JetBlue plans major cabin redesign

There is good news and bad news in JetBlue Airways’ plan to launch the first major cabin remodel since the airline flew its first planes 16 years ago.

As part of the cabin overhaul, the New York-based carrier is replacing its old seat-back entertainment with 10-inch, high-definition touch screens that are nearly double the size of the existing screens. The entertainment systems will have access to more than 100 DirectTV channels and a library of more than 300 on-demand movies, most of which will be free.

The bad news is that you will get slightly less legroom in the coach section and smaller lavatories.

JetBlue will increase the seat capacity on its fleet of 130 A320 jets to 162 seats from 150. Its fleet of 15 A321 jets, which now hold 190 seats, will be reconfigured to hold 200 seats.

To squeeze in the extra seats, JetBlue will rearrange and shrink the size of the galleys and bathrooms. The carrier will also shrink the distance between the back of your seat and the back of the seat in front of you to 32 inches from about 34 inches.

Although the cabins will be more heavily packed, JetBlue says the planes will feature new slim-profile seats. “These seats are not only lighter and thinner, but more comfortable and safer,” said Jamie Perry, a JetBlue vice president.

Reports of ‘unruly passengers’ drop

The number of airline passengers who are reported for disrupting commercial flights has been dropping for several years.

But the decline might have more to do with an unexpected side benefit of social media than any improvement in fliers’ manners.

In 2015 the incidents of “unruly passengers” reported to the Federal Aviation Administration fell to 82, from 145 in 2014, a 43 percent drop.

Industry experts say the decline doesn’t mean that passengers are behaving better.

Instead, they say, flight attendants are trying harder to avoid confrontations with fliers who are now quick to post their airline complaints on social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

“It’s all about better customer service,” said James Allen, a spokesman for the Association of Flight Attendants.