Shame On You JetBlue!

April 24, 2014

in Delay/Cancellation Stories

OK – Newark Airport seems to be undergoing much needed construction – perhaps the best kept secret of all. That does not excuse JetBlue for constantly delaying flights for hours on end, leaving customers to sit for hours with no information other than the constant e-mail, text and on-screen updates – 9:45 delayed – expected departure 10:45 – delayed to 11:45 – delayed to 12:25 – only to be told at 1:00 AM that the flight was canceled.

Hundreds of tired, angry, disappointed passengers waiting in the longest line since the great depression – with only three agents who we were told are having “computer issues” – with each person taking as long as a half hour to re-book what turned out to be unwanted, useless flights on different travel dates, to and from different airports?

1. What about our costs to and from the airport – at 2:30 AM – I had to take a cab back home ($320 total cost for me – both ways).

2. What about losing our car rental reservation – thank you Hertz – a PARTNER with JetBlue – for losing my car, my reservation, and my rate which was booked months ago! Talk about being held up at gun point? Nice way to treat a repeat customer with Gold Status. NICE.

3. Restitution? I was told by the agent after almost an hour online – they would give me $150 toward another flight – in two days! Or put me on another flight from another airport – arriving at an airport more than 100 miles from my destination! What about the car? Are you bringing the car to THAT airport?

Shame on you JetBlue – for not being up-front and HONEST with your customers! I would have preferred an honest approach – hello, flight delays – we are adding flights tomorrow – here’s your new flight info – rather than spend countless hours at an airport – only to be faced with having to find our way back home with bad feelings about your airline.

Lastly – while I am bashing Jet Blue – you are not the pristine airline you once were. Your planes are filthy. Material on the seats are disgusting. Straighten Up And Fly Right my friends!

This is the second go-around for me and my family. We are disgusted with this treatment.

– Michael Coratolo

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Anthony July 19, 2014 at 9:26 pm

You didn’t say why the flight was delayed, but this sounds like the typical post from someone upset at a weather delay. I agree that the way estimated time of departures are updated is frustrating (they should provide a realistic time based on where the aircraft is, weather in the area, time waiting to take off, etc instead of updating every 15 or 30 minutes until the plane arrives). However, it sounds like all the flights were full the next day and there’s not much they can do about that. If that’s the case the only options are to travel standby on the full flights, or depart from a different airport. No airline adds flights when one cancels, so if you expect that you should probably just drive or take a train next time.

When you fly you play by the airlines rules, and if you don’t like it you can choose a different means of transportation. Airlines don’t provide a lot of compensation for weather, and they shouldn’t be expected to. Plus your options are the most limited on a low cost airline. Legacies have their problems too, but at least AA, DL, or UA could put you on a different airlines flight and they fly to more cities more often.

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James July 20, 2014 at 9:55 am

I've felt that airlines used weather delays too frequently as an excuse. While there are notable storms, it is an actual business decision to run as lean an operation as they do, which is what magnifies the passenger damage from weather. Airline response to this damage is frequently poor.

I'd like to see some changes, and if necessary to force this, regulations. Airlines that have delayed flight between two airports that are capable of handling flights at a reasonably unimpaired level ought not to be allowed to claim a weather delay — it is a business decision on the airline's part to use their equipment in such a way that they do not have an available aircraft under those circumstances — and should be required to compensate passengers. A winter storm in the northeast should not cause flights from Miami to Los Angeles to be canceled. This may mean the airline needs to be more flexible in flight operations and planning, and may need strategies to pre-position aircraft in anticipation of weather events — but that should be part of being in business and serving the customer.

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