Photos: Courtesy JetBlue
InheritingTerminal Number 5 as a hand-me-down home at New York's JFK airport could have cramped the style for which we love JetBlue -- the style that kept legroom and lovely little in-flight amenities alive in the market's lowest-cost flights even as rival airlines packed us in like sardines and hiked fares.
But, as we discovered this morning when "T5" re-opened, JetBlue has taken that retro-futuristic shell -- evacuated by a bankrupt TWA but named an historic landmark in 2005 -- and re-fitted it with the same stylish twist that makes flying with them such a pleasure: the tech-savvy customer service.
Capitalizing on the succcess and ease of their E-Tickets, check-in kiosks will outnumber counters 65 to 40. The security check-point brags being the largest in the country, with 20 lanes to minimize waiting in line. Waiting isn't bad, though, since the whole terminal now has free Wi-Fi.
From security, passengers enter The Marketplace which, with its array of shops like Muji and Lacoste, fast-food, bars, full restaurants and coffee shops, feels more a small mall than a typical airport concessions area. Unique to the East Concourse, there's also a new lounge full of unthreatening furniture, exclusively-designed in Italy.
But the best innovation, called re:vive, awaits passengers near their gates. Making trips to The Marketplace almost unneccessary, the re:vive system of touch-screens allows passengers to "order in" to their gate area!
