JetBlue Cutting Legroom, Revamping Entertainment System By Adding Larger Seatback TVs

Following through on a nearly two-year old plan, JetBlue announced Monday that it will try to capitalize on the space inside some of its planes by stuffing more seats into the cabin, which in turn means less legroom for travelers. 

Bloomberg reports that, on the cusp of its 16th anniversary, JetBlue announced it would revamp the cabins of the oldest planes in its fleet.

The plan for the carrier is to make the interior of the planes – Airbus 320s – more like that of its newer Airbus 321 aircraft.

To do so, the company will implement “seat densification,” which is industry speak for “cram more seats inside.” In all, the planes will go from holding 150 seats to 162.

While the plan will allow the carrier to shuttle more people from point A to point B, and increase revenue, it also means things will get a bit more crowded.

Each economy row will have 32 inches from the front of one seat to the front of the next, about two inches less than currently available on the planes, Bloomberg reports.

Although JetBlue might be taking away a few inches of space per traveler, it’s also giving them bit more: new seats will come with USB ports and outlets, as well as high-def 10.1-inch screens to support a revamped 100-movie capacity inflight entertainment system built around Android-based software

It also plans to tweak its free WiFi service, allowing travelers to connect as soon as they board, instead of having to wait until reaching an altitude of 10,000 feet.

JetBlue’s Cabin Update Means New Video Screens, Less Legroom [Bloomberg]

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