Posted on 02/20/2007 4:29:20 PM PST by Vermonter
r bill of rights Tuesday that promises vouchers to fliers who experience delays in a move it hopes will win back passengers after an operational meltdown damaged its brand and stock price. JetBlue customers will be compensated based on the length of the delays. The vouchers range from $25 to the full amount of the ticket. The delays include airplanes unable to taxi to the gate within 30 minutes and flight departures held up for a minimum of three hours, according to a program copy provided to The Associated Press.
If JetBlue cancels a flight within 12 hours of its departure, customers can ask for a full refund or a voucher. JetBlue said passengers would also receive vouchers if flight delays are the airline's fault.
JetBlue also vowed to deplane passengers if an aircraft is delayed on the ground for five hours.
The airline said it expected to be fully operational Tuesday after a sequence of events led to the canceling of hundreds of flights and tarnished the reputation of JetBlue, known for its low fares and exceptional customer service.
Snow and extreme temperatures last week froze equipment and grounded the company's planes at JetBlue's terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport, stranding passengers inside the aircraft for up to 10 1/2 hours.
JetBlue said it waited too long to call for help in getting the passengers off the planes because it hoped the weather would let up and the flights would be able to proceed.
The bad-weather delays and cancellations led to customer questions and complaints that overwhelmed the company's reservations system, and many of its pilots and flight crews wound up stuck in places other than where they were needed.
When the bad weather struck Feb. 14, JetBlue didn't have a system in place for so many stranded flight crews to call in and be rerouted to their next assignments, something it was working to rectify within a few weeks.
Since then, David G. Neeleman, JetBlue's founder and chief executive, has been making the media rounds, trying to convince people _ investors and customers _ that the airline will recover.
The service breakdown "was absolutely painful to watch," he said Monday.
JetBlue's shares fell more than 6 percent in morning trading Tuesday.
One travel expert suggested the airline had brought the crisis on itself by trying too hard to accommodate its passengers.
"Most airlines don't try to operate when there is an ice storm problem _ they've learned that it's better to cancel all flights at the outset and then try to get back to normal operations as quickly as possible," David Stempler, president of the Washington-based, member-supported Air Travelers Association, told The Associated Press on Monday.
"JetBlue tried to do their best _ tried to keep the system rolling," he said. "Their heart was in the right place, but their head was not."
_
Associated Press writer Deepti Hajela in New York contributed to this report.
These things keep happening. A couple months ago I heard as American Airlines plane was stuck in Dallas(I think) tarmac for eight hours and the toliets overflowed! Anyone else hear about it?
Bad airports and and bad service are the reasons I prefer not to fly anymore...
'Customer Bill of Rights' reeks of PC foolishness. It's like they're trying to sound like hip and leading edge innovators.
*gag*
Haven't these morons ever heard of 'Contracts' and 'Guarantees' ?
10 1/2 hours???!!!!!???
Just from the stand point of shear stupidity, how could someone let that happened?
If I was on one of those flights, they'd have to change their name to JetRed because they'd be so broke after I got finished suing them!
3 in-plane max. Then: Off-load, or at least ALLOWS off-loading. Yes, it's a hassle to re-load, but the passengers are going to remember 10 hours in-plane as prisoners.
I think the airline should have a mandatory policy of reviewing the chance of actually taking off at least once per hour. If there's no likelihood it's going to happen within a max of 3 hours from scheduled departure the passengers should be offloaded.
"Sorry, allowing 5 hours stuck on the tarmac doesn't seem like a passenger bill of rights to me"
I agree...
ML/NJ
"A couple months ago I heard as American Airlines plane was stuck in Dallas(I think) tarmac for eight hours and the toliets overflowed! Anyone else hear about it? "
No, it was one of the Jet Blue planes you heard about.
"Just from the stand point of shear stupidity, how could someone let that happened?"
No gate space to offload.
Acutally, I looked it up and found my memory was correct. I found American Airlines story here:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/industries/airlines/stories/123006dntswstranded.331dc32.html
I won't give them ONE PENNY for that reason alone.
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