Me: I live in Silicon Valley with my wife, child and cat. I have worked at Microsoft since I graduated from College, both in the Macintosh Business Unit on products such as Outlook Express, Entourage, IE, and Virtual PC and in Windows Live on Hotmail, Calendar and People. I am currently a Principal Lead Program Manager on the Windows Live Social Networking team. I basically manage a team of Program Managers responsible for delivering features to support our web and client applications. I've been blogging since 2001 and like to play around with .NET in my spare time working on projects such as dasBlog (the blog that powers this site) and Send to SmugMug (an application for uploading photos to SmugMug). I blog about a number of technology and productivity related topics.
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© Copyright 2010, Omar Shahine
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JetBlue is a fantastic airline. I'm about to board my return flight from JFK to SJC, and I'm really impressed with everything to date.
We took the red-eye out to NYC last Wed night. There are a lot of really small but noticeable differences between JetBlue and most of the other commercial carriers. Before take off our Pilot actually got up in front of the plane to make his announcements. You mean we actually get to see the guy who is going to fly this fuel tank strapped to wings? Yep, and what a cool idea. You know, it's like going to a Sushi restaurant. You sort of expect to see the Sushi Chef's out front and center. I won't eat at a Sushi restaurant where you can't see where the food is prepared. Why should flying be any different?
Anyway, the planes are nice. seats are comfy, and the bottom of the seat even moves as you recline back (a feature usually only found on wide body international routes). The quality of the TV and Audio is great, especially when compared to the crap you are subjected to on airlines like American (the constant electronic buzzing and hissing that is more audible than whatever you are listening to). And lets not forget just how cool it is to watch LIVE TV, not some pre-recorded CBS Eye on America or Everybody Loves Raymond re-run.
Oh, have you ever gone to put your bag in the overhead bin to find all sorts of emergency medical equipment hogging it up? Yep, not on Jet Blue, they have special little bins for these so almost 100% of the overhead bin space is usable... that makes a big difference on a full flight. And they all take 24 inch bags wheels first.
The flight attendants are also fun and helpful. They aren't patronizing, or pissed because the airline's bankruptcy just screwed them over. They serve fun snacks (unlimited throughout the flight) and on Red Eye's they give out these nice Bliss Spa Shut-Eye Kits.
The terminal in New York is a bit on the old side, but it's got a nice selection of food options, and free wifi. Why don't all airlines give away free wifi?
Anyway, for the money, you can't beat the service, convenience and amenities. I actually like the fact that it's a once class plane. Lets face it, first or business class is da bomb, except when your not flying it. The rest of the time it sucks, makes boarding slower, and makes you feel like cattle... Moooo.
One last thing. The seats starting in row 13 and higher have 34 inches of seat pitch compared to every other airline at 32 inches. So if you are willing to wait a bit longer to get off the plane, you can stretch your legs... and when you are over 6 feet tall, ever extra inch of seat pitch matters.