Home / Markets

Monday, August 04, 2008

JetBlue to Charge for Blankets, Pillows

Associated Press

JetBlue Airways Corp. said Monday it is now charging customers for pillows and blankets.

The carrier has done away with the recycled blankets and pillows used on its flights, and has started offering an "eco-friendly" travel blanket and pillow that can be purchased for $7 on flights longer than two hours. The pair come in a kit with a $5 coupon to home furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond.

The carrier claims the pillow and blanket feature a fabric technology, developed by CleanBrands LLC, that blocks pesky critters like dust mites, mold spores, pollen and pet dander.

JetBlue (JBLU) already offers free "Snooze Kits" on overnight flights from the West that include an eyeshade and ear plugs.

But the blanket and pillow kit is the latest in a string of a la carte items the company says are providing a revenue boost to help offset the soaring price of jet fuel.

A JetBlue spokeswoman declined to predict how much the sale of these kits will bring in, saying that the company only provides revenue details for specific items in its quarterly earnings conference calls.

The carrier said last month it expects to collect about $40 million from customers buying seats with extra leg room this year. Its $15 fee for a second checked bag is expected to translate into about $20 million in additional revenue. A ticket change fee, which doubled to $100 in the second quarter, is part of a "basket of fee changes" expected to produce about $50 million in extra revenue in 2008.

Shares rose 22 cents, or 4.2%, to $5.48 in midday trading.

Fox Business Video

- Helping Veterans Land Jobs
- Jul 2, 2009
  
  Baird on Helping Soldiers
- President's Plans Working
- Jul 2, 2009
  
  Goodstein on Stimulus Success
- Jackson Lives On
- Jul 2, 2009
  
  Beck on Future of Jackson
- $20 Dollars a Gallon
- Jul 2, 2009
  
  Paying More to Save Economy
- Looking for the Road to Recovery
- Jul 2, 2009
  
  Morris on Unemployment

FOX Translator

Indices

No data currently available.

Top Stock Gainers

No data currently available.

Most Searched Symbols

SYMBOL

Word of the Day

Marriage Penalty

Sure, we know some of you are saying the term "marriage penalty" is redundant. In fact, of all the costs associated with getting married (have you seen the cost of a wedding cake lately?), the marriage penalty can be the worst.

Here's how it works: Mr. and Mrs. Right walk down the aisle in wedded bliss and suddenly they¿re a two-income household. If both make roughly the same amount of money, they can be pushed into a higher tax bracket. That's bad, since the higher the bracket, the higher the tax. So, if both were single, they'd end up writing two smaller checks to the tax man that, if combined, would add up to less than the giant check they write in a state of wedded bliss.

Is that fair? We're not touching that, but there is a flip side that few people talk about. The marriage penalty only kicks in if both members of the couple make close to the same amount of money. If there's a big disparity in pay, there's actually a tax advantage. Call it the marriage bonus.

And, it¿s important to remember that there are other financial benefits, such as lower life-insurance rates or health care premiums, that can make up for the extra tax couples pay. So don't let Uncle Sam stop you from saying, "I do."