JetBlue Airways has officially taken sides in the practice of blocking intermediate seats on its aircraft during the coronavirus pandemic. This week, the carrier pledged to block intermediate seats and some aisle seats on planes in its network until at least mid-September, stating in a tweet that “to announce physical distance, we blocked seats from the middle to 9/8 on our largest aircraft (and the maximum of aisle seats on our small planes), unless they travel together.”
JetBlue’s announcement follows a long discussion among airlines about whether blocking intermediate seats is favorable to passenger health. At the beginning of the pandemic, top carriers in the United States pledged to block intermediate seats and create more area among passengers. However, as airlines continued to suffer and lose cash on one and both advertising flights, many capitulated and began booking e-books at full capacity. However, this practice increases passenger exposure to each other at a time when the CDC recommends that others stay six feet away in public.
Despite this proximity, many players in and out of the industry have questioned the fact that the middle seats that block the tourniquet actually bring many benefits, as passengers at the front and each seat are less than six feet away.
Earlier this month, Josh Earnest, United’s chief of communications, told the media that “when it comes to blocking middle seats, it’s a public relations strategy, it’s not a security strategy,” while the airline has championed its policy of filling its high-capacity major. Array American Airlines took a similar course this month.
It is a difficult resolution to make to balance passenger safety, qualified studies and the desire for an airline to remain profitable. According to IATA data, the maximum number of advertising aircraft will have to be reserved by 75% for the flight to be profitable. However, because the middle seats are locked, many medium-range aircraft can only be reserved for 66% of their capacity.
The relative threat of filling the middle seats was also examined. According to knowledge published by MIT researchers earlier this month, the threat of a passenger contracting a coronavirus on an aircraft with central seats blocked at U.S. levels of approximately 1 in 7700. However, with the middle seats occupied, this increases to 1 in 4,300. This indicates a greater threat of occupying the middle seats, however, as Ben Baldanza, the former CEO of Spirit Airways, publishes, every probability is low (the chances of dying in a car accident, for example, are 1 in 114).
However, some airlines took the tacit resolution of keeping seats locked later in the year. Delta Airlines, founded in Atlanta, has publicly stated that it is blocking intermediate seats until at least September 30. Now that JetBlue has taken a stand, passengers who need to book more socially remote flights have more options on the market.
Grant Martin works as a product manager in the generation sector. In 2007, he joined AOL’s Gadling as an airline. Matrix Currently, it contributes to a variety of
Grant Martin works as a product manager in the generation sector. In 2007, he joined Gadling of AOL as an airline. Array currently contributes to a variety of publications, adding Forbes and The Economist, and is a general publisher loyalty company at Skift.