Pampered on the Red-Eye

Can anything short of a first-class upgrade (even that has its limitations) make a red-eye flight tolerable? JetBlue, which lacks a first-class cabin, hopes so. The company has begun a spa service aboard its cross-country, red-eye flights. Passengers will enjoy an array of products, including lotion, earplugs and sleep-masks. JetBlue believes these luxury offerings will give them a leg-up in the increasingly competitive domestic market. It's an interesting turn of events, since the industry trend has been toward eliminating, rather than adding, special services--with the exception, of course, of on-board entertainment. Problem is, on-board entertainment doesn't fit the bill on a red-eye flight, so perhaps these bedtime amenities will serve as suitable substitutes. These changes indicate a bit of desperation on the part of JetBlue, which recently reported its first earnings loss. At the same time, it demonstrates continued original thinking and market savvy--something the legacy carriers could use a bit more of.