Blues while flying blue...

I recently got a chance to fly the highly talked about JetBlue airlines. They were supposedly a niche player in this airline industry and now I realize why. As I was about to get to the airport, I found out from their website that the flight was delayed by more than 3 hours. So I reached the airport about an hour and half ahead of the new estimated time and when I got to the gate, the first thing that surprised me was the snacks and soda that was given out for passengers waiting at the gate since the flight was delayed. I thought that was a very nice gesture and good way to welcome passengers for a delayed flight.
The next surprise was the "Blue chips".. JetBlue airlies serves these blue chips as snacks that are made from, get this, real blue potatoes. Until then I did not know there was a blue potato. I thought that was very clever way to promote their brand logo..
As we were called in for boarding, I found out that there was only one class, which is the economy class. In addition to that there was no priority boarding for frequent flying members. The priority boarding always gets to me since by the time you board, all those morons would have occupied the oeverhead bins and the latecomers will have to run around trying to find a place to stow their luggages. I thought that was a very prudent way to stand-out from other airlines.
Once into the aircraft, you find that all seats are leather. Very comfortable seats. They also have 35 channels of live DirecTV programming for every seat and they also provide a complimentary headset to view the programs. That was another nice touch I should say.
Once airborne, they dont have those carts like other airlines which blocks the aisles for atleast an hour. They actually bring the drinks and snacks on a tray and serve it. This way they do not block the aisle ways for folks who are waiting to get back to their seats after answering natures call. Very impressive.
On my way back, I happened to fly from JFK airport which happens to be the only hub for JetBlue. They have a separate terminal which is fully equipped with free wireless internet hotspot and a play pen for kids with a 60 inch TV beaming only kids channel. The attention to details like these does sets them apart from other airlines like United, American, U.S Air etc.
All this for just a $250 for a roundtrip from SJC to JFK. Now thats the icing in the cake. As I was waiting for my flight back at JFK, a JetBlue flight to Long Beach, CA had to make an unscheduled stopover at Denver for fuel due to unusually heavy head winds. So they gave $25 per passenger as a goodwill certificate for the inconvenience. Now that I call a real customer centric airline. It was one good flying experience.