JetBlue Forced to Cancel Over 100 Flights
By MARCUS FRANKLIN
AP
NEW YORK (Feb. 19) - Low cost fares, quirky blue potato chips and even a mea culpa from JetBlue Airways' founder may not be enough to ease passenger anxiety as the airline braced for another day of disrupted flights Monday.
The company said it would be canceling almost a quarter of its flights but hopes to be fully operational on Tuesday, almost a week after a Valentine's Day snowstorm created a meltdown for the airline.
David G. Neeleman, the company's founder and chief executive, told The New York Times in Monday's edition that he was "humiliated and mortified" by the breakdown in the airline's operations. He promised that in the future the company would pay penalties to customers should they be stranded on a plane for too long.
Neeleman blamed the crisis on poor communications and a failed reservation system. He said the ice storm had left many of the airline's 11,000 pilots and flight attendants a great distance from where they could operate the planes. He also said JetBlue lacked trained staff to coordinate the flight crews. The reservation system had also been overwhelmed.
The airline had scheduled 600 flights for Presidents Day, more than the 550 to 575 flights on a typical Monday. Of those, 139 flights have been canceled, JetBlue announced late Saturday night.
JetBlue Airways Corp. spokesman Sebastian White said headway was being made on Sunday, but that the cancellations on Monday were needed to make sure all flight crews had gotten the legally mandated amount of rest before taking to the skies again.
"Canceling one more day's operations will really help reset our airline," White said.
I have to chuckle at this thinking back to the long long line of pilots awaiting to talk to the recruiters in DFW last Jan (2006). One of the guys there recruiting was practically dressed as a F/A, cute baby blue JB sweater, soft comfy pants, shinny white sneakers..I won't give his name but he was dancing around handing out cookies and blue chips to all the applicants. Showing how cool it is to work for JB. LOL LOL...I can't help it. Then, JB seemed to become the place to be. A cult atmosphere almost. But, now I see that they really have zero idea how to run an airline. IT is easy to fly around when everything works right but, the real test of how well an airline is put together is when the shXX hits the fan. Will this latest insanity cost them? Time will tell but, this company should open their eyes and realize they are no SWA. Not that SWA is perfect, but JB is strving to be them or better. I too at one time for a spit second thought I should stand in the JB line to flying heaven...glad I did not look into the light.
By MARCUS FRANKLIN
AP
NEW YORK (Feb. 19) - Low cost fares, quirky blue potato chips and even a mea culpa from JetBlue Airways' founder may not be enough to ease passenger anxiety as the airline braced for another day of disrupted flights Monday.
The company said it would be canceling almost a quarter of its flights but hopes to be fully operational on Tuesday, almost a week after a Valentine's Day snowstorm created a meltdown for the airline.
David G. Neeleman, the company's founder and chief executive, told The New York Times in Monday's edition that he was "humiliated and mortified" by the breakdown in the airline's operations. He promised that in the future the company would pay penalties to customers should they be stranded on a plane for too long.
Neeleman blamed the crisis on poor communications and a failed reservation system. He said the ice storm had left many of the airline's 11,000 pilots and flight attendants a great distance from where they could operate the planes. He also said JetBlue lacked trained staff to coordinate the flight crews. The reservation system had also been overwhelmed.
The airline had scheduled 600 flights for Presidents Day, more than the 550 to 575 flights on a typical Monday. Of those, 139 flights have been canceled, JetBlue announced late Saturday night.
JetBlue Airways Corp. spokesman Sebastian White said headway was being made on Sunday, but that the cancellations on Monday were needed to make sure all flight crews had gotten the legally mandated amount of rest before taking to the skies again.
"Canceling one more day's operations will really help reset our airline," White said.
I have to chuckle at this thinking back to the long long line of pilots awaiting to talk to the recruiters in DFW last Jan (2006). One of the guys there recruiting was practically dressed as a F/A, cute baby blue JB sweater, soft comfy pants, shinny white sneakers..I won't give his name but he was dancing around handing out cookies and blue chips to all the applicants. Showing how cool it is to work for JB. LOL LOL...I can't help it. Then, JB seemed to become the place to be. A cult atmosphere almost. But, now I see that they really have zero idea how to run an airline. IT is easy to fly around when everything works right but, the real test of how well an airline is put together is when the shXX hits the fan. Will this latest insanity cost them? Time will tell but, this company should open their eyes and realize they are no SWA. Not that SWA is perfect, but JB is strving to be them or better. I too at one time for a spit second thought I should stand in the JB line to flying heaven...glad I did not look into the light.
