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Jet BLUE TO ADD SOME LEGROOM TO ITS AIRBUS 320s

By JEFF BAILEY

c.2006 Observer News

JetBlue Airways, trying to improve its appeal to travelers and cut costs in one move, said Wednesday that it planned to remove a row of seats from all 96 of its Airbus 320 planes, giving the front 11 rows 36 inches between seatbacks, instead of the current 32 inches.

Many coach section seats on major airlines have 31 or 32 inches of pitch — the space from one seatback to another — making for cramped seats, especially for taller travelers.

‘‘If you’re in the 320 and the middle seat’s full, you’re hating life a little bit,’’ David Neeleman, JetBlue’s chief executive, said in an interview. The aircraft, along with the Boeing 737, is among the most widely used in domestic travel. JetBlue currently has 34 inches of pitch in rows 12 through 25, and that will stay the same.

Reducing seating to 150 seats from 156 will allow JetBlue to fly the Airbus 320 with three flight attendants instead of the four, Neeleman said. That, and some fuel savings because the plane will carry less weight, will cut costs by about $6 million a year, even after taking into account some lost sales because of the fewer seats.

Frequent fliers increasingly use Internet sites like www.seatguru.com to find the best or roomiest seats and Neeleman hopes the increased room will give JetBlue an advantage.

Other airlines ‘‘are going to have a hard time matching’’ the change, he said. ‘‘Four inches is a lot.’’ The conversion will be done by March 2, JetBlue said.

No flight attendant layoffs are expected, Neeleman said. Some current attendants will be offered leave with benefits intact, he said, and by the end of 2007 JetBlue’s growth will be adequate to keep all the current flight attendants fully employed.

The carrier plans to add 12 Airbus 320s next year and to increase its fleet of 100-seat Embraer 190s to 33, from the current 23. Seats on the Embraers have a pitch of 32 to 33 inches, and there are no middle seats.

Expect Mallya to do the same. Jet Blue is his model. Idea of offering live TV on KingFisher is from them also.