit for us given that we’re an airline that likes to do things differently. Each partnership decision is made with a delicate level of consideration in order to build brand awareness in the focus cities that we serve as well as building trust with our customers. Partnerships are one important way that we’re able to show we care about the same things that those in the communities that we serve attach themselves to.

Rick has worked on JetBlue’s Brand and Advertising team for the past two years vetting, researching, coordinating and managing our sponsorship partners. His work has extended beyond just sports; other programs he’s worked on include our entertainment partnerships such as the Tribeca Film Festival, our concert series Live From T5, and our online store ShopBlue. He also helps vet and direct any number of other, more localized sponsorship requests that come in to our Promotions or Regional Marketing teams for further consideration.

Partnership renewal announcement with Florida Panthers in Fort Lauderdale

If you open Rick’s desk drawer you’ll find a sports fan’s greatest dream – tickets to all sorts of sporting events; football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, golf, to name a few. No, Rick doesn’t keep them for himself (although he does get to go to some great events), but he coordinates allocating these tickets from our partners to crewmembers, customers and business partners.

The most challenging part of Rick’s job? “Saying no to people,” he relays. Rick receives dozens of sponsorship requests each week, and he evaluates each one through the lens of our allotted resources and whether it’s a brand fit to determine whether it might be pursued further. He helps guide our approach in each of our partnership ventures based on the unique aspects of a particular region. New York, for instance, is very different from Boston or from Salt Lake City in terms of how we look to partner and what the terms of those partnerships look like. Our partnership with Utah’s soccer team Real Salt Lake, for instance, is focused around supporting our 2,000 Customer Support crewmembers, contrasted with Boston, where we’re the largest carrier and the Red Sox are the most attended team in the city.

Opening Day at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Florida

Sports are a “passion point” for Rick and he enjoys that the focus on his work is also of personal interest to him. While he feels lucky to have met athletes and celebrities and engage in great experiences, he prefers to “stay in the background and let JetBlue and its crewmembers be the focus.”

Rick sees his job as an opportunity to “create experiences for people that they’re never going to forget,” like the customer whose request to fly on the Jets plane was met or the crewmember who got the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Red Sox game. One of the most interesting parts of Rick’s job is coordinating partner livery designs like we did with the Jets and the Red Sox, among others.

Brooklyn Nets cheerleaders at our home at JFK’s T5

When Rick’s not at major league sports arenas or rubbing shoulders with athletes and sports personalities, he is consumed with tasks like contract negotiations with our potential new partners. Negotiating terms of a new partnership can take anywhere from a few weeks to more than a year. He also spends time on arguably less glamorous though no less important tasks like mailing materials and tickets our for various purposes, and coordinating assets like charter flights as well as advertising, in-stadium signage and creative events to promote the partnerships and JetBlue.

Prior to JetBlue, Rick worked for Madison Square Garden on such partnerships as Absolut Vodka, Capital One and Delta (where knowledge of the airline industry helped prepare him for his current post).

Check out the previous editions of A Day In The Life and meet:

• Rob, Jeff and Sophia from our Government Affairs team
• Penny from our Care and Emergency Response team
• Rachel from our Airport Operations team
• Icema, Kate, Jenna and Irma from our Corporate Social Responsibility team
• Caroline, Ashley and Donny from our Product Development team
• Frank and Jerry in Technical Operations
• Kristi in Customer Support
• Rick, an Executive Coordinator for our CEO
• Chris, Lashonne and Jaclyn from  Brand Design
• Jeff and Greg from Schedule Planning
• Loretta in Security
• Chris in Inflight
• Morgan in Social Media
• Don in Air Traffic System Control
• Mike in Ground Operations
• And stay tuned for the next edition!

Mother Nature sure has a sassy way of telling us it’s not quiet Spring yet. The Northeast and New England regions are seeing snowy, windy conditions today. As a result, we’re waiving change/cancel fees and fare differences for those traveling today to/from the following cities with an opportunity to rebook through Sunday, March 10:

Northeast

• Boston, MA (BOS)
• Hartford, CT (BDL)
• Providence, RI (PVD)

New York Metro Area

• John F. Kennedy (JFK)
• LaGuardia (LGA)
• Newark, NJ (EWR)
• Newburgh, NY (SWF)
• White Plains, NY (HPN)

To rebook your flight for travel Friday, March 8 through Sunday, March 10 call us at 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583) prior to the departure time of your originally scheduled flight.  Customers with cancelled flights may also opt for a refund to the original form of payment by calling 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583).  Original travel must have been booked on or before Friday, March 8, 2013.

Be sure to check the status of your flight at jetblue.com or mobile.jetblue.com from your smartphone before leaving for the airport and leave extra time to get to the airport.

Last week we added to our network with the launch of service to Charleston, but we still have more expansion where that came from!

We’re pleased to announce new service connecting Chicago and the Caribbean with a daily nonstop flight from O’Hare to our San Juan Focus City starting November 20!

Schedule:
Depart ORD 0930 Arrive SJU 1610 [A320]
Depart SJU 1545 Arrive ORD 1855 [A320]

We currently serve 14 destinations from San Juan including ten in the continental U.S — Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Hartford, Jacksonville, New York (JFK), Newark, Orlando, Tampa, Washington (Reagan National) and West Palm Beach — and four around the Caribbean — Santo Domingo, Sint Maarten, St. Croix, and St. Thomas.

SJU Airport to be privatized

The news comes as we celebrate the successful privatization of Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, making SJU the first major airport in the U.S. to be operated by a private consortium. Aerostar Airport Holdings will operate the Caribbean’s busiest airport under terms of a 40-year deal with the Government of Puerto Rico.

Welcome to Unpacked, where we demystify hot topics in the airline industry! The hot topic across many industries this week is South by Southwest (SXSW), the annual festival showcasing some of the best and brightest in music, film and interactive art. Held in Austin, Texas each year, SXSW has gained a larger presence each year and we’re proud to be flying artists and attendees in from points across the JetBlue network.

Airport crewmembers Lauren and Brad rock out on the air guitar

This week, our Austin team is getting prepared for their busiest two weeks of the year. South by Southwest is the largest music festival in the world with more than 2,500 official performers and bands playing in more than 100 venues. A festival of this magnitude attracts musicians from all over the world and has continued to grow each year. This year Austin Bergstrom International Airport is projecting 177,000 in attendance throughout the week.

You don’t have to be at SXSW to feel like you’re at the festival. When you land at the airport in Austin, you’ll immediately be immersed into the SXSW vibe, with live performances, a lounge, decor, and our always-enthusiastic crewmembers ready to help you have a great travel experience.

Austin, TX prides itself as the Live Music Capital of the World

We’ve partnered with Salesforce, a customer relationship management (CRM) software and cloud computing brand, to build a pretty sweet experience called Cloud Lounge. Come check it out if you’re in town at 5th and Brazos. We’ll have our Austin crewmembers on hand handing out our signature Terra Blue Chips and a chance to snap some pics and upload directly to your Facebook or Twitter.

You can also enter to win tickets on JetBlue by snapping a pic at or near the #CloudLounge and Tweet it using the #CloudLounge and #marketingcloud hashtags. Learn more about the contest here.

We’ve partnered with Salesforce to create the Cloud Lounge, a cool space that’s worth checking out at 5th Street and Brazos in town

Our Austin station currently offers nonstop flights between Long Beach, San Francisco, Boston, New York’s JFK, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. This year alone, we added two daily JFK nonstops and one daily SFO nonstop throughout the festival week. South by Southwest’s mixture of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies is the premier destination for discovery.

Daily performances from local artists can be found performing in the terminal

For customers who wish to follow updated information while traveling in and out of Austin, follow us @JetBlue #JetBlueAUS

Check out our previous editions of Unpacked and stay tuned for the next up!

They say March comes in like a lion and the impending winter weather system proves that old saying true. We anticipate the weather will hit the Mid-Atlantic region this afternoon and overnight, with large snowfall and strong winds forecast in the Capital region into tomorrow. The Northeast region may see rain turning into snow tomorrow into Thursday.

We’re monitoring the weather closely and have proactively cancelled some flights beginning tonight and into tomorrow. We’ve also issued fee waivers for changes and cancellations for customers traveling to/from the below listed cities:

Fee Waivers

Customers traveling Tuesday and Wednesday, March 5 & 6, 2013, to/from the following cities can rebook through Monday, March 11:

Washington DC Metro Area

• Baltimore, MD (BWI)
• Washington, DC (DCA)
• Washington, DC (IAD)
• Richmond, VA (RIC)

Customers traveling Wednesday and Thursday, March 6 & 7, 2013, to/from the following cities can rebook through Monday, March 11:

New York Metro Area

• John F. Kennedy (JFK)
• LaGuardia (LGA)
• Newark, NJ (EWR)
• Newburgh, NY (SWF)
• White Plains, NY (HPN)

 Northeast

• Boston, MA (BOS)
• Hartford, CT (BDL)
• Providence, RI (PVD)
• Portland, ME (PWM)

If you’re scheduled to travel with us today through Thursday, be sure to check the status of your flight before leaving for the airport. Customers with smartphones can check the status of their flight at mobile.jetblue.com.

Stay tuned to the National Weather Service for the latest forecast and to jetblue.com for the most up to date fee waivers.

Our Even More Speed expedited security experience recently launched in our Burbank (BUR) BlueCity, making it the 48th destination to offer this unique product (Charleston is number 49, which launched with our inaugural service last Thursday). With the launch of BUR, we now have Even More Speed up and running throughout our entire domestic network.

Even More Speed is currently available in the following cities:

Learn more about our Even More offerings

Yesterday we launched service to our 76th BlueCity, Charleston, South Carolina. We were greeted with warm reception by the Charleston community when our first flight landed from New York’s JFK. Check out the below images from our first day serving Charleston and learn more about our newest destination.