It’s almost like a fairytale. I give you an exerpt from my storybook collection:

“Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, fair maiden named JetBlue. She was admired for her  revolutionary on-board entertainment and her perky employees who lived the JetBlue brand 24/7. Her beauty was powerful as she moved into the golden markets of the older, more established airlines , romancing their most loyal passengers from their arms…leaving nothing more than memories of market share and dominance as the broken hearted legacies attempted to protect themselves and their fortress hubs. There was just no way possible for them to match the youth and cleverness of this lovely blue creature. But while JetBlue basked in the glory of her many conquests, another even more beautiful princess was born into the airline kingdom. Her name was Virgin America. With a snow white fuselage and a ruby red tale she was a sight to behold. Her mood lighting and sensuous offerings became the talk of the kingdom that was once ruled by JetBlue. Although the skies remained mostly blue, things were changing. Blue was not the magical color it once was especially in the presence of a striking, imposing burst of red.”

Now, back to reality. Both JetBlue and Virgin America are flying a new route between Fort Lauderdale and San Francisco. What used to be a battle between the low cost carriers and the legacy airlines is turning into a situation in which they are fighting among themselves. Virgin America is a much smaller airline with a fleet of under 30 jets compared with over 150 for JetBlue, but Virgin America is definitely raising the bar for superior service being offered by many of these low cost carriers.

Who will win in the end depends on many things. In the meantime, take a look at the chart below to get an idea of what both of these airline have to offer. I will keep my favorite to myself for now. The color blue may be reflecting in my eyes, but don’t be surprised to see some bright  ruby red lipstick on my cheek.

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