I haven’t written much about JFK Terminal 5 lately, and really, there’s no good excuse. JetBlue has put together what looks to be a great terminal here that will really make a big difference for people flying the airline to and from New York. Unfortunately, the opening date has slipped from October 1 to October 22, but that’s still not very far off.

Frequent JetBlue fliers will be happy to know that the terrible T6 days are numbered. The terminal itself is fine . . . for an airline half JetBlue’s size. JFK’s frequent delays left plenty of people huddling anywhere they could find a spot to sit for hours and hours on end. It was just way too crowded, and that’s why JetBlue built T5. Here’s a Google Maps snapshot of the two side by side (with T6 on the left).

As you can see, this is a nice-sized expansion in usable space. Not only that, it’ll offer 5 more gates than the old Terminal 6. Now take a look at Terminal 5 a little closer. See that tulip-shaped building in the front with two tubes connecting to the main terminal? That’s the old Eero Saarinen-designed TWA terminal (at left) that is absolutely a world-class landmark in design. When JetBlue decided to take over TWA’s old terminal, they committed to keeping that original structure and build their new terminal behind.

The reality is that you never need to set foot in the original terminal, because the roadway will extend behind that terminal and right in front of the new one. But you’ll still be able to go through the original one if you’d like, and that’s pretty cool.

The new terminal looks really basic with large, airy ceilings and lots of light. It’s definitely inviting but not overdone. Some of the restaurants look pretty interesting as well. Now, I haven’t been there yet, so I can’t really say anything definitive except for one thing . . . this will be far better than the current JetBlue experience at JFK.

If you’d like to see some great pictures of the new space, head over to Towers and Tarmacs.

[TWA Flight Center photo by pheezy via Flickr]

There was an interesting little surprise last Friday when Southwest revealed on FlyerTalk that it was rolling out what is effectively elite security lines for its best customers. I think I like this move since it’s squarely targeting the business traveler, even if it does go against Southwest’s egalitarian history.

I spoke with spokesperson Paula Berg and got the full scoop. Members of Southwest’s A-List (those who fly at least 32 one way flights per year) and those who purchase Business Select fares will be allowed to use the special lines. In some cities, these will be separate lines while in others they’ll be shared with the employee lines. By October 17, the lines will exist in Dallas, Phoenix, Orange County, Denver, San Francisco, and LA. They expect to have these in the “majority of our airports in the near future.”

So on one hand, I think this is a great move. Those Business Select fares always seemed to be a little light on benefits, but this is a big one, especially if you’re in an airport with long lines. And it’s an added benefit to A-Listers as well to make them feel wanted.

I think it’s interesting that only the A-List member of Business Select people will be able to use this. Let’s say you’re an A-Lister and you’re taking your family somewhere. Sorry, but they’ll have to go in the other line. So this is very clearly only for the business traveler who is traveling on business. And anything Southwest can do to convince business travelers to fly them is a good idea.

The only negative? Southwest has always prided itself on being the airline of the people, but maybe that’s being amended to apply only once you’re on the airplane. Something tells me that Herb may need a shot of Wild Turkey to help this one go down, but it still seems like the right thing to do.

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Hey, remember Virgin America’s Main Cabin Select? This was the plan to offer First Class amenities in the coach bulkhead and exit row seats for a little extra cash. Well, it appears that it’s been delayed due to technical difficulties.

The original plan was to have the seats go on sale on September 15. That didn’t happen. So, I emailed Virgin America spokesperson Abby Lunardini (who, by the way, is very responsive and helpful), and she helped me get to the bottom of this. Apparently the program has been delayed because the airline is “in the middle of rolling out several new offerings on our booking site for guests, including the ability for Elevate members to redeem their points on-line.”

So, the good news is that EleVAte redemption is still coming in October. The bad news is that Main Cabin Select won’t be on sale until the week of October 6. I’m surprised that the airline would have announced such a firm date a couple months in advance if they didn’t have a very high confidence level that it would be ready. Then again, we know Virgin America has had IT issues before, so this could just be an extension of that. Either way, if you were foaming at the mouth waiting to book Main Cabin Select, you’ll have to wait a little longer, but EleVAte members can rejoice that they’ll be able to use their points soon.

[Original photo by howitz via Flickr]

I’ve decided to start a new feature here on the blog called “Ask Cranky.” I get questions from people all the time, and I always answer directly. But a friend made me realize that these answers could be interesting to many readers out there, so here we go. Feel free to send me questions any time, and if appropriate, I’ll respond in this column. First up, we have this one:

What happens if you are traveling and you happen to lose your license and didn’t happen to bring your passport? Is there some way you can still catch your return flight?

Thanks!

Lee

The short answer is this . . . you’re stuck in that airport forever. Good luck.

Seriously though, I’m assuming we’re talking about a domestic flight since you don’t have your passport. In that case, it’s pretty easy to travel. Up until recently, it wasn’t required that you show photo ID. Sure, they made it sound that way, but it wasn’t actually necessary.

That all changed in June when the TSA decided to require people to show photo ID every time they travel. (Forget about the fact that these rules have more holes than a Baghdad runway, as pointed out by security-god Bruce Schneier.) Now if you don’t have your ID, it makes it harder to fly, but it’s still not that hard.

The TSA does realize that people can lose their IDs and they don’t want to start a colony of stranded travelers in every airport. So, if you tell them you lost your ID, they’ll grill you with a bunch of questions to make sure you are who you say you are and they’ll probably put you through secondary screening. (Hello, latex gloves!) Then you’ll be on your way. (Here’s a long list of questions on this subject as answered by the TSA.)

There are a couple things you can do to make your life easier here.

• Check in at home or at a kiosk – Technically, an airline shouldn’t require that they see your ID, but if you check in at the ticket counter, they’ll usually ask to see it. Just avoid the ticket counter so you don’t have to deal with that.




• Tell the truth – If you’ve lost your ID, just tell them and you’ll have much less trouble. If you start spouting off about how you don’t want to show ID because the TSA has no authority, they’re going to flag you. And do you really want to be walking bow-legged to get your flight? I think not.