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JetBlue reshuffles aircraft deliveries – what it means to you

In a bid to save money and save fuel, discount airline JetBlue is reshuffling deliveries of future airplanes . There are implications for the way you fly.

Basically the low-fare/high-frills carrier is deferring the delivery of an octet of A320 twinjets. It was to have taken possession of the craft between 2014 and 2015. Now it will be 2017 before the Airbuses are painted in JetBlue’s distinctive livery. The idea is “to reduce capital commitment over the near term,” according to a company statement. At the same time, of the 52 A320 delivery positions remaining on its order books, JetBlue is converting a full 30 of them to lager A321s. The craft hold more passengers. Putting more passengers on one airplane saves money for the airline, lowering all-important ‘seat-mile costs.’

But here’s the biggest news: JetBlue just placed an order for 40 new A320neo twinjets. The aircraft are sort of a new-generation A320. They not only fly farther, they promise to do so while saving 15 percent in fuel costs.

All of this helps keep fares more manageable. Fuel costs threaten airline profitability, and that in turn affects where you fly, and how much you pay to get there. These moves by JetBlue are aimed squarely at cutting fuel costs.

JetBlue Chief Financial Officer Ed Barnes says the reworking of all these deliveries means the airline reduces “our annual capital commitments through the next five years, while ensuring we are positioned for long-term success in a competitive, fuel-challenged environment.”

JetBlue CEO Dave Barger says the discount airline will continue to focus on New York, Boston, the Caribbean and Latin America. The reworked aircraft delivery plan allows it to do that. Says Barger: “Our goal is to continue to grow on a sustainable basis.”

One lesson airlines learned in the 1980s and 1990s was that unbridled growth can kill a carrier, crippling cities they have to abandon and passengers left waiting in the wings. The key phrase these days is “sustainable growth.” JetBlue is betting its new plans will allow them to do precisely that.

No need to change planes on New York flights to Osaka ...

Ah, the joy of a really long-range aircraft – like the Boeing 747-400. They allow you to make the 6,889-mile journey from the New York to Osaka, one of Japan’s biggest cities, without having to change planes, or stop en route. That’s important for flyers. Not having to connect lessens chances of losing bags or being delayed. Nonstops are almost always preferable.

To that end, China Airlines just launched thrice-weekly flights from the Big Apple to Osaka.

How does China Airlines, a Taiwanese carrier, operate nonstop to Osaka? The flight actually terminates in Taipei, the capital of the island nation. Here’s how it works: New York flights to Osaka depart JFK at 2:30 p.m. and arrive in Osaka at 6:10 p.m. the following day. The flight then leaves Osaka at 7:50 p.m. and gets to Taipei at 9:40 p.m.

The return Taipei flight to Osaka departs at 8 a.m., arriving Osaka at 11:20 a.m. Then, Osaka flights to New York push back from the gate at 12:50 p.m. and arrive at JFK at 1:00 p.m.

China Airlines’ four-engine Boeing 747-400s are fitted with 375 seats in all: 61 business class and 314 Economy.

According to OAG , a number of airlines offer nonstop New York flights to Tokyo: American, Japan Airlines, Delta, and ANA. In a world where options are increasingly important, nonstop New York flights to Osaka “provide…more choices fore business and leisure passengers,” says China Airlines President H.S. Sun.

Research deals on cheap flights to Osaka .

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