Jet Blue What Do You Get for Cancelled Flights
JetBlue Airways has been giving passengers and employees fits this month, with more than 2,000 flight cancellations and 10,000 delays.
The New York-based airline's fix for the problem, which it blamed on weather and staffing shortages inside and outside the airline: cutting flights ahead of the busy summer travel season so it has more slack in the system when things go awry.
"We are taking swift and significant actions to get the operation back on track in the near term and deliver the JetBlue experience that our customers love and expect," JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes told investors and reporters on the airline's earnings call Tuesday.
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JetBlue, hoping to capitalize on surging travel demand, just a few months ago had big plans for the summer and remainder of 2022, with plans to offer 15% more seats than in 2019. Now, the airline says capacity at the most will be up by just 5% over 2019, and could be flat. Summer flight cuts are the steepest so far.
In early March, JetBlue had 33,000 flights scheduled for June. By late April, the total was down to 27,000, an 18% decline, according to data from airline analytics company Cirium.
The upshot for travelers who booked trips already: those dreaded emails about flight changes. Not to mention long waits to reach someone at JetBlue for those unhappy with their new flights. For those who haven't booked, fewer flights usually means higher ticket prices, especially when travel demand is sky high.
What are my rights if my flight is changed?
On social media, JetBlue has been telling disgruntled travelers whose flights have been "disrupted" that they can switch to another flight (same city pairs) within seven days of the original for no additional cost.
Passengers have another option, too: a refund. The U.S. Department of Transportation says a consumer is entitled to a refund if the airline made a significant schedule change and the consumer chooses not to travel.
The problem: It does not define "significant."
Travelers considering asking JetBlue (or any carrier making big schedule changes) for a refund need to shop for new flights first, as flights are filling up and the refund might not cover the cost of a new flight on another airline.
Airline ticket prices are high and climbing higher. The average ticket price for U.S. domestic summer travel for trips booked through April 10 is $526, compared with $409 in 2021 and $433 in 2019, according to ARC, which processes tickets booked through travel agencies.
JetBlue flight cancellations
JetBlue's Hayes called the flight cuts a "reset" and says he is confident "this puts us on the right path."
Most airlines started off April with a rash of cancellations due to storms in Florida, but JetBlue's troubles lingered throughout the month, with the airline stranding travelers across the country, sometimes for a couple days, during the spring break travel rush.
JetBlue has canceled 8% of its flights in April and delayed an additional 40%, according to flight tracker FlightAware.
The only U.S. airline with more cancellations, on a percentage basis, is Spirit Airlines, which has canceled 10% of its flights, according to FlightAware. (In the middle of its April troubles, JetBlue made an unsolicited offer for Spirit two months after Spirit and fellow budget airline Frontier agreed to merge. Spirit has not made a decision.)
JetBlue President Joanna Geraghty apologized to employees in an email this month, saying poor weather and Air Traffic Control delays have led to "cascading problems" this month, and she and Hayes apologized again on Tuesday.
The airline is also dealing with a departure of pilots given the industry pilot shortage as well as pilot training bottlenecks.
The airline's pilots union is fed up.
On Monday, the pilot union leadership at JetBlue issued a vote of no confidence in the JetBlue executive in charge of airports and system operations. They said the airline's reputation has suffered from all the flight troubles.
"Every day, thousands of JetBlue pilots show up to work committed to providing the highest level of service to our customers," Capt. Chris Kenney, chair of the JetBlue unit of the Air Line Pilots Association said in a statement. "Instead, we are seeing operational disruptions at every level. Customers are having their flights canceled, while pilots are spending hours on hold with the company just to find out if they have a bed to sleep in that night."
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Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2022/04/27/jetblue-flight-changes-cancellations/7447747001/
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