JetBlue, the low-cost carrier who stranded thousands of passengers last week, is working hard to restore their reputation for low-cost but quality air travel. The recently announced Customer Bill of Rights is a step in the right direction but should you put your travel karma in their hands?

While other airlines toss you peanuts, and charge $5 to watch a movie on a screen three rows away, JetBlue has leather seats, free in seat DirectTV and a range of snacks. Their commitment is to provide customers ‘more for less’, and prior to the Valentine’s Day meltdown, JetBlue had a superior reputation in an industry mired in mediocrity. They reacted quickly to ensure they can handle similar situations in the future, and reaffirmed their commitment to excellence.

For my money, I’ll take a JetBlue flight. What’s on the History Channel?

Named the ‘Best Trans-Atlantic Airline’ by Global Traveler magazine, Air France begins direct flights from Seattle to Paris in June. Pacific Northwest Francophiles can emerse themselves in the French experience as soon as the cabin doors are closed on the Air France Airbus A330-200 for the ten hour flight.

‘Every aircraft is subtly different…‘, a common warning used to capture your attention for the flight attendant’s safety briefing. To the average passenger, the subtle differences are different seat fabrics and the content of the mini snack pack that has replaced a meal on most US domestic flights. Regular travellers understand the those subtle differences include leg room, seat recline, in-seat power and better views but how do you select the right seat?

Seat Guru makes you an informed traveller by providing detailed descriptions of airline seating, in-flight amenities and other airline information. Using the colour coded seat maps, you can select the best available seat when using your airline’s web check-in facility.

I checked Seat Guru before booking flights to Europe and discovered American Airlines still had more legroom on our flight route. That extra leg room only cost a small premium (less than $50 per ticket) and a long trip to Rome much more pleasurable.

Which seat did you select?

Photo by Charles Haynes