British Airways’ new Terminal 5 ended up in the travel history books when the terminal was inaugurated in late March 2008 before the kinks were worked out. During the opening weekend, many flights were cancelled, tens of thousands of bags were lost and many passengers had to decide whether or not to fly with their luggage.
All of the problems weren’t short term — Some travelers who flew a few days after the terminal opened did not get their luggage for almost four weeks and British Airways had to lengthen minimum connecting times to two hours for passengers passing through the new terminal.
Now, JetBlue is preparing to open their own new Terminal 5 at JFK in September. The new terminal will double their space at the airport. Among other amenities, it will feature a 20 lane security checkpoint, and direct access to the JFK Airtrain by a covered bridge. (Here is a slide show of the new terminal that incorporates the classic TWA terminal designed by Eero Saarinen.)
Though the terminal itself is an architectural work of art, JetBlue is not taking any chances with the operational side of the terminal and all of its systems from check-in facilities to baggage handling. Acutely aware of the British Airways Terminal 5 experience, JetBlue is looking for guinea pigs to fully test their JFK Terminal 5 systems.
JetBlue put out the call for 1,000 of its frequent fliers to come to JFK on August 23. Those volunteers will check bags that jet Blue will give them, go through security and wait at the assigned gate for their imaginary flight. As compensation the airline is offering unspecified goodies, free parking and a lunch.
Aside from the obvious jokes about how waiting at your gate for a flight that isn’t going to take off has been a regular occurence for many airline passengers, is using frequent fliers really the best way to test a new terminal?
A thousand frequent fliers will know the drills, they will smoothly remove their belts and shoes, take cellphones and coins out of their pockets and follow instructions given by airport personnel.
Wouldn’t a more accurate test be to get a thousand infrequent fliers; families with crying babies and children with metal toys in their pockets, travelers who don’t fly often enough to have heard about the liquid/quart bag rule and vacationers who bring all sorts of heavy, odd-sized and unusual luggage. Not to mention those who forget their identification.
Now that, it seems, would be a real, and more accurate, test of the system.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
