JetBlue won’t fit our airline needs

2 weeks ago

To the editor:

A JetBlue Airbus isn’t going to be a fit for the PQI terminal. Until there’s a new terminal 100-seat planes won’t work. Right now the 50-seat CRJ’s fill the little terminal. If in two or three years there’s a new terminal, then JetBlue and it’s equipment might be feasible/realistic. 

Logan is rated the ninth worst airport for on-time service, and Newark is third. The numbers are barely different in the volume. And Logan is horrible for transfers and ground transportation. 

Snacks? On the quick drop to Logan there’d be no time to have that cup of coffee or crumbly cookie. That’s kind of reaching. 

Are there that many people who need to go to Boston for medical service? Why not have a small regional service with once- or twice-a-week fights for medical transportation needs? Uprooting full airline connectivity offered by United Airlines to Newark for some undefined volume of doctors appointments doesn’t pass a needs test. 

JetBlue right now is not in a solid financial position with the debt and future equipment acquisition expenses it faces, and after it’s denied merger with Spirit. 

One flight a day doubles the rate of delay or cancellation that two daily flights present. Most airline travelers know that taking a late night flight, either in winter with snow or summer with thunderstorms around the country, effect the movement of equipment making a ripple effect of delays and cancellations around the country even if the storm isn’t visible. That’s why some late United flights are off the schedule. Think a JetBlue late flight won’t experience the same? 

Picture 100 passengers trying to get onto an Airbus in the terminal: You’ll be in the parking lot waiting for gate service, security and boarding, and also for picking up luggage. Just not sensible. 

If the DOT and the airport council feel the one service is better than the other, how much money did the [Presque Isle city] council spend on a “specialist” to flavor their own choice? Money would have been better spent repaving roads or filling in the potholes.

Charlie Roth
Presque Isle