Where's Johnny Jet? Flying Between the Coasts with Delta and JetBlue

Greetings from America's east coast. This week we fly from Los Angeles to New York on Delta Airlines (can you believe they just raised their fees for mileage awards to a ridiculous amount?) and then on to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in one of JetBlue's new ERJ-190s. If you're interested in seeing what this plane has to offer, plus take a backstage tour of Broadway's hottest show then what are you waiting for? Let's go.

LAX Terminal 5

Last week, we left off in Los Angeles after taking a spin up the California coast on Emirates' new A380. What a plane. The following day, I flew back to New York to spend time with my brother who is doing really well with his daily radiation blasts and series of chemo drips -- all as a prophylactic treatment for tongue cancer. The flight to JFK on Delta didn't begin as painlessly as usual. You see, the premium/first class security checkpoint line was closed, which meant I had to wait over 20 minutes to clear the regular security line. I know what you're thinking -- what a tragedy. Well, it wouldn't have been such a big deal if I had factored in the wait time but I hadn't. I had never seen the first class security lane closed before so my normal three minutes to go from curb to gate was out the door.

L.A. to JFK on Delta

The moment I reached the gate (huffing and puffing, I might add), I could see that passengers were boarding and I heard my name being called repeatedly over the P.A. Uh oh. I thought I'd gotten the axe for being a no-show but fortunately, it was to inform me of a free upgrade. YES. I hoped that would be the case because I kept looking up the first class flight loads every few days (including three hours before departure) to check on my chances. NOTE: You can do this by going to Delta.com and pricing out a one-way first class seat for your flight. This allows you to see how many seats are open in the front of the plane, without actually having to purchase the ticket. It turned out there were 10 out of the 16 seats available and given this fact, you would think I'd have been cleared for an upgrade 24 hours in advance. But I suppose they were waiting to see if any of their previous flights were going to cancel. My ticket cost just $164 one-way; the six passengers who had paid for first class shelled out $1,114.50. See that?. Being an elite member of Delta's frequent flier program really does have its perks. There are three levels of elite status and for the lowest one, you need to fly a minimum of 25,000 actual paid air miles on Delta or one of its partner airlines. That upgrade made the flight to JFK a breeze since there was more space, a power port, free food (pasta or chicken), plenty of bottled water and this killer chocolate ice cream treat. Oh, by the way, we can't forget that Delta also offers free live TV in every class on this route.

Using Miles on Delta Could Cost $150

OK, that was the good news about flying with Delta. The bad news is that they just raised their mileage fees to match American Airlines'. So, if you're planning on using your miles for a free ticket on Delta or American (and I'm sure the other airlines will follow suit soon), don't do what I did and wait until the last minute. If you do, it'll cost a ridiculous amount of cash. For Award Tickets that are issued 21 days or more before departure date, there is no fee. Hallelujah. However, for Award Tickets issued between eight and 20 days before departure date, there's a $75 fee. For Award Tickets issued between four and seven days before departure date, you're looking at a $100 fee. Now here's the kicker: For Award Tickets issued three days or fewer prior to departure date, there's a $150 fee. Keep in mind that you still have to pay taxes on all tickets and if you're flying international, it can be well over $100.

Hawaii

This past week I went to a luncheon sponsored by Marriott Hotels at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. In my opinion, Times Square is the armpit of New York. I really despise going down there. It's disgusting with all the crowds, chain restaurants, stores and street hawkers. Yuck. Inside the Marriott were all the corporate heads from their U.S. tropical destinations, in town to speak to a group of travel writers. The lunch was interesting. They explained that most of those hotels are doing well -- especially those in Mexico but not those in Hawaii. I said that's not surprising; airfares have gone through the roof since a number of airlines serving the 50th state recently went out of business. They agreed but informed me that there are still plenty of seats and that package deals have stayed the same. So the way to find an affordable trip to Hawaii is to get a package deal. Your best bets are with Expedia, Travelocity and Pleasant Holidays.

South Pacific

Every time I go to New York City, I try to do something new and fun. This week, I went to the Lincoln Center to see the Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific. It's the first time South Pacific has been on Broadway in almost 60 years and it's now the hottest ticket in town. I didn't realize that the Lincoln Center has a complex of theatres and that much of it is under construction. South Pacific was being performed at their Vivian Beaumont Theatre, which feels small and intimate but holds 1,100 people. That was hard to believe ... until I saw the line for the bathroom at intermission, which was so long it snaked around the lobby. What's funny is that while reading the playbill before the curtain went up, I saw my friend Matt Morrison's name listed as one of the leads; he plays Lieutenant Joe Cable. After the three-hour show (the first act is 1:40) was over, I went backstage with one of my friends from Hawaii to meet her fellow Hawaii resident Loretta Ables Sayre, who plays Bloody Mary. Matt was back there too, so it was great to catch up with him. Later, Loretta, who by the way is extremely nice, gave our group a tour and taught us that every theatre has what is called a ghost light. It's a sole light that's kept illuminated on stage so that all the actors who have passed away can still find their way around the stage.

JFK to Pittsburgh

I haven't flown on JetBlue in a while. The major reason is because they fly out of Long Beach and LAX is right near my house. But other reasons include the fact that they don't offer their best customers perks like skipping the security line or upgrades. However, you have to love JetBlue for everything they have done and stand for: They have made airfares low in the markets they serve and they introduced live satellite TV, which other carriers like Delta and Virgin America are now offering. Several weeks ago, I needed to get from New York to Pittsburgh. It was a no-brainer for me to fly JetBlue; not only were their fares the cheapest but I knew they would make the 57-minute flight the most pleasurable. When a flight is under an hour it's just not worth it for me to break out my laptop and try to work. So instead of perusing travel magazines as I usually do, I flipped through JetBlue's 36 channels of free direct TV (click here for the channel lineup) and got caught up on programs I rarely watch. As if that's not enough, JetBlue also offers over 100 channels of XM Satellite Radio. I didn't have nearly enough time to check that out, but how cool.

JetBlue's New Terminal

JetBlue is getting ready to move from their home in the depressing Terminal 6, next door to the renovated, $743-million, former TWA terminal, designed by architect Eero Saarinen back in 1962. It's considered an icon of 20th century aviation and I can't wait to see what they have done with it. It's been closed since 2001 when TWA ceased operations and it's scheduled to reopen on October 1. It will feature a 20-lane security checkpoint, which will be the largest screening area of any terminal in North America. Thank God because until then, JetBlue is stuck at United's old depressing terminal, which is in desperate need of a renovation itself. There I waited a solid 20 minutes to get through the security line. Once on the other side, the terminal was a zoo but there were a good number of options of places to grab food -- even vegetarian food and healthy snacks were available. The terminal also offers free wireless high speed Internet access but it was really slow, maybe because so many people were using it. In addition, they had some ratty looking power outlets so passengers could keep their batteries fully charged but I bet the new terminal will offer a lot more and be better looking all around.

JetBlue

JetBlue flies just two different types of aircrafts: the A320 (150 seats) and the ERJ-190. They are both new planes and I hadn't flown on their ERJ yet. One reason for this is that whenever I hear ERJ, I expect a small plane and I'm no fan of small planes. Well, this one isn't small; it actually seats 100 passengers and is surprisingly comfortable, although that's possibly because I had a seat open next to me and the configuration is 2x2. But I don't think so. Overall, the seats are wider on this plane than on the A320. On the flight, I learned that JetBlue has begun a new environmentally friendly initiative called "Jetting to Green". They are no longer handing out those cheap plastic disposable headsets to each passenger for free. Instead, customers can buy an upgraded pair (that actually work) for $1, but they encourage passengers to bring their own. Also, they are getting rid of the in-flight magazines (did they ever even have one?) supposedly to reduce paper but I'm sure it also has to do with reducing weight, which in turn means saving money on jet fuel. There are a number of other initiatives but to check them out you'll need to log on to this page on JetBlue's website.

In Flight

One way that JetBlue has begun to increase its revenues is by charging more for seats with extra legroom. It's a logical idea and I think many passengers would pay $20 for the extra legroom and space. I know I would so that I could work comfortably on my laptop. The one thing that JetBlue could improve upon is their in-flight maps. They are surprisingly lame considering that Google powers them. Why Google and JetBlue would offer something so basic is beyond me. It's surprising because in the JetBlue gate area, they have one of the coolest maps around, which shows a live picture of the Doppler radar with the current weather conditions and the flight paths of incoming and outgoing planes.

Before I call it a day, my last observation is about the snacks. If you're flying across the country, be sure to bring your own food because they don't anything substantial on board -- not even to buy. What they do have is a free choice between a mini bag of Doritos, a munchie mix and chocolate chip cookies. The cookies' package boasts that they're 70% organic (that's a first) and are damn good. But don't think that they'll suffice to keep the hunger pangs at bay. There are just three bite-sized cookies inside.

Note: This trip was sponsored in part by Emirates Airlines.

Johnny Jet has been featured over 1,000 times in major publications, including USA Today, Time, Fortune and The New York Times, and has appeared on ABC, CBS, CNBC, MSNBC, NBC, FOX News Channel, and PBS. JohnnyJet.com has been named "one of the top best money-saving web sites for travel" by Budget Travel Magazine, while the L.A. Times calls it "one of the top 10 essential travel resources on the internet." In the May 2007 issue of Outside Magazine, Johnny Jet was touted for having one of the world's best "dream jobs". Every week Johnny hosts a "travel website of the week" for several radio stations around the country, he writes weekly for Frommers.com and he has written for USAToday, The Boston Herald and Coast Magazine. Sign up today for Johnny Jet's free weekly travel newsletter at www.johnnyjet.com.