JetBlue is abandoning back-to-front boarding as more travelers take to the skies and vaccinations take off

  • JetBlue is ending its back-to-front boarding policy for travelers.
  • Delta and United airlines will keep the back-to-front boarding as their primary boarding policy.
  • The CDC still recommends limiting travel, even for those who have been vaccinated.
  • Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.

JetBlue is ending its back-to-front boarding policy less than a year after implementing it at the onset of the pandemic, as more Americans are traveling and airfares are hitting record lows.

Loading...

Load Error

In an emailed statement to Insider, the company said, “We continue to work within public health guidelines and take clinical guidance from own medical experts to ensure we are doing everything we can to keep our customers and crewmembers safe in this next phase of our ‘new normal.'”

JetBlue was one of only a few airlines to adopt the back-to-front boarding policy when the coronavirus first broke out last year. Delta and United airlines also implemented it, both of which are still keeping it as their primary boarding policy for the time being, according to the companies’ websites.

Other airlines such as Southwest, American, Spirit, Sun Country, and Frontier are using group- or zone-boarding as their primary boarding policy for travelers.

JetBlue credits “mandatory face mask use and the hospital-grade air filtration on board every JetBlue aircraft” as being “the keys to greatly reducing the risk on board.”

Video: Former Spirit Airlines CEO questions why the CDC is cautioning against traveling by plane (CNBC)

  • text

    Women's History Month: CNBC contributors share their inspirations

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • a man looking at the camera

    LightShed's Brandon Ross explains why he thinks Roblox isn't just a gaming platform

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • Tyler Mathisen wearing a suit and tie

    Early Roblox investor on the future of the platform

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • Frank Holland wearing a suit and tie

    Green Thumb CEO on cannabis legalization and new products

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • a screen shot of Eamon Javers in a suit and tie

    Leaders warn of U.S. cyber vulnerabilities

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • Tyler Mathisen, Samih Sawiris are posing for a picture

    Investors shouldn't fear inflation because of rising rates, says 1879 Advisors' Jim Bruderman

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • a group of people posing for a photo

    House passes Biden's $1.9 trillion covid relief package

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • graphical user interface

    Eli Lilly’s chief scientific officer on Covid antibody drug results

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • a person sitting in front of a computer

    Single most important thing for Visa, Mastercard is travel: Analyst

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • a close up of a sign

    Options bulls see more upside in Energy

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • a man holding a sign

    Adidas CEO on its 'own the game' growth strategy

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • a circuit board

    Final Trades: Goldman Sachs, CVS, EMCOR & more

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • a close up of a sign

    Roblox surges in its IPO debut

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • a screen shot of Rick Santelli in a suit and tie

    Treasury sells $38 billion in 10-year notes

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • a screen shot of a person

    Investors are feeling 'change fatigue,' says portfolio manager

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • Jeff Kilburg holding a sign

    Why Jeff Kilburg expects strong demand for the 10-year Treasury note

    CNBC Logo

    CNBC

  • text
    Women's History Month: CNBC contributors share their inspirations
    March is Women's History Month, and we're spotlighting some of our CNBC contributors—Sand Hill Global Advisors CIO Brenda Vingiello, RBC Global Head of Commodity Strategy Helima Croft, Metropolitan Capital CEO Karen Finerman, Hightower Chief Investment Strategist Stephanie Link and Pivotal Advisors CEO Tiffany McGhee.

    CNBC Logo
    CNBC

  • a man looking at the camera
    LightShed's Brandon Ross explains why he thinks Roblox isn't just a gaming platform
    LightShed analyst Brandon Ross and Superhuman CEO Rahul Vohra join 'Closing Bell' to discuss how they define Roblox as a company and who the users of the platform are.

    CNBC Logo
    CNBC

  • Tyler Mathisen wearing a suit and tie
    Early Roblox investor on the future of the platform
    David Sze, Greylock Partners, joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss Roblox's direct listing, why he continues to remain invested and the future of the gaming platform.

    CNBC Logo
    CNBC

UP NEXT

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since February have required travelers to wear masks on any form of public transportation such as planes, buses, trains, and any other form of public transportation in the US. The guidelines also require air travelers to have “a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board a flight to the United States.”

JetBlue said it remains “focused on keeping our crewmembers healthy through safety protocols and screening” as it resumes its group boarding process. The airline will continue to sanitized and disinfect commonly touched surfaces.

Since mid-February, the US has seen an increase in daily passenger numbers, according to TSA data, even as the CDC still recommends that people, including those who have been vaccinated, limit travel.

Many experts expect travel to pick up as more people get vaccinated. Kendra Thorne, owner of Royal Travel and Tours travel agency in Chicago, told NPR that “people are tired of being at home” and that she has noticed a “uptick” in people wanting to book vacations.

On Monday, the CDC released new guidelines for what fully vaccinated people are allowed to do. Those activities included being able to gather indoors, unmasked with other fully vaccinated people. These updated guidelines apply only to “fully vaccinated” people, meaning those who have waited about two weeks after the second doses of Pfizer’s and Modera’s shots, or two weeks after the single-dose shot from Johnson & Johnson.

Even if you are fully vaccinated the the CDC still recommends wearing a mask in any other setting that may involve unvaccinated people.

Source: Read Full Article