JetBlue vs. Virgin America: Who Will Win?

JetBlue and Virgin America have become two of the great discount airliners in America (along with Southwest and AirTran), but these two have the distinct battleground with of discount nonstop service between the major cities of the Eastern Seaboard and California. And as the airline industry continues to suffer everyday through the recession, airlines are coming out with unbeatable (and previously unimaginable) low fares at $129-$139 from New York City to San Francisco and Los Angeles.

And then this past week, both JetBlue and VA dropped their fares to as low as $109. You read that correctly. Even I couldn’t believe it. And I check airfares daily as a hobby (for fun, I know, it’s weird). So I decided to investigate…on Twitter (hey, it’s good for something), and find out what’s behind the deals – and if they’re directly competing with only each other.

Responses:

JetBlue: “ @rachelking “war” is such an ugly word… but we’re certainly practicing our thumb wrestling skills”

VirginAmerica: “@rachelking Lets just say this…We don’t sleep comfortably at night unless our customer base is happy and our rates are 100% competitive!”

Both quick responses. Excellent PR, even if answers were evasive.

The JFK to SFO/LAX routes aren’t the only routes from New York City seeing heavy competition. JFK to London Heathrow has also seen incredible deals, with fares at $198 each way on Virgin Atlantic and Delta, among a few others, but its British Airways that had them all beat, dropping fares to $156 each-way PLUS two nights free in a three or four star hotel in central London. While the pound might not be incredibly pleasing to Americans yet, it’s still a LOT better than it was a year ago, at least 30% cheaper to go now than it was six months ago, and you’re saving hundreds in airfare.

But if the recession is only getting worse, and airlines are struggling to fill the flights they have now, can these prices go any lower? And can these fares possibly last through the summer, when fares are at their peak