JetBlue sorry for delays; trying to get on track

The airlines should face criminal prosecution when they hold people HOSTAGE.
Anytime an airline goes bankrupt, lays people off, or suffers in any other way financially a smile to myself. They all treat people like cattle.

There is no way that an airline can hold people in a plane if they want off the aircraft, and if they can not get off then they are being held against their will and should be prosecuted.

Why is this airline getting such a free media pass?

I am sure the passengers were more then satisfied for their 8 hours with their Blue Chips, wide leather seats, and the ability to watch live free TV when all of these people were kept on board for the duration of their delays.

Mike wrote:

The airlines should face criminal prosecution when they hold people HOSTAGE.
Anytime an airline goes bankrupt, lays people off, or suffers in any other way financially a smile to myself. They all treat people like cattle.

You are probably too busy with your head stuck up your as, weather delays are mother nature, nobody can do anything about this kind of problems.

The story featured about JetBlue passengers held hostage aboard is not the only story. YES, to the last poster - weather cannot be controlled; however, Jet Blue did not accommodate its passengers, help them rebook on other airlines, nor offer any compensation whatsoever to the "other" passengers.

My husband arrived at JFK yesterday at 2:00 p.m.; his flight back HOME to Sacramento was to leave at 8:30 p.m. Due to weather, it was delayed 3 times; changed gates 2 times; then it was announced that all flights were cancelled. You may say "what do you expect them to do - you can't control the weather?" Well, there are some things you, big corporation, can control and do.

At 1:00 a.m., hubby went to the ticket clerks and waited in line for THREE hours to obtain help on how to get home. He has now been awake since 6:00 a.m. that morning.

When he finally got his turn with the ticket agent, he was told that Jet Blue DOES NOT contract with other airlines. But, the worst was when they informed him that they could not book him out on a flight until MONDAY - four days later. They offered no compensation for hotel nor food.

They then told him to retrieve his bags at baggage claims. However, they said if he retrieved his bags and went out of security area, he could not come back in. He asked for a refund so he could try to book on another airline. He DID book on two other airlines - Northwestern and Continental; he was booked three flights with a 10-1/2 hour duration time. First flight to leave at 8:30 a.m.(today) to Minneapolis.(That flight didn't leave until 11:00 a.m. by the way but at least he got on it.)

After dealing with the unsympathetic JetBlue ticket agent, and booking new flights, which cost him over $2,000.00 (for a one ticket home), he went to baggage. It's now nearly 4:00 a.m. He said he had never seen anything like it in his life (he's 58 yro)- hundreds upon hundreds of bags piled up on top of each other (he took cellphone photos); hundreds of people looking for their bags. Not ONE JetBlue employee there to help. Not one. He said he may have to leave his bag behind as it looked like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

After spending 2 hours looking for his bag, luckily he found it; by now, he is starving but all the restaurants in the Jet Blue terminal were closed. He went to his gate to sit and wait for his Northwestern flight due to leave at 8:30 a.m. Caught a couple of hours of fitful sleep before being notified that the plane wouldn't leave until 11:00 a.m.

As of this writing, he is on the flight from Minneapolis to Houston; then a 3-1/2 hour layover to pick up a flight from Houston to Sacramento, CA, due to arrive at 11:30 p.m. tonight.

The FAA needs to put penalties on these airlines. The representative of Jet Blue says they will "learn" from this experience. Other airlines work together and try to accommodate as many passengers as they can. But not Jet Blue. Other airlines were, in fact, departing from JFK albeit slowly.

To the last poster - Get a Life!

I've had similar experiences with American Airlines and they never offered any type of compensation, only a not very heart-felt apology.

excalibur wrote:

<quoted text>
You are probably too busy with your head stuck up your as, weather delays are mother nature, nobody can do anything about this kind of problems.

Ya, it's mother natures fault??? NO it's MANAGEMENTS fault. Some middle managers AFRAID to LOOSE the revenue on all these planes simply kept the people on board. Management could have taken these passengers to any available hanger at the airport. Put the plane in the hanger and pull up a trucksteps to the door and deplane the people. Then put them on a bus and take them back to the terminal were they could wait or rebook their fligthts for another day or make other arrangements. Management COULD have done this. but of course they work short staffed. Nobody to take charge and get it done. Nobody to unload the bags and get them back to the passengers. No staff to take care of the tickets. More staff COULD have been called in but then THAT would be overtime and a manager sure don't want to explaine to the big bosses why he used overtime so he just left the passengers sit. If the plane had run off the runway and got stuck in the mud the airline would take the passengers off and put them on a bus. Happens once in a while but it DOES happen and that's how they handle it. Can't pull a plane out of the mud with a full load. MANAGERS simply did not want it on their record that THEY lost millions of dollars in revenue so THEY left them sit. The airline workers can't do it with out the autheriziation of MANAGEMENT.
Pay for your ticket, get there early, get in line and get on the plane, sit down,hold on and shut up. The NEW way to fly the Frendly skies.

Sheri wrote:

The story featured about JetBlue passengers held hostage aboard is not the only story. YES, to the last poster - weather cannot be controlled; however, Jet Blue did not accommodate its passengers, help them rebook on other airlines, nor offer any compensation whatsoever to the "other" passengers.
My husband arrived at JFK yesterday at 2:00 p.m.; his flight back HOME to Sacramento was to leave at 8:30 p.m. Due to weather, it was delayed 3 times; changed gates 2 times; then it was announced that all flights were cancelled. You may say "what do you expect them to do - you can't control the weather?" Well, there are some things you, big corporation, can control and do.
At 1:00 a.m., hubby went to the ticket clerks and waited in line for THREE hours to obtain help on how to get home. He has now been awake since 6:00 a.m. that morning.
When he finally got his turn with the ticket agent, he was told that Jet Blue DOES NOT contract with other airlines. But, the worst was when they informed him that they could not book him out on a flight until MONDAY - four days later. They offered no compensation for hotel nor food.
They then told him to retrieve his bags at baggage claims. However, they said if he retrieved his bags and went out of security area, he could not come back in. He asked for a refund so he could try to book on another airline. He DID book on two other airlines - Northwestern and Continental; he was booked three flights with a 10-1/2 hour duration time. First flight to leave at 8:30 a.m.(today) to Minneapolis.(That flight didn't leave until 11:00 a.m. by the way but at least he got on it.)
After dealing with the unsympathetic JetBlue ticket agent, and booking new flights, which cost him over $2,000.00 (for a one ticket home), he went to baggage. It's now nearly 4:00 a.m. He said he had never seen anything like it in his life (he's 58 yro)- hundreds upon hundreds of bags piled up on top of each other (he took cellphone photos); hundreds of people looking for their bags. Not ONE JetBlue employee there to help. Not one. He said he may have to leave his bag behind as it looked like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
After spending 2 hours looking for his bag, luckily he found it; by now, he is starving but all the restaurants in the Jet Blue terminal were closed. He went to his gate to sit and wait for his Northwestern flight due to leave at 8:30 a.m. Caught a couple of hours of fitful sleep before being notified that the plane wouldn't leave until 11:00 a.m.
As of this writing, he is on the flight from Minneapolis to Houston; then a 3-1/2 hour layover to pick up a flight from Houston to Sacramento, CA, due to arrive at 11:30 p.m. tonight.
The FAA needs to put penalties on these airlines. The representative of Jet Blue says they will "learn" from this experience. Other airlines work together and try to accommodate as many passengers as they can. But not Jet Blue. Other airlines were, in fact, departing from JFK albeit slowly.
To the last poster - Get a Life!

You, and by that I mean the traveling public, have voted with your wallets, and you voted for JetBlue and the like. Enjoy the ride, the nasty old legacy airlines will still be here for you if you get tired of airlines with no agreements with any other airlines.

2 cents wrote:

<quoted text>You, and by that I mean the traveling public, have voted with your wallets, and you voted for JetBlue and the like. Enjoy the ride, the nasty old legacy airlines will still be here for you if you get tired of airlines with no agreements with any other airlines.

touché

Is the bloom off the rose for JetBlue?

The question to me is JetBlue just Northwest with newer planes?

Only time will tell.

Ramprat wrote:

<quoted text> Ya, it's mother natures fault??? NO it's MANAGEMENTS fault. Some middle managers AFRAID to LOOSE the revenue on all these planes simply kept the people on board. Management could have taken these passengers to any available hanger at the airport. Put the plane in the hanger and pull up a trucksteps to the door and deplane the people. Then put them on a bus and take them back to the terminal were they could wait or rebook their fligthts for another day or make other arrangements. Management COULD have done this. but of course they work short staffed. Nobody to take charge and get it done. Nobody to unload the bags and get them back to the passengers. No staff to take care of the tickets. More staff COULD have been called in but then THAT would be overtime and a manager sure don't want to explaine to the big bosses why he used overtime so he just left the passengers sit. If the plane had run off the runway and got stuck in the mud the airline would take the passengers off and put them on a bus. Happens once in a while but it DOES happen and that's how they handle it. Can't pull a plane out of the mud with a full load. MANAGERS simply did not want it on their record that THEY lost millions of dollars in revenue so THEY left them sit. The airline workers can't do it with out the autheriziation of MANAGEMENT.
Pay for your ticket, get there early, get in line and get on the plane, sit down,hold on and shut up. The NEW way to fly the Frendly skies.

AMEN

2 cents wrote:

<quoted text>You, and by that I mean the traveling public, have voted with your wallets, and you voted for JetBlue and the like. Enjoy the ride, the nasty old legacy airlines will still be here for you if you get tired of airlines with no agreements with any other airlines.

Amen Hallaluah...you are so right...FINALLY someone is making sense. Thank You.

Ramprat wrote:

<quoted text> Ya, it's mother natures fault??? NO it's MANAGEMENTS fault. Some middle managers AFRAID to LOOSE the revenue on all these planes simply kept the people on board. Management could have taken these passengers to any available hanger at the airport. Put the plane in the hanger and pull up a trucksteps to the door and deplane the people. Then put them on a bus and take them back to the terminal were they could wait or rebook their fligthts for another day or make other arrangements. Management COULD have done this. but of course they work short staffed. Nobody to take charge and get it done. Nobody to unload the bags and get them back to the passengers. No staff to take care of the tickets. More staff COULD have been called in but then THAT would be overtime and a manager sure don't want to explaine to the big bosses why he used overtime so he just left the passengers sit. If the plane had run off the runway and got stuck in the mud the airline would take the passengers off and put them on a bus. Happens once in a while but it DOES happen and that's how they handle it. Can't pull a plane out of the mud with a full load. MANAGERS simply did not want it on their record that THEY lost millions of dollars in revenue so THEY left them sit. The airline workers can't do it with out the autheriziation of MANAGEMENT.
Pay for your ticket, get there early, get in line and get on the plane, sit down,hold on and shut up. The NEW way to fly the Frendly skies.

Middle managers at most airports are uneducated wannabes, like bobble-headed dolls who just keep nodding YES at meetings, dead end job and they don't even know it. Flunked out of tech school and someones cousins sister got them a job..as a whooooooo a big manager...never around when they are needed but sure taking the pay. Talk about revenue leakage!!!!

Prospective Pax wrote:

Why is this airline getting such a free media pass?
I am sure the passengers were more then satisfied for their 8 hours with their Blue Chips, wide leather seats, and the ability to watch live free TV when all of these people were kept on board for the duration of their delays.

The seats are not very wide and I doubt there was any TV going and the air was pretty much off. This was not pleasant.

Sheri,

Part of Jet Blue's appeal is they operate
independently, not having ticketing agreements
with other carriers. In events like this tickets
purchased cannot be transferred to other carriers.

Jet Blue has obviously grown dramatically and
now flies large amounts of passengers. Once
transporting this amount of passengers things will
will go awry and many will be stranded when
weather events happen. As far as your husband
standing in line for hours waiting for help, think
about it. Thousands of customers are at the airport
looking for help. How many ticket and gate agents
do you think are available in this situation.

It is never enough when events like this occur.
Jet Blue has now joined the ranks of having a large
operation and things may go wrong.

To the typical airline passanger: You get what you pay for. Don't like it...drive. But then you wont have anyone to bitch at when your underpaying, over demanding habits get stuck in some snowdrift fifty miles from where you started.

Right wrote:

To the typical airline passanger: You get what you pay for. Don't like it...drive. But then you wont have anyone to bitch at when your underpaying, over demanding habits get stuck in some snowdrift fifty miles from where you started.

...Tell it Brother...they want Cheap Tickets, Then they get was goes with it....

Hello,

We need a Passengers Bill of Rights because the airlines don't care about their passengers. Jetblue has no excuse for what they done. They could have just moved one of the airplanes so that those imprisoned passengers could get off. How hard could have that been to do. The airline's can't police themselves so the government needs to do it for them. I would think that accused felons have more rights than airline passengers.

I urge you to write your federal elected officials and demand a Passengers Bill of Rights.

First of all Sheri...get a grip. You and your sweet "hubby" booked Jet Blue because they offer the only non-stop flight from JFK to SAC, and it was probably a much lower fare than you could find on other airlines.
The forecast for the NYC area was for severe weather several days before your flight. If your hubby had waited until Monday, the fare would have been the same as the original ticket. I looked up a fare tonight and it was $334.00 - a far cry from $2,000.

It is obvious that you know nothing about flying because the airlines have not paid for hotels/meals when there is a weather problem for years and years.

Jet Blue was mis-advised by the FAA and that is where much of the blame rests. If things were as bad as reported, the FAA should have closed the airport until things improved.

Jet Blue made some serious errors in this JFK matter but they are still the best airline operating day after day, flight after flight. Service on most airlines stinks today and 98% of the time Jet Blue is the best thing going.

Next time, get you hubby out of town a day or two before a big storm hits, or plan on another negative experience. It must have been very important for your hubby to get home fast if he was willing shell out $2,000 - he must be making $60-70.00 bucks an hour if he missed 3-4 days of work.

I'm glad your hubby was not trying to fly out of Washingto/Dulles on United that day because they cancelled all flights.

By the way, Southwest, Air Tran and other airlines do not book stranded passengers on other airlines. They will book on their next flight or offer a refund. These airlines are doing very well with this restriction as seen in their success.

You mentioned that he had to fly on Northwestern....is that a new airline???

I feel bad for all the people caught up in this Jet Blue mess but next time I am on one of their flights, I won't even remember it while I'm watching Direct TV and enjoying a great flying experience from people who really care!!

www.xjet.com

may offer some additional choices for relief in the near future.

Their airplanes offer drop down stairs like the 727's, DC9's, and BAC 111's of the prederegulation of era, with the point to point service, and more modern aircraft to undercongested airports most people now desire, for this era.