If you follow me on Instagram (@apointearned for those who don’t! 😉 ), today was the day that I planned my roundtrip flight for in the jetBlue #GoForthWithJetBlue promotion. If you need a recap on what this is, or why I’m doing it, head on over to my earlier post on it.

Overall, this was a painless and sort of enjoyable day, if a little long!

Yesterday, when I checked in for my flight, I was provided with one boarding pass:  only the initial flight. Ruh-roh! Calling jetBlue didn’t help to resolve the issue, but their customer service was otherwise great! They told me to contact a gate agent when I got to the airport and that’s exactly what I did. Other than the strange look I got when they realized I had a ~40-minute layover, they produced my second boarding pass in no time.

Getting to the airport was easy–I left at the time I would have normally left for work (~8am) and got to JFK around 9:30. I took the subway to Queens, and then the AirTrain from Jamaica to Terminal 5. A roundtrip fare on the AirTrain will set you back $11 ($10 if you bring a Metrocard–I forgot my empty one at home). By the time I got through security, it was about 10:15, which left me about an hour before boarding.

Boarding started around 11:25, and it was a breeze. jetBlue boards from the rear to the front of the plane, which generally minimizes the amount of waiting you have to do to get to your seat, since only 5 rows at a time board, and people generally aren’t in your way. I was seated in 10D for the flight to Hyannis, which is a normal window seat. My plane in both directions was an Embraer E190, delivered new to jetBlue in 2013.

Pushback, taxi, and take-off were gone in a flash (a surprise for JFK), and soon we were flying above Long Island. I love having a window seat–I’ll let the photos speak for themselves!

By 12:50, we landed in Barnstable, and taxied to the terminal, where we were met by a set of stairs. Once exiting the plane, I exited the terminal, re-entered, and passed through security, which took all of 5 minutes. Hyannis is a small airport with three gates, so a full plane takes up most of the waiting area. Again, boarding was painless.

By 1:15 I was back on the plane, ready for our trip back to JFK. This time, I sat in 18A, another regular window seat, and got more great ocean views.

By 2:15 we were back at JFK (30 minutes early!), and pulled up next to one of jetBlue’s specialty places:  Blue Bravest, an Airbus A320 dedicated the FDNY. I reversed my steps back to my apartment and was in the door by 4pm.

It was a long day, but it will be worth the 50,000 points I hope to have in my account in 4-6 weeks! As soon as the points post, I’ll recap this adventure and give some insight into what I can do with the points earned from this promotion. Happy flying!