Comments on: Is JetBlue invoking the “controllable irregularity” excuse to dodge its customer bill of rights?

By: Paul Ekmalian

Paul Ekmalian — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:00:15 +0000

As of today (10/10/2008) I have not been contacted by anyone from JetBlue airlines nor have I received any voucher as described.

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:10:16 +0000

I’ve enjoyed Jetblue too. One flight however, from Orlando to Boston, was delayed on take-off for about 1 hour. According to the gate agent it was an “uncontrollable irregularity” (which she could barely pronounce!) because of ATC and weather issues in Orlando. The weather was perfectly clear in Orlando. When we got on the plane, we found out it was actually due to bad weather in Boston per the pilot.
Now I can figure out easily what’s happening here: They didn’t want to take off and waste fuel circling Boston Logan waiting to land due to fog and winds.
That’s perfectly fine with me, but just don’t lie like that. The pilot didn’t lie, but why did the gate agent tell us “ATC issues” when all other flights leaving MCO at that time were on-time? Don’t treat us like we’re complete morons. Overall, Jetblue is still the best airline I’ve used. They are proactive when storms occur (They emailed me offering to leave earlier/later when bad weather was due in Boston leaving for Las Vegas). That’s excellent service.

By: MoNgo

MoNgo — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:49:52 +0000

“timely manor” Excellent, Alex H! I’m stealing for a tagline as easy as I walk away from unguarded turnstiles with your checked bag!

By: sloane

sloane — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:21:38 +0000

I've read so many negative reviews of Jet Blue, but personally, my experience has mostly been very good...They're definitely my first choice of airline to fly - (leg room, digital tvs, and friendly service - and uh..fewer old people flying who slow down the lines with their two huge roller suitcases? I feel like maybe those people are on AA..) Dr. Tantillo (’the marketing doctor’) has (a blog on branding) did two posts a while back criticizing JetBlue for their sneaky/deceptive frequent flyer program (miles expire - but this isn't made clear up-front) and well-publicized gaffes. Links to JetBlue posts on Tantillo blog: Jet Blue Needs To Remember Its Customers Jet Blue Again

By: Carrie C.

Carrie C. — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:56:07 +0000

I have been tempted, in the past, to try out Jet Blue. However, probably because it has a hub near my residence, I almost always end up paying more and flying Continental. After reading this, and, even more so, after reading about the Grandma Videotape fiasco, I see my gut feeling to avoid Jet Blue is justified.

By: Skip

Skip — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:32:55 +0000

Oh yeah, they didn’t have enough information about his case, like the information regarding his resourceful abilities and the incentive of frustration after being brushed aside, and how they really didn’t need any more negative publicity. Once they got that information, then, by golly, it was easy to do right by him.

I swear…sometimes some airlines act like they hate us (passengers).

By: Mike Murray

Mike Murray — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:51:35 +0000

Jet Blue is handy, and it goes right to where we need to go (JFK), but they have a bad karma – charging for pillows and blankets, harrasing then having grandmothers arrested for taping an alterncation between passengers, imprisoning passengers on its flights, refusing to honor its own ‘customer bill of rights’ as in this blog entry, other travesties. I won’t say we won’t ever fly Jet Blue – we might have to at some point – but we will avoid them, even if it means treaking an extra hour from Sarasota to Tampa or Ft. Myers.

By: Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:46:35 +0000

To clarify, I think JetBlue sent this customer a form letter without reading his complaint. If it had, it would have seen that his complaint was legitimate and compensated him under its customer bill of rights.

By: Emerson

Emerson — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:29:12 +0000

To me, it doesn’t matter if jetBlue’s sub-contractor was United or Joe’s Repair.

JetBlue promises…”The Bill of Rights compensates for controllable irregularities, such as MAINTENANCE DELAYS”

By: Lisa Skier

Lisa Skier — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:59:31 +0000

It appears to me, and I may be wrong, that they pawned the problem off on United not being able to perform the maintenance in a timely manner – not their maintenance personnel so like the weather it was no longer in their control.

By: Emerson

Emerson — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:22:23 +0000

Chris,
I agree with the others….Can you clarify this for us?
Weather didn’t seem to have anything to do with it.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:24:08 +0000

I was wondering the same thing. Perhaps there was a little fog in Seattle while they were waiting for the replacement aircraft to arrive? :-)

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:20:31 +0000

“The Bill of Rights compensates for controllable irregularities, such as maintenance cancellations or delays and crew unavailability (with the exception of those that occur as a result of weather disruptions).”

Am I missing something? This WAS a maintenance delay. Are they trying to blame this on weather or ATC?

By: Alex H.

Alex H. — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:33:15 +0000

Is “timely manor” what they call the place you live on a tarmac for short periods?