JetBlue Selling Pillows and Blankets Now?
Oh, this isn’t going to go over well.
JetBlue Airways said Monday that it planned to begin charging for pillow and blanket sets on flights of two hours or longer. The $7 sets, which passengers can keep and reuse, include a 10-by-12 inch pillow, a fleece blanket and a $5 coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond.
Buying the sets will be the only option for airline slumberers who do not tote their own; pillows and blankets will no longer be distributed free.
Just what I’ve always wanted to complete my linens collection - an airline pillow and blanket!!
It’s probably best that a carrier like JetBlue is making this move first given that they have generally a better reputation than most of the other airlines. It’s being marketed as an environmental and health issue, reducing the need for disposable pillows and insuring that your blanket was not previously used to wipe the snot off of a baby nose (unless it was your baby). I suppose that makes some sense, but with all of the other nickel and dime charges airlines are adding, it still smells funny.
The article also mentions this, which I missed in last week’s news:
Last week, US Airways began charging $1 for coffee and tea and $2 for bottled water and soft drinks, a step already taken by some European carriers.
$1 for airline coffee - ain’t that a slap in the face. I wouldn’t mind at all bringing my own beverages except that the TSA still considers that to be a terrorist act so I can’t unless I put them in three ounce containers and then in a quart size ziploc, which apparently renders all dangerous liquids completely harmless.
If you travel quite a bit, having only two options - to buy ridiculously overpriced water in the terminal or to buy ridiculously overpriced water on the plane - is no good. Bring an empty water bottle and fill it up in a fountain instead. There are water bottles with filters, look for them in health food stores, sporting goods stores, or online.
As for the pillows and blankets, I’ve got nothing for ya. On the rare occasions that our family flies (mostly because airports and airlines are an almost constant source of irritation because of things like THIS), we really try to travel light. We ship our clothes to our destination and go with carry-on only, and we try to put as little as possible into those carry-ons. Adding a pillow and a blanket to each backpack just isn’t going to happen, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay $7 for one, even if it does come with a Bed Bath and Beyond coupon.
