JetBlue crying the blues
JetBlue, the darling of the travel industry, has really stepped in it with its inability to respond to a crisis. After an ice storm hit the East Coast last week, JetBlue had to cancel 1,000 flights over a five-day period. Unfortunately, JetBlue didn't inform its passengers right away, leaving thousands stranded and angry. Then the crisis snow-balled, leaving pilots and flight attendants out of the communications loop. No one seemed to know what was going on with the airline's operations.
What a mess. JetBlue has both customers and employees angry, and it wasn't generating revenue by putting planes into the air. The airline has passengers stranded all over the country, and flights are still being canceled for Monday.
It will take some time for JetBlue to win back customer loyalty. The way this fiasco was handled does not give the flying public confidence in JetBlue's operations.
David G. Neeleman, JetBlue's CEO, said he was "mortified" at the way his company handled the crisis. He promised that the low-cost airline will do better. Here's a New York Times story laying out JetBlue's problems,