JetBlue Airways is making sure its mobile booking process is designed specifically for whichever device the traveler is using.

JetBlue recently launched an iPad app so consumers don’t have to go through JetBlue’s mobile site to book a flight on the Apple Inc. tablet. Besides allowing consumers to book a flight, the tablet app lets consumers check in to their flights, change or upgrade their seats, purchase and pay for extra bags and add TSA expedited screening status to their reservation. None of these features are available on JetBlue’s mobile site, which is what iPad users would have previously used to access JetBlue. Consumers can only access these tools on the full desktop site or the new iPad app.

The iPad app is also designed to help consumers plan their next trip. The app has more content than the mobile site, including destination guides. Since tablets are larger than smartphones, some of the differences between the tablet app and the smartphone app are larger images of the destinations where JetBlue flies, a JetBlue spokesman says.

“While the phone apps may be more frequently used during a customer’s travel, with the additional size we wanted the tablet app to be the place where customers could explore destinations and plan for future trips,” the spokesman says.

The app also remembers 10 of a consumer’s previous city searches. For example, if a traveler was looking up several flight options to Chicago from Tampa, instead of finding these two cities in the list of 96 cities if she returns, the app will remember her previous search.

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Mobile app developer Possible Mobile built the iPad app, which took more than a year, Possible Mobile says. Possible Mobile also built JetBlue’s iPhone and Android apps. JetBlue declined to say how much the app cost to build.

35 million consumers travel on JetBlue each year, the airline says. JetBlue would not disclose how many app downloads it has across its apps, nor how many flights are booked via its apps.

The next iPad app update will have more features for JetBlue’s TrueBlue membership program, Possible Mobile says. JetBlue also recently rolled out Apple Pay through its in-flight attendant app. Travelers can use their iPhones on the flight to pay for premium purchases, including beer and wine, seat upgrades, headsets and pillows. Customer response has been positive, a JetBlue spokesman says, although he declined to give specific data.

 

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