Snow and icy temperatures froze the equipment on JetBlue’s planes last week at John F. Kennedy Airport. But it was the airline’s internal operations that really broke down, resulting in hundreds of canceled flights and thousands of stranded passengers. Worse yet, hundreds of travelers were kept aboard nine JetBlue planes for at least six hours, and passengers on one plane were stranded on a tarmac for more than 10 hours – without food, water or clean bathrooms.
It was a public relations nightmare for an airline that for years could do no wrong. In today’s digital world, it didn’t take long for photos of those stranded passengers, taken with cellphone cameras, to appear on newscasts and Internet sites.
The mere thought of being caged up in a plane for 10 hours has resurrected talk in Congress of consumer protections in the guise of a “Passenger Bill of Rights.” JetBlue didn’t wait – it immediately implemented one of its own.
California Sen. Barbara Boxer this week said she’ll sponsor a bill that would give passengers the right to leave a plane if it has sat for more than three hours, and would include provisions that ensure passengers have access to food, water and hygiene. Rep. Michael Thompson, D-Calif., will propose legislation that requires airlines to create their own standards for treating passengers, while frequently updating travelers on the reason and timing for flight delays.
The airlines winced at similar ideas a decade ago, offering instead to introduce their own reforms. Judging from the last week’s debacle, and earlier incidents with other airlines (including blizzard delays at Denver International Airport in December), those reforms never materialized.
JetBlue’s bill of rights promises vouchers to compensate for serious delays. Ground delays of 30 to 60 minutes on arrival are good for a $25 voucher, and customers who wait more than four hours to take off will have their trips refunded. The policy also allows for refunds or vouchers for cancellations and delays before boarding. Other airlines are nervous that they can’t afford such an approach.
Judging from the stories of JetBlue’s stranded passengers, it sounds as if some prisoners have more rights today than passengers, and that’s not acceptable.
We’d like to see U.S. airlines adopt a set of voluntary consumer guidelines, but if they don’t, government has a role to play. If anything, a nudge from Congress might motivate more airlines to follow JetBlue’s lead. The carrier’s effort to redeem passenger trust is welcome.
