Spring Break
JetBlue's Valentines's Day nightmare mortifies
Matthew Smith
Issue date: 2/27/07 Section: Aeronautica
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In one of the most publicized airline fiascos in recent times the Valentines Day ice storm left JetBlue's operations in a complete mess that persisted for a week. JetBlue has since promised to pay penalties to their customers if they find themselves stranded on a plane for too long.
David Neeleman, the founder and CEO of JetBlue Airways, said that his company's management was not strong enough to handle the situation and called himself "humiliated and mortified." Over the course of the week, JetBlue cancelled over 1,000 flights, prompting many angry exchanges between customers and employees.
Most airlines cancelled their flights ahead of time; however, JetBlue thought that the weather would improve faster than predicted and they would be able to keep their schedule and thus keep their customers happy. Until now, JetBlue has been a favorite pick for flyers around the country.
However, JetBlue's bad luck dragged on day after day. On Friday, Neeleman told the New York Times that the airlines operations would be back to normal on Saturday. However, on Saturday morning, the airline once again cancelled over 20 percent of their flights and grounded the entire E190 fleet, which halted service to 11 cities.
"We had so many people in the company who wanted to help who weren't trained to help," Neeleman said. "We had an emergency control center full of people who didn't know what to do. I had flight attendants sitting in hotel rooms for three days who couldn't get a hold of us. I had pilots mailing me saying, 'I'm available, what do I do?'"
The basic problem, Neeleman said, was JetBlue's communication system. The storm left crews all over the country and JetBlue lacked the staff to locate them and tell them what to do next. Prior to his fiasco, JetBlue had never had so many employees out of position.
The part of the company that locates flight crews and assigns them to their next flight is far too small for an airline of JetBlue's size. Neeleman promised to train 100 additional employees to work in this area and said that in 30 days the operation will be "flawless."
At the peak of the problem, nine JetBlue flights sat on the taxiways at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for over six hours before returning to the gate. Mr. Neeleman said that Jetblue would be a "different company because of this." He also said that it would be very expensive to fix these flaws, but he did not comment on whether or not there would be an increase in fares.
Since the fiasco, JetBlue has implemented a Bill of Rights for its customers. The Bill of Rights covers the information the airline will provide and what will happen in the event of cancellations, departure delays, overbookings and round delays. The complete Bill of Rights can be viewed at www.jetblue.
David Neeleman, the founder and CEO of JetBlue Airways, said that his company's management was not strong enough to handle the situation and called himself "humiliated and mortified." Over the course of the week, JetBlue cancelled over 1,000 flights, prompting many angry exchanges between customers and employees.
Most airlines cancelled their flights ahead of time; however, JetBlue thought that the weather would improve faster than predicted and they would be able to keep their schedule and thus keep their customers happy. Until now, JetBlue has been a favorite pick for flyers around the country.
However, JetBlue's bad luck dragged on day after day. On Friday, Neeleman told the New York Times that the airlines operations would be back to normal on Saturday. However, on Saturday morning, the airline once again cancelled over 20 percent of their flights and grounded the entire E190 fleet, which halted service to 11 cities.
"We had so many people in the company who wanted to help who weren't trained to help," Neeleman said. "We had an emergency control center full of people who didn't know what to do. I had flight attendants sitting in hotel rooms for three days who couldn't get a hold of us. I had pilots mailing me saying, 'I'm available, what do I do?'"
The basic problem, Neeleman said, was JetBlue's communication system. The storm left crews all over the country and JetBlue lacked the staff to locate them and tell them what to do next. Prior to his fiasco, JetBlue had never had so many employees out of position.
The part of the company that locates flight crews and assigns them to their next flight is far too small for an airline of JetBlue's size. Neeleman promised to train 100 additional employees to work in this area and said that in 30 days the operation will be "flawless."
At the peak of the problem, nine JetBlue flights sat on the taxiways at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for over six hours before returning to the gate. Mr. Neeleman said that Jetblue would be a "different company because of this." He also said that it would be very expensive to fix these flaws, but he did not comment on whether or not there would be an increase in fares.
Since the fiasco, JetBlue has implemented a Bill of Rights for its customers. The Bill of Rights covers the information the airline will provide and what will happen in the event of cancellations, departure delays, overbookings and round delays. The complete Bill of Rights can be viewed at www.jetblue.
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