A few months ago, I flew to Austin and then Houston on JSX. I posted a couple of pics on Instagram, and so many people thought I was flying private. (I WISH!) Since then, I feel like I get asked for the name of this airline DAILY! And I have a rule that once a question truly becomes that frequent, it’s time to turn it into a blog post! So here we are – let’s talk about my experience with JSX airlines!
Basically, you get the convenience of flying private at the cost of flying commercial. It’s the best of both worlds if you ask me! There are some downsides to flying JSX, but honestly, I’ve had a great experience both times I’ve flown them.
Although JSX has a limited number of locations relative to other airlines, they’ve expanded pretty rapidly over the past couple of years and have several more options now. In fact, they just added some Denver and Vegas routes! It’s definitely worth keeping an eye on their growth to see when a flight might work for you! I want to do the Dallas to Napa flight once I’m able to have wine again.
Anyway, I’m sharing my honest review of JSX for any of you who are interested. I’d love to answer any questions you have – so feel free to leave a comment on this post and I’ll do my best to respond to them all!
JSX Flight Booking Experience
Booking a flight on JSX is honestly not much different than booking one through another airline. You can book your flight either on jsx.com or through the JSX app. I used the app, and it was super user-friendly.
The biggest takeaway I had from the booking experience is that there are very few flights to your location each day. Thankfully, the flights I found were typically at super convenient times (there’s usually a mid-morning and afternoon or evening flight), but you definitely have to be flexible on when you leave. I’d also recommend booking earlier to get better prices. Although I have booked a couple last minute and the price was actually lower than Southwest – it really just depends.
Boarding a JSX Flight From Dallas
In my opinion, this is the best part about flying JSX. There is ZERO security or waiting when you fly this airline. You don’t even have to go into the main commercial terminals you’d go to for a typical flight. Instead, you fly out of the private terminals. At Dallas Love Field Airport, we flew out of the Fixed Based Operators terminals.
We literally drove up to the airport (you can also valet your car) 20 minutes before our flight and walked straight up to the terminal to check in. The check-in process takes all of two minutes (like I said, there’s no TSA) and you’re sitting on the plane before you know it. They ask for your ID and that’s about it.
Where JSX Currently Flies
I feel like every time I check the JSX website, they’ve added new locations to their flight map. They fly to most of the major cities in the southwest United States —Denver, San Diego, Tahoe, Vegas, Phoenix, Houston — with lots of California destinations. They also fly to Miami and Westchester County in New York, and I’m super excited to see what other East Coast destinations they add.
What It’s Like On a JSX Flight
If I’m being honest, there’s nothing overly spectacular about the inside of a JSX plane. It only seats 30 people, so there’s not a lot of extra room. HOWEVER, I will say that there’s way more legroom on these planes than a standard commercial flight. On their website, they call it “business class legroom” and I. Am. Here for it.
I found the staff to be super friendly (probably because they have fewer angry passengers to deal with). You get a free snack or cocktail (yes, seriously) for the flight — and the snacks were great. They’ve got options like Brownie Brittle and Harvest Pea Snaps.
You also get to check two pieces of luggage for free, so you don’t have to worry about lugging your bags onto the plane. You can also bring one bag onto the plane as long as it fits under the seat in front of you, which is nice when you want to bring a laptop, toddler items, etc.
Cost of a JSX Flight
THE most frequently asked question I get when I’ve shown photos of me boarding a JSX flight on Instagram is if I’m flying private. And nope, I’m not! But the experience essentially feels that way!
The amazing thing about JSX is that it’s about the same cost as any other commercial airline. I’ve price-shopped several times to be sure I wasn’t overspending on my flights and was shocked that the cost to fly JSX was nearly identical to flying Southwest.
For instance, if I wanted to fly from Dallas to Austin tomorrow, it would cost me $199 to fly on JSX. The same flight on Southwest Airlines is $182, and the cheapest flight on American Airlines is $364!
My Thoughts on Flying JSX
I honestly LOVE flying Southwest, but sometimes, it’s nice to change things up a little bit. Flying JSX saves you so much time that you’d otherwise spend going through TSA or checking in or waiting to board. I can’t describe to you how nice it is to park and walk straight onto the plane (after a ridiculously quick 2-minute check-in).
The only downside IMO when it comes to JSX is that you have to be flexible with your flight times. If you’ve got a specific schedule you need to stick to, there’s a chance you won’t be able to make things work with the flight times they offer.
I don’t think I’d fly JSX every time I travel, but it’s definitely a nice treat every now and then. As they continue to add more flights, we’ll probably book them more. I’m already thinking of a few places I want to go once baby girl is here, and JSX would be a great option with two kiddos.