Jetblue announced in a press release today that it would be removing a row of seats from its Airbus 320 aircraft, reducing the total number of seats on this aircraft from 156 to 150. This will have the effect of increasing the seat pitch from 32 inches in rows 1-11 to 36 inches, while the remaining rows will average 34. Pitch is the distance between a point on one seat and the same point on the next…or if it is easier to remember…it refers to the legroom.
By eliminating six seats, Jetblue will be able to reduce its flight crew from four flight attendants to three, as one is required per fifty passengers by the FAA. Jetblue is increasing to that from one for every thirty-nine passengers. While promoting the increased legroom is a brilliant public relations move, the motivation behind it is cost-savings.
Jetblue estimates it will save over 30 million dollars due to this action, even factoring in the lost revenue from the six seats they are removing. These savings will not only be made in staffing costs, but in reduced fuel costs by reducing the weight of the aircraft by approximately 904 pounds. We hope the 904 pounds is the weight of the seats and associated electronic equipment for the inflight entertainment, as we would be particularly impressed if that included the weight of six passengers, one flight attendant, and their luggage, which will certainly add to that number.
Assuming 400 flights a day out of about 470 are operated by A320s, a number we are merely guessing at, that would mean 2400 seats less a day, or 876,000 less a year. It is certainly an efficient way to continue growth and reduce capacity and increase savings and profit.
The only potential losers are the flight attendants…who may not be thrilled with the increased workload. On the other hand, having to deal with 11 additional passengers per person is not the worst workload increase…and as Jetblue offers its flight crew profit-sharing…the savings may indirectly be passed to them in the form of checks.