By Philip Newman
JetBlue, the low-fare airline with headquarters in Kew Gardens, has begun equipping its Airbus A320 jetliners with bullet-proof doors. Work on the entire fleet is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
The airline estimated the strengthening of the doors would cost $10,000 per plane.
“While the circumstances that require these safety innovations remain deeply sad and troubling, I’m so proud of our entire team for being able to move so swiftly to install these secure cockpit doors,” said David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue.
“In our two-year history, JetBlue has consistently focused on innovation to give our customers the best experience possible, from being the first start-up airline with an entire fleet of new aircraft to the first to offer satellite TV at each set.”
JetBlue is also considering installing security cameras in passenger cabins across the fleet early next year, an airline spokesman said. The cameras will be monitored by the pilots from the cockpit in a move made possible by the airline’s sophisticated live TV onboard technology, which will help protect flight attendants and passengers.
The new, reinforced cockpit doors employ four titanium deadbolt locks and a layer of Kevlar, which is used in bulletproof vests worn by police.
Several other airlines have announced they were in the process of strengthening cockpit doors since the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, although it has not been made mandatory by the Federal Aviation Administration.
JetBlue operates out of its base at John F. Kennedy International Airport with flights to Florida, upstate New York, Vermont, Northern and Southern California, Seattle, New Orleans and Denver among other destinations.
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 136..
