tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120253167578610882024-03-05T23:28:31.718-08:00JET BLUE A VALENTINE'S DAY HOSTAGE CRISISNothing says "I love you" like being held hostage on a frozen plane with the man you love, 99 strangers, 4 other people you happen to know, 4 screaming babies and 3 rambunctious kids running about, nothing but chips and soda for sustenance, faulty power, unreliable direct TV and overfilled sewage system for 11 hours.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger198125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-64592417012221563812009-10-23T01:06:00.000-07:002009-10-23T01:10:06.971-07:00Tarmac delays ground the fight for passenger rightsSource: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102103351.html">Washington Post</a><div><br /></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Tarmac delays ground the fight for passenger rights</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div><i>By Christopher Elliott</i></div><div>Sunday, October 25, 2009</div><div><br /></div><div>The approach of cold-weather season reminds me of tarmac delays.</div><div><br /></div><div>Like the Northwest Airlines flights grounded during a 1999 blizzard at Detroit's Metro Airport, leaving passengers without water or working toilets for more than seven hours. Or the JetBlue Airways customers stranded for nearly half a day during an ice storm in New York back in 2007.</div><div><br /></div><div>But what if those were the only memories that cold weather evoked?</div><div><br /></div><div>No skiing. No eggnog. No chestnuts roasting on the open fire. That would be absurd, wouldn't it?</div><div><br /></div><div>No more absurd than what has happened to the "passenger rights movement." In the past few months, a series of headline-grabbing tarmac delays has helped a couple of influential lobbyists convince the media and a few elected officials that tarmac delays are the No. 1 passenger rights problem in America.</div><div><br /></div><div>Worse, they've convinced many travelers that tarmac delays are the only important passenger rights issue.</div><div><br /></div><div>Don't believe me? Pull up any recent story that mentions a passenger's bill of rights, and it will inevitably refer to a proposal that would require a plane to turn back after a three-hour ground delay. I happen to disagree that such legislation would help anyone or that it could even be properly enforced, but that's beside the point.</div><div><br /></div><div>The bigger question is whether this tunnel vision is helping the cause of airline passengers -- and how it might affect your next flight.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think it goes without saying that other, far more important passenger issues are being overlooked. But I'll say it anyway: We're missing a lot. I asked author and consumer advocate Edward Hasbrouck to name his hot-button passenger rights issues, and alas, tarmac delays didn't make the list. What did? Truth in advertising, problems with federal preemption and failure to enforce existing consumer laws.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Airlines routinely engage in practices that would constitute fraud if engaged in by any other business," he told me. For example, they sell tickets on partner airlines, giving the appearance that they are operating a flight, which is referred to as code-sharing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Federal preemption of consumer protection laws, which allows airlines to ignore state consumer laws and consumer protection agencies, is another worry. The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 opened that loophole, "and it has been a disaster for consumers," says Hasbrouck.</div><div><br /></div><div>The U.S. Transportation Department's lack of involvement in consumer protection also ranks as a favorite, and it's an area of concern for me as a reader advocate. The way Hasbrouck sees it, the department is staffed by devout believers in a hands-off approach toward regulation and, specifically, enforcing consumer protections. "Those attitudes have got to go, which is unlikely to happen unless the people at the DOT get firm new marching orders from their superiors, either from the secretary of transportation or President Obama," he says.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Unlike tarmac delays, which affect a tiny fraction of air travelers, these issues factor prominently into everyone's flight. And that they are being ignored raises the question of who really benefits from the popular emphasis on aircraft delays, apart from a few media-savvy tarmac-delay activists.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm willing to bet that my friends in the airline industry, who insist that they oppose the new turn-back law, are quietly pleased that the tarmac lobby has hijacked the passenger rights cause. The movement is now conveniently contained, holding sparsely attended news conferences and pep rallies for passenger rights "stakeholders" in the Rayburn House Office Building.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's not to say that the tarmac troopers don't have a valid point. There's no excuse for keeping a plane waiting for hours without giving passengers food or water. Anyone who has endured an extended delay on a plane can be forgiven for thinking it's the only thing that matters.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the meantime, what do you do if you're stuck on a parked aircraft? Oddly, the media reports I've seen have fixated on the likelihood that a turn-back law will be passed -- it has a snowball's chance, in case you were wondering -- but have skipped the part where they help us actually fix the problem.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had an enlightening conversation with Deborah McElroy, the executive vice president in charge of policy and external affairs at the Airports Council International-North America, an airport trade group, about the remedies available to stranded passengers. There are not many.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've been asked whether there's an easy way off a parked plane, such as calling 911 and complaining that you're being held prisoner. McElroy said emergency calls are routed to local law enforcement agencies, which may pass your complaint along to airport police, but neither is likely to have the authority to force a jet to return. "Only the airport's federal security director, who is a [Transportation Security Administration] employee, has the legal right to order the plane back to the gate," she told me. You may be better off asking a crew member for help or, failing that, calling the airline.</div><div><br /></div><div>Would a turn-back rule change anything? It might, she said. It might not. Meaning that the true cost of a passenger's bill of rights may not be just an unenforceable law, but also a long period of distraction from the truly important issues facing passengers. </div></div><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-5288761711237486612009-10-23T01:04:00.000-07:002009-10-23T01:06:55.172-07:00Incident: Jetblue E190 at Bermuda on Oct 22nd 2009, flaps problemSource <a href="http://avherald.com/h?article=421a0715">The Aviation Herald</a><div><br /></div><div><div>Incident: Jetblue E190 at Bermuda on Oct 22nd 2009, flaps problem</div><div>By Simon Hradecky, created Thursday, Oct 22nd 2009 22:26Z, last updated Thursday, Oct 22nd 2009 23:30Z</div><div><br /></div><div>A Jetblue Embraer ERJ-190, registration N229JB performing flight B6-1703 from Boston,MA (USA) to Bermuda (Bermuda) with 79 people on board, was on approach to Bermuda's runway 12 descending through 3000 feet, when the crew reported they had a flaps indication, aborted the approach and climbed back to 5000 feet for troubleshooting. The crew could not resolve the problem and decided - after consulting with maintenance and dispatch - to divert to New York's JFK airport about 10 minutes later. While climbing back to cruise level the crew declared emergency requesting most direct routing indicating about 2:15 hours of fuel remaining at that point and the longest runway 31L/13R at JFK indicating, they'd have no altitude restriction for the cruise back requesting FL380. The airplane climbed back to FL380 and reached New York about 110 minutes later. JFK changed all other approaches from runway 31L to a VOR/DME approach runway 22L in order to facilitate the Jetblue Embraer heading for a LOC approach 31L with 4900lbs of fuel remaining. The crew subsequently performed a visual approach runway 31L, landed safely and vacated the runway without needing further assistance.</div><div><br /></div><div>http://flightaware.com/live/flight/JBU1703/history/20091022/1608Z/KBOS/TXKF</div><div><br /></div><div>Metars:</div><div>TXKF 221955Z 06007KT 020V080 9999 FEW033 24/16 Q1019</div><div>TXKF 221855Z 04007KT 010V070 9999 FEW030 24/16 Q1019</div><div>TXKF 221755Z 04007KT 340V080 9999 FEW030 24/16 Q1019</div><div>TXKF 221655Z 03009KT 360V060 9999 FEW030 24/16 Q1020</div><div>TXKF 221555Z 03009KT 9999 FEW030 24/16 Q1021</div><div>TXKF 221455Z 02010KT 9999 FEW030 24/16 Q1021</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-10856757998506470292008-08-04T13:49:00.000-07:002008-08-04T13:52:01.456-07:00JetBlue to Charge for Blankets, Pillows<h1 xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" functx="http://www.functx.com"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Source - FOXBusiness.com</span></span><br /></h1><h1 xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" functx="http://www.functx.com"><a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/furl/story/markets/jetblue-charge-blankets-pillows/">JetBlue to Charge for Blankets, Pillows</a></h1><br /><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" functx="http://www.functx.com" class="storyAdPlace"> <div class="storyImage"><img src="http://www.foxbusiness.com/images/stories/jetblue_planes.jpg" alt="JetBlue Planes [276]" width="276" height="150" /></div> <div class="bn_g_guidecontainer"><script type="text/javascript"> if(placement=="right") show_baynote_guide("ArticleGuide"); </script></div> </div> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" functx="http://www.functx.com" id="articleCont"><p>JetBlue Airways Corp. said Monday it is now charging customers for pillows and blankets.</p> <p>The carrier has done away with the recycled blankets and pillows used on its flights, and has started offering an "eco-friendly" travel blanket and pillow that can be purchased for $7 on flights longer than two hours. The pair come in a kit with a $5 coupon to home furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond.</p> <p>The carrier claims the pillow and blanket feature a fabric technology, developed by CleanBrands LLC, that blocks pesky critters like dust mites, mold spores, pollen and pet dander.</p> <p>JetBlue (<a href="javascript:stockSearch('JBLU');">JBLU</a><span id="q_0_0">: </span><span id="q_0_1" dqsym="jblu" class="dqPrice dqNoChgTic"> 5.45, </span><span id="q_0_2" class="dqNetChg dqUp dqNetChg dqNoChgTic">+0.19, +3.61%</span>) already offers free "Snooze Kits" on overnight flights from the West that include an eyeshade and ear plugs.</p> <p>But the blanket and pillow kit is the latest in a string of a la carte items the company says are providing a revenue boost to help offset the soaring price of jet fuel.</p> <p>A JetBlue spokeswoman declined to predict how much the sale of these kits will bring in, saying that the company only provides revenue details for specific items in its quarterly earnings conference calls.</p> <p>The carrier said last month it expects to collect about $40 million from customers buying seats with extra leg room this year. Its $15 fee for a second checked bag is expected to translate into about $20 million in additional revenue. A ticket change fee, which doubled to $100 in the second quarter, is part of a "basket of fee changes" expected to produce about $50 million in extra revenue in 2008.</p> <p>Shares rose 22 cents, or 4.2%, to $5.48 in midday trading.</p> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-5192839250963638772008-07-17T00:19:00.000-07:002008-07-17T00:20:43.299-07:00From the AP - US Airways pilots: We're pressured to cut fuel<div id="hn-articlebody" class="g-unit hn-copy"><h1><a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hoejPS6Z25DH3KGbRFbBcU4_lnuAD91V7BQ00">US Airways pilots: We're pressured to cut fuel</a></h1> <p class="hn-byline">By JOAN LOWY and CHRIS KAHN – <span class="hn-date">8 hours ago</span> </p> <p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The pilots union for US Airways said Wednesday the airline is pressuring pilots to use less fuel than they feel is safe in order to save money.</p><p>US Airways Captain James Ray, a spokesman for the US Airline Pilots Association, which represents the airline's 5,200 pilots, said eight senior pilots and the union have filed complaints with the Federal Aviation Administration.</p><p>The union also paid for a full-page ad in Wednesday's USA Today addressed to "our valued passengers." The ad accuses the airline of "a program of intimidation to pressure your captain to reduce fuel loads."</p><p>Ray said soaring jet fuel prices have sent all the airlines scrambling to find ways to cut the weight of airliners because the heavier the plane, the more fuel the plane burns. US Airways, based in Tempe, Ariz., has recently removed movie players, redesigned its meal carts and replaced glassware with plastic to cut weight.</p><p>Jet fuel has surpassed labor as the airline industry's greatest expense.</p><p>But US Airways recently crossed the line when it ordered eight pilots who requested "an extra 10 to 15 minutes worth of fuel" to attend training sessions, or "check rides," that could put their pilot licenses in jeopardy, Ray said. The pilots were supposed to report for their training sessions Wednesday, he said.</p><p>"We feel they're trying to set an example," Ray said. "Captains shouldn't be intimidated into thinking, 'If I say I need this fuel, they may send me for a check ride.' ... Cutting peanuts off the plane, that's one thing. But cutting a captain's fuel level below his comfort, that's another thing."</p><p>US Airways spokesman Morgan Durrant said the decision to bring in the eight pilots for extra training was not meant to be punitive. "That's totally not true," he said.</p><p>During the past few years, the carrier has required its planes to carry enough fuel to pad their flight times by 60 to 90 minutes, Durrant said.</p><p>"These eight pilots have routinely been above the 60 to 90 minute range. It just behooves us as a company to talk to these guys, figure out what they're seeing that we're not," Durrant said.</p><p>FAA regulations require aircraft to carry enough fuel to reach their destination and an alternate destination, plus 45 minutes worth of fuel, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. Also, pilots have the final authority on whether their flight should have extra fuel.</p><p>Brown said she is unaware of any specific complaints filed by US Airways pilots or their union, but FAA has been monitoring reports of "minimum fuel loads" at some airports.</p><p>"We don't see any evidence right now that there are violations of the regulation," Brown said.</p><p>US Airways has studied how much fuel its planes really need to carry, Durrant said. "The heavier an aircraft is, the more fuel it burns, and one of the heaviest portions of an aircraft can be fuel," he said.</p><p>US Airways is also buying more fuel efficient aircraft and cutting inefficient routes from its network. Still, an average roundtrip flight costs about $299 worth of fuel per passenger, company officials said. </p> <p><em>Associated Press writer Chris Kahn reported from Phoenix.</em></p> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-86138446159032521502008-07-02T17:28:00.000-07:002008-07-02T17:39:53.670-07:00FUCK YOU VERY MUCH JET BLUE!FUCK YOU JET BLUE! Charlie's not even FLYING on JetBlue today and you still manage to ruin my fucking day. Charlie has been gone for THREE WEEKS. THREE DAMNED WEEKS. That's a long time for us.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Since you asked, I'll tell you. Charlie has been in Vienna for the Eurocup. His soccer team (</span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://chinatownsoccerclub.com">Chinatown Soccer Club</a><span style="font-style: italic;">) release a shoe with Adidas and they were flown to Europe to celebrate the release of the </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://chinatownsoccerclub.com/adidas/page_01.htm">shoe</a><span style="font-style: italic;">. </span><br /><br />ANYWAY. Today he was slated to fly back from NY to LA on VIRGIN AMERICA (I LOVE YOU VA, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.) And JetBlue (fuck you, again) is holding a plane full of hostages on the runway at JFK. Charlie is on a plane BEHIND the JetBlue (oh, i forgot, FUCK YOU!) plane. So now, there's no telling when me and my lover with be reunited.<br /><br />Thanks again JetBlue. Whenever I have something really beautiful planned for my boyfriend and I, you never hesitate to intercede and fuck shit up.<br /><br />Tell us why JetBlue, why am I hearing that there is a plane on the JFK runway with a stuck parking brake? Why did you even let that plane leave the gate? I question how a broken parking brake was able to pass the routine checks they have before a plane is allowed to leave. Or did it NOT pass, (but like on MY fateful day with Jetblue,) did someone make a decision to overlook it to not suffer the financial loss of losing an entire flight?<br /><br />Anyway, fuck you again if I haven't said it enough.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-33587056655468963052008-03-27T14:35:00.000-07:002008-03-27T14:39:00.007-07:00WARNING! JetBlue Founder Starting Airline in Brazil<span style="font-style: italic;">Brasilians, run like the wind. No, really, run. Avoid this man's airplane at any cost. And Brasilians, avoid being employed by this ANTI-UNION company. West Jet and JetBlue, both are non-unionized unlike most other carriers.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/business/apair-web.html?ref=business">FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES-SOURCE AP</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-79239966811573684232008-03-27T14:28:00.000-07:002008-03-27T14:29:58.116-07:00Court Strikes Down NY's Airline Passenger Bill of Rights<h1><a href="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2008/03/court_strike_do.php"><span style="font-size:130%;">Court Strikes Down NY's Airline Passenger Bill of Rights</span></a></h1><br /><h2><span style="font-size:85%;">Posted by <b>Candice M. Giove</b> at <strong> 1:29 PM, March 25, 2008 - From the Village Voice blog<br /></strong></span></h2> <p> So much for justice for the JetBlue passengers <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/15/AR2007021501853.html">stranded on the JFK tarmac</a> for 10 hours without food. A federal appeals court has <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/25/america/NA-GEN-US-Passenger-Rights.php">struck down</a> the New York Airline Passenger Bill of Rights, which would have required airline carriers to provide basic amenities like food, water, fresh air and clean toilets to passengers trapped on the tarmac in excess of three hours.</p> <p>The Airline Transport Association of America, a trade group representing a number of carriers, lodged this second challenge to the New York State law <a href="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2008/03/prisoners_of_wa.php">earlier this month</a>, and successfully argued that regulation should remain in the hands of the federal government and shouldn’t be handled on a state-by-state basis.<br /></p> <span id="more"><p>"If New York's view regarding the scope of its regulatory authority carried the day, another state could be free to enact a law prohibiting the service of soda on flights departing from its airports, while another could require allergen-free food options on its outbound flights, unraveling the centralized federal framework for air travel," the court wrote.</p> <p>"This clear and decisive ruling sends a strong message to other states that are considering similar legislation,” the trade group said in a statement.</p> <p>For Queens Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, who authored the bill, today’s decision was a major let-down for passengers. "The court's decision is a disappointment to anyone who has suffered at the hands of airlines that care more about profits than their customers," he said in a statement.</p> <p>"This is far from over,” he added. “While this decision is a setback to passengers' rights, I will continue fighting until someone in a position of authority does the right thing and stands up to protect the flying public."</p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-49635679113238972892008-02-14T11:40:00.000-08:002008-02-14T12:05:48.145-08:00HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JBH.COMHi Ya'll,<br /><br />Long time no talk. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you. It was about this time last year that I was about 8 hours in to a hostage crisis with Jet Blue. Since then, Charlie's had back surgery, I've developed a fear of Blue Chips (I kid,) we moved to a new city and I've fallen in love with Virgin America. Yes, I still fly you, JetBlue. Sometimes there's just no way around it.<br /><br />Today was the last day you could legally file a lawsuit against JetBlue Corp for the false imprisonment of the passengers of the 9 planes stranded on the tarmac at JFK on February 14, 2007. I hope if that is the route you are going to pursue, that you've done it before today, when the statue of limitations expires. I'm still getting media offers so it looks like the story hasn't died yet and with any luck, this will never, ever happen again. JetBlue can take thier voucher worth the amount you purchased your roundtrip ticket and shove it.<br /><br />HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY HOSTAGE CRISIS ANNIVERSARY TO YOU.<br /><br />Charlie and I are going to relive our first Valentine's day by sitting tonight for 10.5 hours. But this year we're going to do it in the privacy of our house watching the Blade Runner Box set. All five discs, 583 minutes, or 9.6 hours. We'd still have to kill an hour after that to be true to our anniversary, but I'm sure we'll come up with SOMETHIGN to do. At least we'll have food. And the freedom to walk out the house. And use the bathroom. And not have a crying baby sitting right behind me. (You were really cute when you weren't crying.)<br /><br />Love,<br />Gen<br /><br />PS-IF you are interested in pursuing legal action, and I'm not telling you to, cos it's your individual choice, please contact me at <a href="mailto:jetbluehostage@gmail.com">jetbluehostage@gmail.com</a>. I've retained a lawyer who is familiar with this case and many like it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-79858495033951144422007-08-07T17:19:00.001-07:002007-08-07T17:34:46.871-07:00Personal TravellingFor the love of God, YES, I still travel on JetBlue. I'm not turning down free tickets AND as Neeleman said in the investor relations call that I posted before, since most people won't be cashing in on their vouchers, they shouldn't have to worry about the bottom line (I'm heavily paraphrasing, listen to it if you want to hear exactly what he says.)<br /><br />So in some ass backwards way, NOT using their vouchers would help them and hurt me, all for what? Principle? I'm not holier than thou and I'm cheap, which is why I started traveling them in the first place, so there's where I am with the whole not traveling JetBlue hypocrisy stance.<br /><br />BUT, as I said once before, it's all about price shopping for me now....My monthly August trip is with Continental, which is the favorite of a reporter who interviewed me, who shall remain nameless for the sake of him remaining unbiased in his reporting.<br /><br />I AM MORE THAN SUPER DUPER THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THAT I AM FLYING ON VIRGIN AMERICA IN SEPTEMBER! I mentioned months ago that they were caught up the FAA Red tape and despite being ready for months, were still grounded for issues that have to do with nationality. Too much to go into here, but THEY ARE NOW AIRBORNE!<br /><br />In October, I am back to flying on JetBlue because I am 8 measly points away from my True Blue Reward. BUT AFTER THE AWARD, NO MORE, unless they are remarkably cheaper than the rest. (I would like to say in JetBlue's defense, they have been very accommodating to my demands as of late. For that, thanks ya'll.)<br /><br />I am very excited to tell you all about my Virgin America experience once I fly with them Thus far, I had a really wonderful phone experience with a Patrick in Burlingame. After being hung up on numerous time by the at-home moms in middle America who work for no benefits for JetBlue, I am happy just to have someone on the phone who sounds like they love where they work.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-3602098545238186492007-08-07T15:04:00.000-07:002007-08-07T15:05:44.485-07:00Rumor has it!!!OK, so it's an old rumor. But I thought I'd post it. Sent via email:<br /><br /><div style="font-style: italic;"><span>...Lots going on behind the scenes here...and you KNOW that the Jet Blue board actually staged</span></div> <div style="font-style: italic;"><span>a coup in May to oust Neeleman, who with whatever shortcomings he had was the heart and soul of the of the place....rumor has it he dumped all his stock and reinvested in WestJet, his last airline....<br /><br /><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-88245944599666106182007-08-07T15:02:00.000-07:002007-08-07T15:03:45.578-07:00EX-JETBLUE EMPOLOYEES UNITE!!!<div><span>Sent to me by a group of ex-employees looking to unite. This is not my coalition but <span style="font-style: italic;">POWER TO THE PEOPLE!</span><br /><br />------------------------------<wbr>------------------------------<wbr>------------------------------<wbr>-------</span></div> <div><span>Are you the current or especially EX employee of a "colorful" local airline?? Do you think you may have been treated unfairly or maybe even have some legal issues? We are forming a multi-state support group to help each other and share information, there IS strength in numbers!!<br />Plz call 562-916-3953 or email <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="mailto:colorjetcoalition@gmail.com" target="_blank"> colorjetcoalition@gmail.com</a>. Be part of a real solution to preserve our legal and moral rights!<span></span> </span></div> <div><span>------------------------------<wbr>------------------------------<wbr>--------------------------</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-64858066285683015522007-08-07T14:46:00.000-07:002007-08-07T17:04:38.908-07:00Lessons From The Tarmac - Fast Company<span style="font-style: italic;">I SERIOUSLY am having some war flashbacks. I'm glad to know that Neeleman's short temper and attitude weren't something personal against me, but rather a flaw in the man....or as Jenny Dervin (Corporate Communications)</span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size: 7.5pt;"><span id="st" name="st" class="st"></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"> told me, a result of his ADD.<br /><br />I am so glad he's gone. His public personality (YouTube Bill of Rights and his corporate blog) is so Jeckyll and Hyde from who is he when you meet with him one on one. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The funniest part of the whole story is how the very person he blamed when Charlie and I met with him (Dave Bager, formerly the COO of JetBlue, was in Florida on the date of the debacle) is his successor. </span><br /><br />From <span style="font-style: italic;">Fast Company</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/115/open_next-jetblue.html">Lessons From the Tarmac</a></span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/115/open_next-jetblue.html"><br /></a><a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/115/open_next-jetblue.html">Take it from David Neeleman and JetBlue: Recovering from a crisis is about the trust you build beforehand.</a></span><br /><p class="MsoPlainText">From: Issue 115<span style=""> </span>| May 2007<span style=""> </span>|<span style=""> </span>Page 31<span style=""> </span>| By: Chuck Salter<span style=""> </span>| Photographs By: Alyson Aliano<o:p></o:p></p><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Are we done with this interview? I don't want to talk to you anymore." </span><o:p></o:p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p>JetBlue CEO Neeleman. <o:p></o:p>He just wants to run the company: "It's belts and suspenders," Neeleman says. "If your suspenders fall off, your belt keeps your pants up. You have to have contingency plans for everything. My job is to make sure no one ever forgets what happened." <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p>David Neeleman, the founder and CEO of JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU), glares at me from across the small round table in his office in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Forest Hills</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place>. It's 50 minutes into the conversation, and he's burdened, testy, exhausted. "Look, I haven't slept in three weeks," he says. "I'm tired of talking. Emotionally, I am done … I just want to go out and run the company."<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoPlainText">I've come to pick Neeleman's brain on trust, crisis, and redemption. In its notorious Valentine's Day debacle, his airline suffered a startling breakdown due to 2 inches of ice at <st1:state st="on">New York</st1:state>'s <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">JFK</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Airport</st1:placetype></st1:place>. More than 1,000 cancellations. Massive delays. Passengers stuck on planes for up to nine hours. And it all played out, unfortuitously, in the media capital of the world. It took nearly a week for JetBlue to return operations to normal.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoPlainText">No surprise that Neeleman wants to put what he calls "the event" behind him. "For the 15th time, we've learned from this," he says. "That's why it's never going to happen again."<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoPlainText">He knows, of course, that it's not as easy as that. Eventually, even good companies screw up. They lose track of Social Security numbers, release buggy software, manufacture faulty cars. And customers are watching, trying to decide whether or not to forgive. In this precarious and very public moment, companies and leaders reveal what they're made of.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoPlainText">I already have some sense of what Neeleman is made of. I first wrote about JetBlue in 2004 and have followed the company since. "You built this airline," I say. "What's it like to--"<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoPlainText">"Of course, I'm disappointed," Neeleman jumps in. "Bitterly disappointed. I built a great business, and I have great people working for me… . You're overdoing it. Delta (OTC:DALRQ) screwed people for two days, and we did it for three and a half, okay? So go ask Delta what they did about it. Why don't you grill them?"<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoPlainText">Because Delta is not JetBlue. Neither is American (NYSE:AMR). The fact that those airlines stranded customers during the storm isn't surprising. They simply met the public's low expectations. JetBlue is an airline that aspires to be better than the majors--humane and, well, fun. It has low fares yet still offers amenities such as leather seats and TVs in the seat backs. The service is more personable, the employees' enthusiasm palpable.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p>So February's fiasco presents JetBlue with a unique problem--and an opportunity. The problem is removing doubts. Can it handle unpredictable and severe weather? Is the low-cost operation too lean to accommodate the fast growth that has made JetBlue the eighth-largest airline in just seven years? If the solution is beefing up personnel and systems, how does JetBlue keep fares low? How does it set itself apart?<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p>The opportunity, though, is for Neeleman to handle the crisis in a manner that confirms or enhances the brand. He has certainly tried. In the week following the ice-out, he appeared everywhere--The New York Times (NYSE:NYT), Today, NPR, Letterman, even YouTube (NASDAQ:GOOG). He accepted responsibility for bad decisions and overwhelmed departments. He said he'd fix the problems and promised refunds and credits for the aggrieved passengers. He apologized repeatedly. All of that helped confirm, at least to some, that JetBlue is in fact something special in the airline industry. "The single most important thing a company needs to show in a crisis is that it cares," says Bruce Blythe, CEO of Crisis Management International. "That's not a feeling. It's a behavior."<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p>But JetBlue also has this going for it: seven years of goodwill. Its customers largely accept that it cares, because it has demonstrated that it does, flight after flight. Compete Inc., a consumer-intelligence firm, conducted a poll in late February of 428 people who had visited JetBlue's Web site the month before. Despite the colossal Valentine's Day meltdown, 43% preferred JetBlue, the most for any airline.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p>That's no accident: Brands that are trustworthy before a crisis have an easier time recovering, says Don Peppers, a marketer with Peppers & Rogers Group, who has written about customer trust. In JetBlue's case, he says, "you have customers coming to the airline's defense on blogs." As Neeleman puts it, "If you run a crap company to begin with, you have no money in the emotional bank."<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p>Will customers forgive JetBlue? That depends in part on how it weathers future storms, literal and otherwise. (Snowstorms in February and March passed smoothly.) One thing's for sure: If Delta or American introduced a customer bill of rights, as JetBlue has done, it wouldn't have nearly the same impact. Customers give JetBlue another chance because it has consistently done right by them before.<o:p><br /></o:p><br />No, Neeleman doesn't kick me out of his office. He talks for another 15 minutes about how he's fixing systems, training personnel, hiring a veteran COO, using the incident to make JetBlue a better airline. When the interview ends, Neeleman does something that surprises me, although it shouldn't. He says he's sorry for snapping.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p>Apology accepted.<o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-43190901220317379692007-05-10T08:23:00.000-07:002007-05-10T08:25:27.251-07:00THANK YOU GOD!<a href="http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/10/news/companies/jetblue_ceo.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes">http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/10/news/companies/jetblue_ceo.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">JetBlue CEO pushed out</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></strong><br />Founder David Neeleman will be replaced by President Dave Barger. The shift comes after an embarrassing service meltdown this winter.<br /><br />May 10 2007: 9:38 AM EDT<br />NEW YORK (Reuters) -- JetBlue Airways Corp. Thursday pushed out founder David Neeleman as chief executive three months after a service meltdown.<br /><br />JetBlue said he would carry on as non-executive chairman playing a more strategic role.<br />The budget carrier replaced Neeleman, 47, with president Dave Barger, 49, effective immediately.<br /><br />The sudden change in leadership comes after JetBlue suffered an embarrassing service disruption on Feb. 14 that exposed weaknesses in the seven-year-old airline's operations.<br />A Valentine's Day ice storm stranded passengers on planes for hours, led to nearly 1,200 flight cancellations over several days, and cost the company more than $30 million.<br /><br />"The board suggested to David that he could best serve the company in a more strategic role. David agreed," JetBlue spokeswoman Jenny Dervin said. "The conversation was initiated by the board."<br /><br />Shares of <a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=JBLU&source=story_quote_link" target="_blank">JetBlue</a> (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/chart/chart.html?symb=JBLU&source=story_charts_link" target="_blank">Charts</a>) edged lower late Wednesday on Nasdaq. <a href="http://cnnmoney.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=JetBlue%A0CEO+Neeleman+steps+down+-+May.+10%2C+2007&amp;expire=06%2F9%2F2007&urlID=22278889&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2F2007%2F05%2F10%2Fnews%2Fcompanies%2Fjetblue_ceo.reut#TOP"></a><br /><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/24/news/companies/jetblue.reut/index.htm?postversion=2007042408" target="_blank">JetBlue posts loss after service foul-up</a><br /><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/15/news/companies/jetblue/index.htm?postversion=2007021511" target="_blank">JetBlue fliers stranded on plane</a><br /><a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/04/30/8405477/index.htm?postversion=2007042508" target="_blank">Onboard the wild ride of Doug Parker</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-89630489020269534572007-05-02T16:42:00.000-07:002007-05-02T16:49:30.495-07:00JetBlue....You can always count on them<em>JetBlue, known for going the extra mile for customers, decided to take thier history of sharing our personal information with the government and turn it up a notch! </em><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>JetBlue employees arrested for credit card fraud</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Wed May 2, 2007 9:48AM EDT</span><br /><br />By Edith Honan<br /><br />NEW YORK (Reuters) - Four JetBlue employees and a New York City corrections officer were arrested on Tuesday on charges of splurging with credit cards forgotten by passengers rushing to catch their flights, prosecutors said.<br /><br />The arrests come as the low-cost airline struggles to rebuild customer confidence after a February storm triggered the cancellation of some 1,200 JetBlue flights and left passengers stranded or fuming on grounded planes for hours.<br /><br />A probe by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau found that the five, who included three customer service agents and a flight attendant, went on shopping sprees using credit and debit cards that belonged to JetBlue customers.<br /><br />The cards, one of which the employees gave to the corrections officer, were used to make purchases at liquor stores, restaurants and shops, including Bloomingdale's and Victoria's Secret.<br />JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin said the company is cooperating fully with the investigation and that the four employees have been suspended.<br /><br />Investigators were tipped off to the scheme on June 7, 2006, after a law student who was flying from New York to Boston forgot his credit card at the JetBlue terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport. The card was later used to rack up charges of more than $500.<br /><br />"Airports can often be stressful places," Morgenthau said. "These defendants took advantage of that stress when customers, focused on their travel plans, inadvertently left their credit cards with JetBlue employees, ironically working as 'customer service' agents. Instead of providing assistance, these agents ripped off passengers."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-72541358510108891552007-04-14T15:58:00.001-07:002007-08-08T17:17:30.379-07:00Your route V. Reality<span style="font-style: italic;">Sorry guys, my bad, i should have made this clear earlier. I did not WRITE this post. This was sent into me by a reader as was the art one and part two from "The Crew of JetBlue Hostage." I am know nothing about aeronautics but I leave both sides of the argument up on here and the comments. </span><br /><br />Airbus A-320 Range Directly From Jet Blue Airways Site (2700nm...it says "miles", but in aviation that is not a unit of measurement because of the curvature of the earth):<br />http://www.jetblue.com/about/whyyoulllike/about_whyairbusstats.html<br /><br />Jet Blue route map:<br />http://www.jetblue.com/wherewefly/<br /><br />Great Circle Mapper (keep in mind these don't factor in taxi fuel, atc delay, weather rerouting's, most efficient TOC---top of climb...and a bunch of other variables)<br /><br />http://gc.kls2.com/<br /><br />JFK-OAK = 2576<br />JFK-SFO = 2586<br />BOS-SFO = 2704 (A clear demonstration of being "over" the 2700 threshold)<br />BOS-OAK = 2693 (7 miles below the 2700 threshold)--this isn't a car, fuel is precision and fuel is the 2nd most costly economic staple of flying an airplane)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-1452041117552071012007-04-14T11:54:00.000-07:002007-04-14T12:18:27.019-07:00Why Why Why JetBlueHostage?When I set out to do this blog, it was in an effort to give people a community to voice their dismay with the Golden Child of Airlines, <B>JetBlue</b>. I had been wrong, many people had been wronged and there was inequity in our compensation compounded by the fact that it was insufficient and didn't cover reimbursements for things like Taxi Cabs or Hotels. <br /><br />Weeks went by and as I tried to move past it and Jetblue tried to forget about me, or more importantly prayed that YOU would forget about me, it turns out that JetBlue continued to make the same mistakes or would over compensate for their mistakes by pre-emptively canceling flights at any sign of bad weather. I joked with friends that Jet Blue had pre-emptively cancelled all flights from now til June. Emails continued to come in from disgruntled customers.<br /><br />But a funny thing happened on the way to the blogosphere. Employees. factory workers and aviation "experts" started writing in to me and I was exposed to another part of JetBlue, something a lot more unsettling than an unfriendly and unhelpful gate agent. Questionable business practices were called into question like Routes and Fuel Capacity, cutting corners in factories in South America that build the JetBlue planes and extending Crew Time to dangerous limits. <br /><br />I decided that instead of aligning myself with a federally regulated Bill Of Rights or a Class Action Lawsuit, that I would work towards finding out the truth of JetBlue operations. <br /><br />With the help of people who know the inner workings of JetBlue and Aviation, I'll use this blog to put these findings up, good or bad. <br /><br />We will still be your community to voice your concerns, so keep those emails coming. <br /><br /><B>And I enjoy the HATE MAIL-Someone once told me, you're not truly successful until you start getting hatemail. <br />Thanks to you my mom is proud of me!</B><br /><br />Enjoy part I and II below on the truth of the A320. Shortly, we'll tell you all about Crew time and Neeleman's crusade to extend the number of hours a pilot is able to fly despite the direct relation of aviation accidents to pilot exhaustion. <br /><br />We'll also talk soon about JetBlue's newest plane the EMB190.<br /><br />Love,<br />GenUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-62019164639386189942007-04-14T11:52:00.001-07:002007-04-14T12:18:27.020-07:00JET BLUE AIRWAYS- “Unsafe at Any Altitude or Attitude” Part II<I>Continuation of Part I.</I><br /><br />Please examine the Jet Blue Airways web site, and uncover the stated “range capabilities” for a Jet Blue Airbus A320. Next, examine the “route map” of Jet Blue Airways, and pay keen attention towards the transcontinental flight offerings. Next select any online “search engine” and inquire about the actual aerial mileage between two cities such as New York JFK to Oakland California. Next, refer to the FAA FAR/AIM Guidelines for 2007---all airlines are either Part 121 or Part 135 carriers and must operate within the confines of these rules---and locate the absolute minimum allowable “fuel remaining on board” requirements. If you were to take all these actions, you would realize that Jet Blue operates perilously close to the operational minimums on some routings, and on other routings---you will quickly note that the actual aerial mileage EXCEEDS the range capabilities of the Jet Blue Aircraft flying these routes. Thus, even though Jet Blue Airways sells you a NONSTOP ticket from New York to Oakland, the Jet Blue Airways Aircraft YOU board actually files a flight plan from New York to an intermediary airport that the aircraft can operationally reach. Once above that intermediary airport, the Jet Blue Airways Flight Crew and Dispatcher must make rapid computations to determine whether enough fuel is onboard to reach the advertised/intended NONSTOP destination. If not, you just found yourself on a NONSTOP “slight” from New York to Denver or Salt Lack City opposed to Oakland. No this IS NOT “normal operating procedure”; competing airlines possess aircraft with far greater range then Jet Blue Airways, and Jet Blue Airways selected the Airbus offering (the A320---which is an entirely safe aircraft, offering exceptional performance attributes…just not great range) over competing aircraft on the sole basis of cost…not suitability to the route system Jet Blue Airways intended to service. Several “safety whys” are embedded in the aforementioned instance…on a service level, why doesn't the Jet Blue Airways passenger “Bill of Rights” offer any “relief” to passengers afflicted by the malice of scheduling NONSTOP flights on routings that can't be consistently achieved due to a lack of aircraft range ? Because this is an open and credible forum, please note that on a routing such as Oakland to New York, the range issue is not particularly relevant given the advantages of a West-East “tailwind”---yet those advantages obviously are not to be found when on the New York to Oakland segment the West-East “tailwind” is actually a “headwind”.<br /> <br />The purpose of this first article is to engage visitors, and apprise them of how unsafe Jet Blue Airways actually are. The second article will touch upon the machinations of Jet Blue Airways as they pertain to dictates upon Flight Crews….<br /> <br />Okay….so what in the world does the concept of –“Manifest Destiny”---have to do with safety and Jet Blue Airways? Remember the Pilgrims and your imaginary remote control? Very simply, if you were to hit “Fast Forward”---within 10 years, 50 years, 100 years---a noticeable pattern would begin to reveal itself, and you could basically hit “Pause” and realize the proverbial “rest of the story” … Starting in what is now Massachusetts, you would witness the growth of a “Nation”. First to the North and South, and next towards the West. The “growth” would remain within certain “confines”---it could not penetrate too far south because of the Spaniards, it couldn’t progress too far north because of numerous European interests, and it would finally stop its westward migration at the barrier of the Pacific Ocean…eventually it would consume some peripheral territories (Alaska & Hawaii). Hence, everything has a natural and somewhat obvious progression…even the “weather”, society has learned what conditions---rapidly dropping atmospheric pressure, etc need to be in place for a Tornado to formulate. Mix some flour, eggs, sugar, etc…and if your intent is to bake a cupcake, in a few hours the “manifest destiny” of your ingredients will be achieved. Jet Blue Airways is the reciprocal of the sugary “manifest destiny” of your ingredients. Jet Blue has grown more rapidly then any other airline in the history of Aviation in the United States…unfortunately the ramifications of such rapid growth can be viewed in the ashes of “manifest destiny” scores of post-deregulation airlines. Jet Blue Airways has filled a flight plan that is on a collision course with “manifest destiny”…for the benefit of your personal safety, and that of your loved one’s…every time you book a flight upon Jet Blue Airways; it is very possible that your actual destination won't be Houston, Seattle, or Long Beach…but “manifest destiny”, and unfortunately for you---if it is---Jet Blue Airways has just ended your very existence. Thank you.<br /> <br />The Crew of JetBlueHostage.comUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-28809945625934347912007-04-14T11:52:00.000-07:002007-04-14T12:18:27.038-07:00JET BLUE AIRWAYS- “Unsafe at Any Altitude or Attitude” Part II<I>Continuation of Part I.</I><br /><br />Please examine the Jet Blue Airways web site, and uncover the stated “range capabilities” for a Jet Blue Airbus A320. Next, examine the “route map” of Jet Blue Airways, and pay keen attention towards the transcontinental flight offerings. Next select any online “search engine” and inquire about the actual aerial mileage between two cities such as New York JFK to Oakland California. Next, refer to the FAA FAR/AIM Guidelines for 2007---all airlines are either Part 121 or Part 135 carriers and must operate within the confines of these rules---and locate the absolute minimum allowable “fuel remaining on board” requirements. If you were to take all these actions, you would realize that Jet Blue operates perilously close to the operational minimums on some routings, and on other routings---you will quickly note that the actual aerial mileage EXCEEDS the range capabilities of the Jet Blue Aircraft flying these routes. Thus, even though Jet Blue Airways sells you a NONSTOP ticket from New York to Oakland, the Jet Blue Airways Aircraft YOU board actually files a flight plan from New York to an intermediary airport that the aircraft can operationally reach. Once above that intermediary airport, the Jet Blue Airways Flight Crew and Dispatcher must make rapid computations to determine whether enough fuel is onboard to reach the advertised/intended NONSTOP destination. If not, you just found yourself on a NONSTOP “slight” from New York to Denver or Salt Lack City opposed to Oakland. No this IS NOT “normal operating procedure”; competing airlines possess aircraft with far greater range then Jet Blue Airways, and Jet Blue Airways selected the Airbus offering (the A320---which is an entirely safe aircraft, offering exceptional performance attributes…just not great range) over competing aircraft on the sole basis of cost…not suitability to the route system Jet Blue Airways intended to service. Several “safety whys” are embedded in the aforementioned instance…on a service level, why doesn't the Jet Blue Airways passenger “Bill of Rights” offer any “relief” to passengers afflicted by the malice of scheduling NONSTOP flights on routings that can't be consistently achieved due to a lack of aircraft range ? Because this is an open and credible forum, please note that on a routing such as Oakland to New York, the range issue is not particularly relevant given the advantages of a West-East “tailwind”---yet those advantages obviously are not to be found when on the New York to Oakland segment the West-East “tailwind” is actually a “headwind”.<br /> <br />The purpose of this first article is to engage visitors, and apprise them of how unsafe Jet Blue Airways actually are. The second article will touch upon the machinations of Jet Blue Airways as they pertain to dictates upon Flight Crews….<br /> <br />Okay….so what in the world does the concept of –“Manifest Destiny”---have to do with safety and Jet Blue Airways? Remember the Pilgrims and your imaginary remote control? Very simply, if you were to hit “Fast Forward”---within 10 years, 50 years, 100 years---a noticeable pattern would begin to reveal itself, and you could basically hit “Pause” and realize the proverbial “rest of the story” … Starting in what is now Massachusetts, you would witness the growth of a “Nation”. First to the North and South, and next towards the West. The “growth” would remain within certain “confines”---it could not penetrate too far south because of the Spaniards, it couldn’t progress too far north because of numerous European interests, and it would finally stop its westward migration at the barrier of the Pacific Ocean…eventually it would consume some peripheral territories (Alaska & Hawaii). Hence, everything has a natural and somewhat obvious progression…even the “weather”, society has learned what conditions---rapidly dropping atmospheric pressure, etc need to be in place for a Tornado to formulate. Mix some flour, eggs, sugar, etc…and if your intent is to bake a cupcake, in a few hours the “manifest destiny” of your ingredients will be achieved. Jet Blue Airways is the reciprocal of the sugary “manifest destiny” of your ingredients. Jet Blue has grown more rapidly then any other airline in the history of Aviation in the United States…unfortunately the ramifications of such rapid growth can be viewed in the ashes of “manifest destiny” scores of post-deregulation airlines. Jet Blue Airways has filled a flight plan that is on a collision course with “manifest destiny”…for the benefit of your personal safety, and that of your loved one’s…every time you book a flight upon Jet Blue Airways; it is very possible that your actual destination won't be Houston, Seattle, or Long Beach…but “manifest destiny”, and unfortunately for you---if it is---Jet Blue Airways has just ended your very existence. Thank you.<br /> <br />The Crew of JetBlueHostage.comUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-38312105765494530802007-04-14T11:49:00.000-07:002007-04-14T12:18:27.040-07:00JET BLUE AIRWAYS- “Unsafe at Any Altitude or Attitude” Part I<I>(Submitted by and written by David F.)</I><br /> <br />The First Article in a Continuing Series on Why JetBlue Airways is Unsafe to Fly<br /> <br />Imagine possessing a spectator’s vantage point, for whence the “Pilgrims” arrived upon a “rock” situated in Plymouth Massachusetts, and established a “settlement” the 16th Day of the Month of December in the Year 1620.<br /> <br />The undiluted clarity of your “spectator” perch is augmented by one absolute fact, and one absolute facet of imagination. The “fact” is that all of the events your about to witness for the next 386 + years are entirely real. The “imaginary” element is that you possess a “remote control” and can Fast Forward, Rewind, and Pause what you're upon the threshold of viewing.<br /> <br />The American History 101-“esque” introduction to a discourse upon the safety of flying upon Jet Blue Airways, is remarkably simplistic, and can be summed up in a single conceptual phrase; “Manifest Destiny”. Bearing witness to the “process” of nearly any entity or action--- a Country--- a Human Life-- the History of a Corporation---Baking a batch of cupcakes, will result in a single absolute….“Manifest Destiny”.<br /> <br />At this moment you ought to be, very understandably, weary of the purpose of this specific writing. You may possibly be questioning if any salient conclusion resides as “reward” for reading onward? How could American History, safety aboard a Jet Blue aircraft, baking a cupcake, and the concept of “manifest destiny” possibly be intertwined? Your questioning is valid. Yet, in a moment a very simple answer shall be forthcoming, and it is an important answer, and you have found yourself upon a very important blog/web site for the sanctity of preserving your “well being”, and the overall sense of “public trust”.<br /> <br />Prior to revealing, the “simple answer”, please allow for a very succinct “history” for the www.JetBlueHostage.com blog/web site. “JetBlueHostage” is the result of a very difficult day, February 14, 2007, for both Jet Blue Airways and its passengers alike. On that day Jet Blue Airways experienced operational difficulties, due to weather, that caused “unanticipated” hardships for itself, passengers, and it’s much vaunted “brand” reputation. Passenger’s boarded Jet Blue aircraft at JFK International Airport in New York, the aircraft left their respective gates, and approximately ten hours later the aircraft returned to the gates from which they had departed. The “exception” which made this extremely mundane process remarkable, was a single “curiosity”, the Jet Blue Airways aircraft hadn’t reached any specific or intended destination prior to resuming position at a the Jet Blue Airways JFK terminal. Instead, these JetBlue Airways aircraft had, in approximately the window of time it would take to fly nonstop from JFK-Sao Paulo Brazil, traveled all of 4 or 5 miles whilst taxing wholly upon the JFK airport tarmac, never actually taking flight. So what!<br /> <br />No passengers were grievously injured; no Jet Blue Airways aircraft---aside from a few sewage “issues”--- were damaged, and the imprecise science of determining what the “weather is and would be” was the root cause. Again, so what!!! How, aside from personal property (baggage) not being promptly returned, was this event---presently termed a “massacre” by those within the Corporate Headquarters of Jet Blue Airways---any different from a massive “rain delay” at the ballpark? In fact, a compelling argument can be substantiated that the Jet Blue Airways passengers on 3.14.07 were exposed to conditions far less rigorous then those “unfortunates” attending a rainy baseball game. The Jet Blue passengers were---offered free beverages every few hours, occupied leather reclining seats, had access to a personal television, and the ratio of bathrooms to people was far superior to what is encountered in the confines of a baseball Stadium (provided a passenger was aboard an aircraft where the rest room facilities were properly functioning)---whereas those exposed to a “rain delay” at a baseball game---would have to pay for all refreshments, have the soggy field as a source of entertainment, and are probably sitting upon hardened plastic. Again so what!!! <br /> <br />The answer to “so what” is that, JetBlueHostage.com was conceived out of a “massacre” like experience, in an effort to create a forum for those who were exposed. The actual result of JetBlueHostage.com has been the realization that Jet Blue Airways is a very unsafe means of transport, which threatens the safety of both the “collective good” and “public trust”. Your “well being”, the “well being” of your family, and the “well being” of your friends and associates is at peril whence exposed to Jet Blue Airways. Thus, several articles posted upon JetBlueHostage.com will now attempt to engage the “Management” of Jet Blue Airways in a question regarding personal safety. Here is the first…<br /> <br />(Part II continued on next Blog...)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-12699421829169258642007-04-13T11:22:00.000-07:002007-04-14T12:17:46.211-07:00Gary's JetBlue hell...it never ends.Dear Jet Blue:<br /><br />I was not one your Valentine's Day Hostages, rather one of your victims of a cancelled flight on Friday, March 16, out of JFK. This trip to New York was my first on Jet Blue. I, of course, tried Jet Blue because the rates were good,<br />and my sister had bragged about you.<br /><br />Friday morning, March 16th, I called to check on my departing flight, and the message I got indicated my flight was still a go. I spent $65 dollars to get from Manhattan to JFK, only to find out my flight back home had been cancelled. I had to wait in line avery long line to speak with someone about this, and when finally doing so was told that my only options were that I could get a refund of my money and try another airline, or wait until the following<br />Tuesday or Wednesday for another Jet Blue flight back home. Wow! I could not wait until Tuesday or Wednesday due to my employment commitments, and I asked the gal that I was talking to, if Jet Blue could help me find another flight with another airline as well as help me locate a place to stay in the interim. She simply replied "all I can do is give you a refund or schedule you on another flight Tuesday or Wednesday."<br /><br />So here I am stranded at JFK, with no place to stay and no way to stay and no way to get out of New York back home. This has never happened to me before, and was maddening. I could live with the cancelled flight (although there were other planes taking off from JFK while all this was going on), but the attitude of "no assistance" really irked me. Other than the two options above stated, they basically were saying "this is your problem, not ours!" Your help at JFK was NO HELP and their indifference to my (and many others) situtation was shocking.<br /><br />Without going into all the details, I wound up spending all day Friday trying to find another flight, a hotel room, and transportation to and from that hotel back and forth to JFK. This delay and my trip back home cost me over $1000 additional money than my original plans.<br /><br />I sat in the JFK airport all day Friday and saw no snow, no rain, no nothing that seemed to justify the flight cancellation. I never write and complain to anyone, but this was, in my mind, an incredible unjustifiable inconvenience followed by an incredibly indifferent attitude on the part of Jet Blue employees on duty that day.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Gary R. -----Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-5647925067670432802007-04-13T11:16:00.000-07:002007-04-14T12:17:46.213-07:00Some Things Never Change, Do They JetBlue<div style="direction: ltr;">My flying with Jetblue this weekend was a disaster.<br /><br />I'm undecided with whats worse, Jetblue or JFK. The flight was due to leave Pittsburgh at 7:00pm. At that time they made an announcement that they had to delay because of "volume" into JFK. By the way in was clear and sunny skies. At 8:30 they begin boarding. About halfway to JFK we start a holding pattern because the pilot came on and said it was rush hour at JFK. I<br />think we made it to JFK around 11pm.<br /><br />I run to my connecting flight that has been waiting for mine and several other flights to Burlington. It was another hour waiting in the plane for the other planes.<br /><br />When I finally get to Burlington at 4:00am my luggage is nowhere to be found. I had to go fill out a lost baggage form.<br /><br />Ready for the trip back to Pittsburgh?<br /><br />We get an hour delay from Burlington because of "weather" which was only rain. The flight from JFK to Pittsburgh was supposed to leave at 9pm got canceled untill 1am because the plane we were supposed to take was in Washington Dulles.<br /><br />The Food in New York was $4 a slice for pizza? Are you kidding me? $2.50 for a soda?<br /><br />So the plane arrives at JFK we are supposed to get on. We are all aboard at 1:30am and the pilot makes an announcement "i'm sorry but we are experiancing some equipment problems and are going to have to do a restart and it involves shutting everything off for 10<br />minutes."<br /><br />There we are at 1:30 in the morning sitting in a dark airplane at JFK. Everyone around me is cracking jokes.<br /><br />We got to Pittsburgh at 4:00am just in time for me to go to class.<br /><br />It made for a long day with no sleep. I'll never go Jetblue again. They need a new Hub. JFK sucks.<br /><br />Jim, Another "proud" Jetblue passenger<br /></div> <script><!-- D(["mb","\u003cdiv style\u003d\"direction:ltr\"\>\u003cspan class\u003dad\>\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>______________________________\u003cwbr /\>______________________________\u003cwbr /\>________________________\u003cbr /\>Sucker-punch spam with award-winning protection.\u003cbr /\>Try the free Yahoo! Mail Beta.\u003cbr /\>\u003ca onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\" href\u003d\"http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/features_spam.html\" target\u003d_blank\>http://advision.webevents\u003cwbr /\>.yahoo.com/mailbeta/features\u003cwbr /\>_spam.html\u003c/a\>\u003cbr /\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/div\>",0] ); D(["ce"]); //--></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-6640168102093937942007-04-13T10:59:00.000-07:002008-12-08T16:40:08.499-08:00JETBLUE AIRWAYS TRAFFIC RESULTS<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" > <div><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">IN<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> RED </span>FROM DAVID F.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9NeR8A4Pct1TKz8EJRr7_W00wY6dnY-oliDz_P4jX92YTzSeJjiIHfMfJfhR7kuV08Jae_TqQh655vzhtHkwBcrOTqewtFfGePb-TwZrEl0PWKr-Ihb3QbzQu9LVaxX8alz8gB6G2a8/s1600-h/0706compare1.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9NeR8A4Pct1TKz8EJRr7_W00wY6dnY-oliDz_P4jX92YTzSeJjiIHfMfJfhR7kuV08Jae_TqQh655vzhtHkwBcrOTqewtFfGePb-TwZrEl0PWKr-Ihb3QbzQu9LVaxX8alz8gB6G2a8/s400/0706compare1.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052976121187255330" border="0" /></a><wbr style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></div><div> </div> <div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><strong>*Very very very nice number</strong></span></div> <div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><strong>And...the number say....B6 did okay! 19.9% more "rev" pax's is very respectable when compared with an 11.3% increase in "avail" seats. The airline is growing very quickly, 36% more departures is a lot, but the stage length (average miles of a B6 flight) fell 12.5% which is "spot on" because they introduced a new smaller aircraft, the EMB-190. Smaller aircraft, 36% more flights, is in sync with 11.3% more avail seats. The only scary number here is the anemic -1% load factor, a big negative when considering 36% growth--19.9% more $$ "pax" and 11.3% more available seats. It is scary because B6 actually slowed growth and deferred aircraft (capacity)---if they had stayed with the intended growth plan, these numbers would have been very messy. But management did a good job, but B6 can only delay aircraft orders and defer growth for so long (their business model is not geared for just stopping growth)---they are going to have to start looking inward to shave costs, and that gets really ugly. One other factor which is scary, is that B6 removed seats from </strong></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><strong>airplanes during this period---thus reducing the capacity they already had. They are not generating enough new passengers to sustain their growth model and/or they are not discovering new routes that are paved in gold. <script><!-- D(["mb","\u003c/strong\> \u003cstrong\> \u003c/strong\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cstrong\>\u003cfont color\u003d\"#ff0000\"\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/strong\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cstrong\>\u003cfont color\u003d\"#ff0000\"\>The Year to Date numbers below are pretty close \nto the month-to-month, but again you have that \u003c/font\>\u003c/strong\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cstrong\>\u003cfont color\u003d\"#ff0000\"\>-3.6% load factor, which ain't good....and does \nnot bode well for the future growth model.\u003c/font\>\u003c/strong\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\> \u003cWBR\> Y-T-D \n2007 Y-T-D 2006 % Change\u003cbr\>Revenue passenger miles \n(000) 5,942,430 \n5,536,019 7.3\u003cbr\>Available seat miles \n(000) 7,369,669 \n6,576,514 12.1\u003cbr\>Load \nfactor \u003cWBR\> 80.6% \n84.2% (3.6) pts.\u003cbr\>Revenue \npassengers \n5,090,815 4,334,919 \n17.4\u003cbr\>Departures \u003cWBR\> 46,574 \n34,417 35.3\u003cbr\>Average stage \nlength 1\u003cWBR\>,086 \n1,246 (12.8)\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>SOURCE: JetBlue Airways \nCorporation\u003cbr\>\u003c/div\>\u003c/font\>\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont style\u003d\"color:black;font:normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF\"\>\u003chr style\u003d\"margin-top:10px\"\>See what's free at \u003ca title\u003d\"http://www.aol.com?ncid\u003dAOLAOF00020000000503\" href\u003d\"http://www.aol.com?ncid\u003dAOLAOF00020000000503\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>AOL.com\u003c/a\>. \u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\u003c/div\>\n",0] ); //--></script> </strong> <strong> </strong></span></div> <div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><strong></strong> </div> <div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Year to Date numbers below are pretty close to the month-to-month, but again you have that </span></strong></div> <div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">-3.6% load factor, which ain't good....and does not bode well for the future growth model.</span></strong></div> <div><br /><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGGtr8uHVhH7IQXFViz9v6ArStst1Qhl1JR13FKmaUOEJ6Oo8HDq8YfeOjkBYGPvRzthlicOx26BZEnh4cNAU9LiPa05btX34W9Lt8kowU-89CfSOVX5OVsRFwHSaLGGhcfdGzBKJhic/s1600-h/0706compare2.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGGtr8uHVhH7IQXFViz9v6ArStst1Qhl1JR13FKmaUOEJ6Oo8HDq8YfeOjkBYGPvRzthlicOx26BZEnh4cNAU9LiPa05btX34W9Lt8kowU-89CfSOVX5OVsRFwHSaLGGhcfdGzBKJhic/s400/0706compare2.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052977134799537202" border="0" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">SOURCE: JetBlue Airways Corporation</span><br /></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-68638784853328124422007-03-23T17:08:00.001-07:002007-04-14T12:17:46.215-07:00Charlie and I will be on CNN Business TravellerCharlie and I interviewed on camera for CNN Business Traveller with Richard Quest today. The show is about the Passenger Bill of Rights.<br /><br />It was a really fantastic experience and I feel pretty good about it. I don't know what to expect, what with the wonders of editing they might make me look like a complete fool or maybe I'll end up on the cutting room floor.<br /><br />In any event, the show will air on the following dates:<br /><br />April 14, 15 & 19<br /><br />Saturday 14:30<br />Sunday 12:30<br />Thursday 14.30<br />ALL TIMES GMT<br /><br />Please support!<br /><br />Love,<br />GenUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-53628056202642766822007-03-21T11:55:00.000-07:002007-04-14T12:17:46.221-07:00JetBlue Employee in search of a Labor Lawyer<div>Any stranded Valentine's passengers out there who are also attorneys, and</div> <div>wouldn't mind a labor crusade <em>against</em> Jet Blue...one employee in particular is in </div> <div>need, would love to tell her story, in the hopes that, besides keeping her health </div> <div>insurance and paying her rent, can help illustrate to her customers exactly how</div> <div>Jet Blue maagement has failed to keep their their "Values" intact for their employees,</div> <div>and therefore for their customer as well......"</div> <div> </div> <div>If you are already in touch with someone like this, please have them email me here</div> <div>and I will call them. I would be happy to chat with you, give you the whole story, and tell</div> <div>you why I haven't gone public.....yet.</div> <div><br />Love,<br />Gen<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112025316757861088.post-21348020243832731652007-03-20T19:40:00.000-07:002007-04-14T12:17:46.223-07:00Your Assignment and JetBlue's dark historyOK, you found me out. I'm a quasi conspiracy theorist.<br /><br />I've had a few people email me about a flight I took on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">JetBlue</span> last week. I talked to one person about it who said that I mention it somewhere on my blog. However up until yesterday, after I came back from said vacation, I don't mention it anywhere. Unless I am missing it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Here's your assignment: Find on my page WHERE I have mentioned (prior to last night) my trip to LA on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">JetBlue</span> and email it to me at jetbluehostage@gmail.com. </span><br /><br />If it is not on my site, then <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">JetBlue</span> employees are tracking me on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">JetBlue</span> flights...as if being concerned about travel isn't worrisome enough, I have to worry about my privacy and my checked in property.<br /><br />If it DOES turn out to that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">JetBlue</span> is sharing my information/monitoring me, it wouldn't be the first time. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">JetBlue</span> has violated our privacy before when they shared our private information with the government.<br /><br />Read here for more info:<a href="http://www.cdt.org/privacy/20040220dhsreport.pdf" target="http://www.cdt.org/privacy/20040220dhsreport.pdf"><br />http://www.cdt.org/privacy/20040220dhsreport.pdf</a><br /><a href="http://www.cdt.org/publications/pp_9.20.shtml" target="http://www.cdt.org/publications/pp_9.20.shtml">http://www.cdt.org/publications/pp_9.20.shtml</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Excerpt:</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><br />(2) Background on the Sharing of Commercial Flight Passenger Data with the US Army</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><br />In September, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">JetBlue</span> confirmed reports that it had violated its privacy policy by sharing passenger information, including names, addresses, phone numbers and itineraries, with Torch Concepts, a contractor for the US Army working on military base security systems.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><br /><br />This was a violation of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">JetBlue's</span> own privacy policy in their Carriage of Contract. The same Carriage of Contract that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Neeleman</span> told me was his legally binding contract with his customers that protects us and ensures that he will follow the Bill of Rights to the letter.<br /><br />To review:<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">JetBlue</span> has a history of violating their own privacy policy<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">JetBlue</span> has a history of sharing private information.<br /><br />I'm really hoping one of you finds my post where I mention it, because this violation would cause me to graduate from participating in JetBlue Class action lawsuit <span style="font-style: italic;">(something I have to still explore before I do,)</span> to filing personal lawsuit.<br /><br />Thanks!<br />GenUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0