JetBlue TrueBlue - 2/14: 1 Year Later

The infamous Valentine's Day meltdown was one year ago today. What are your thoughts on the improvement during irops?

Operational reliability has improved quite a bit over the past year. In my personal opinion, this is due in large part to the efforts on the part of B6 ops to finalize operations on the right coast earlier into the night and be willing to cancel flights earlier to allow for proper positioning of next-day ops. Part of the reason for the operational failure last year was because poor decision making on the 14th led to displaced aircraft and crews on the following days. Much of this has been improved on dramatically in a year's time, and seems to be SOP now.

I commend Russ Chew for taking the reins so aggressively. With the way B6 handles IROPs now, it's hard to imagine anything like February 14th happening again.

From a customer's standpoint,

- no proactive paging for late flights (need to manually check mobile.jetblue.com)
- inconsistent application when giving vouchers for "controllable irregularities".

That mess was enough to turn me off for good. I'm still using up my free flights (hence my participation in this board), but once they're gone, that's it. Too bad for B6 - I fly the NorCal-SoCal corridor about once a week, virtually all full-fare due to last-minute scheduling, and all my travel has shifted to WN.

That mess was enough to turn me off for good. I'm still using up my free flights (hence my participation in this board), but once they're gone, that's it. Too bad for B6 - I fly the NorCal-SoCal corridor about once a week, virtually all full-fare due to last-minute scheduling, and all my travel has shifted to WN.

No, too bad for you that you won't give them a second chance. Sure the mess was HUGE but a few things:

1. They learned from their mistake and implemented a new OPs structure and technology and the Customer B.O.R.
2. They apologized aggressively and issued $30 million in compensation
3. Were you in any way directly affected by the mess last year?\


Companies make mistakes all the time, and there were stats several months ago about what percentage of business jetBlue lost, and it was somewhere around 5% maximum. So, you're part of that small minority.

Enjoy Southwest! They're a great company, but it ain't no jetBlue

3. Were you in any way directly affected by the mess last year?\

Enjoy Southwest! They're a great company, but it ain't no jetBlue

Yes, I was directly affected by the VD massacre last year. B6 royally screwed up, and with their minimal frequency on the West Coast corridor, it was a huge pain to get home. Had this been the first time this had happened, I would have been more inclined to stick with them. However, this was the third time within a year, and I've chosen to not risk pissing off clients or aggravating myself by flying B6 again except to use up several free tickets.

No, B6 is not WN. WN has tremendous frequency and if a flight is delayed or cancelled I can easily take another one. Luckily for me, they "ain't no jetBlue".

Yes, I was directly affected by the VD massacre last year. B6 royally screwed up, and with their minimal frequency on the West Coast corridor, it was a huge pain to get home. Had this been the first time this had happened, I would have been more inclined to stick with them. However, this was the third time within a year, and I've chosen to not risk pissing off clients or aggravating myself by flying B6 again except to use up several free tickets.

No, B6 is not WN. WN has tremendous frequency and if a flight is delayed or cancelled I can easily take another one. Luckily for me, they "ain't no jetBlue".




I agree--I love Jetblue but if given a choice on being on time , esp on the Intra-CA flights, WN wins in a landslide --they are an opertaional machine. B6 may have better service, seating, etc and TVs but thats all moot if my flight from SAN to SLC is delayed thanks to my incoming aircraft rotting on the tarmac at JFK ;)

Yes, I was directly affected by the VD massacre last year. B6 royally screwed up, and with their minimal frequency on the West Coast corridor, it was a huge pain to get home. Had this been the first time this had happened, I would have been more inclined to stick with them. However, this was the third time within a year, and I've chosen to not risk pissing off clients or aggravating myself by flying B6 again except to use up several free tickets.

No, B6 is not WN. WN has tremendous frequency and if a flight is delayed or cancelled I can easily take another one. Luckily for me, they "ain't no jetBlue".

We're sad to see you go smmrfld but your reasons are totally reasonable and I might do the same if I was in your shoes. Hopefully we can continue to prove ourselves and our improved operations and maybe you give us another shot! Safe Travels on which ever airline you find yourself flying on!

I've born witness to several difficult weather events over the past year and I have seen a markable improvement from the mess we dug into a year ago. Dave, Russ and all the new heads really have gotten the operation turned around and have implimented some great policies. Dave said it best on Bloomberg, "...when fighting mother nature, some times you have to let her win."

I've born witness to several difficult weather events over the past year and I have seen a markable improvement from the mess we dug into a year ago. Dave, Russ and all the new heads really have gotten the operation turned around and have implimented some great policies. Dave said it best on Bloomberg, "...when fighting mother nature, some times you have to let her win."

The trick to losing is to do it well. B6 has gotten better, but their only recourse is to get you rebooked on a flight "eventually" and they have limited frequencies and capacity on enough of their routes that this can be very difficult. CO is also bad at service recovery/irrops and the similarities are scary. At least on CO if you get the correct person to work with you there are other carriers that can be utilized in the recovery. WN avoids that need by having more frequencies and capacity and routing options, so the recovery can happen more quickly.

Beyond the seat pitch, snacks and everything else, most folks want their flight to be safe and on time. Safe isn't really an issue, but on time is. Passengers don't really care about the "why" when they are late, especially not when it happens regularly. And a $25 voucher doesn't always make up for it. I agree that B6 has gotten better, and I think that the slot controls in JFK are going to help even more. Things are looking up.

I've flown a couple times on B6 since 2/14 but not during irops, so I can't comment on that.

I think interlining might have to become a reality here in the near future. The only reason WN can get away without it is because of their shear size and flights and "hub" work arounds. 80% of our flights touch JFK or BOS and when those go sour we can't move customers around and provide them alternatives. I don't know what IT currently has on their plate but hopefully an upgraded reservations system that can handle interlining ticketing and baggage is in the works.

I think interlining might have to become a reality here in the near future. The only reason WN can get away without it is because of their shear size and flights and "hub" work arounds. 80% of our flights touch JFK or BOS and when those go sour we can't move customers around and provide them alternatives. I don't know what IT currently has on their plate but hopefully an upgraded reservations system that can handle interlining ticketing and baggage is in the works.

If and when this happens I would be much more willing to fly on B6. Definitely. ^

No, too bad for you that you won't give them a second chance. Sure the mess was HUGE but a few things:

1. They learned from their mistake and implemented a new OPs structure and technology and the Customer B.O.R.
2. They apologized aggressively and issued $30 million in compensation
3. Were you in any way directly affected by the mess last year?\


Knock on wood, no one else has had any major disasters of irrops this year either that also affected B6. A better time to look at B6's response is if B6 and/or another carrier has problems at airports that are fairly equally to them each.

For example, if AA has problems at JFK but B6 doesn't, what did B6 specifically do that AA didn't do? I don't think B6 has had an opportunity to operate in an extreme irrops situation similar to last year's week of problems since last year.

Companies make mistakes all the time, and there were stats several months ago about what percentage of business jetBlue lost, and it was somewhere around 5% maximum. So, you're part of that small minority.

5% is all it takes to go from a load factor of 85% to a load factor of 80%. In the case of already running planes, that last 5% is a direct hit to the bottom line.

Make no mistake about it, losing 5% is a HUGE deal especially when airplanes can't be grounded over losing 7-8 pax. Adding those 7-8 pax on board goes right to the bottom line. That 5% may be the minority, but if all a company is making is 5% net profits, that 5% is the difference between making money and not making money.

When February happened last year the following months I was looking into jobs at other airlines. I was embarrassed and discouraged. I shrugged it off and gave it some time to weed out. I'm glad I did as I am now more happier than ever with the company. As noted earlier Russ Chew has made a considerable difference since joining our company.

Russ Chew is a tremendous asset to the team, he has made numerous operational changes, much more to come.

Forgiving the website being hit hard with rebookings and being brought to it's knees (which has been brought up to Management by many JB crewmembers) I think the company handled this past weekend's snow storm very very well! Some flights left on time, some left late, some didn't leave at all. Operatios protected the integrity of the airline and gave us the ability have planes and crews in place when the weather cleared. Hopefully we still keep in mind the mess last year and continue to improve all aspects of the operation, including the website and server.

I had to laugh when I was leaving BOS, for the hotel, to witness news crews asking for passenger input on our operations and how we where handling the situation. They where even looking out for crewmembers to get our input. No cannon fodder this time for the media!

Well from the front seat I can certainly tell you that Jetblue is light years ahead of last year. I have seen not a few but dozens of drastic improvements operationally that will help every aspect of our operation.

THE NUMBER 1 ISSUE LAST YEAR WAS : NOT JETBLUE Jetblue was guilty of trying to get the job done in near impossible conditions. The FAA, Mother Nature, NY Apt Authority, Were the top contributing factors.

Jetblue will have some great additions to their route structure being added in the west coast. We have the best product out there and are light years ahead of where WN was at 8 years old.

We have the best product out there and are light years ahead of where WN was at 8 years old.

B6 today is better than SW was in 1980? I would hope so!

I'd venture to guess B6 is probably better than AA, UA, and DL were in the 1930s when they were each 8 years old also?

Progress? ;)

So let me summarize

1. JBLU is "lightyears" ahead of itself from last year
2. JBLU is "lightyears" ahead WN when it was the same age

So where do you put V day 2007?

Was V day 2007 "lightyears" behind what JBLU is today, but "lightyears" ahead of WN still?

Or

Was Vday 2007 "lightyears" behind WN when it was 7?

Last time I check, A320 cruise around 800KM/H, not speed of light



Well from the front seat I can certainly tell you that Jetblue is light years ahead of last year. I have seen not a few but dozens of drastic improvements operationally that will help every aspect of our operation.

THE NUMBER 1 ISSUE LAST YEAR WAS : NOT JETBLUE Jetblue was guilty of trying to get the job done in near impossible conditions. The FAA, Mother Nature, NY Apt Authority, Were the top contributing factors.

Jetblue will have some great additions to their route structure being added in the west coast. We have the best product out there and are light years ahead of where WN was at 8 years old.

I was offering an opinion from the standpoint of a jetblue pilot. You can put any spin on it you like. I am not here to charge your mind ciaobel. Your motive and intent is clear and I am happy you enjoy WN they have a great service. I interviewed there know dozens of guys and they really enjoy it.

That being said after 5 airlines all of which either ended up going bankrupt or laying off thousands ( me included ) I can honestly say that I have seen exceptional improvements from every aspect of our operation.

Our leader used to say in regards to irops: We would rather get out passengers there late then not at all.

That has always worked fine until the day when the whole NY Area got completely iced over and you could not even walk on the ramp let alone drive a tug or taxi an airplane.

THE NUMBER 1 ISSUE LAST YEAR WAS : NOT JETBLUE Jetblue was guilty of trying to get the job done in near impossible conditions. The FAA, Mother Nature, NY Apt Authority, Were the top contributing factors.


Um, no sir. The number 1 problem last year was not canceling flights they should have canceled like every other airline did. The number 2 problem was not having a functioning reservations phone system.

Both 1 and 2 have been upgraded, it seems, which is a good thing.

Don't pass the responsibility, please. That juts makes your company look bad.

I was not the one who spins - "lightyears ahead no matter how you cut it" is something that I QUOTED.

As for this new one "We would rather get out passengers there late then not at all. " reflects even worse on the company - you should ask the customers whether they want cancellation or delay. If what you quoted had truly been the moda operandi, that would basically translate into that the company cares for its schedule more than how customers would feel - a real departure from what was advertised.




I was offering an opinion from the standpoint of a jetblue pilot. You can put any spin on it you like.


Our leader used to say in regards to irops: We would rather get out passengers there late then not at all.

Do not judge me on that - my only intent was to point out how preposterous those "lightyear" comparisons are. Especially comparing the 8 year old B6 with 8 year old WN - speaking of out of context.

You do not have to put others down to feel better, or get rid of the sense of guilt. The capitalist system is the best voting system for great ideas and solid work - the company makes money and the stock goes up overtime.




Your motive and intent is clear and I am happy you enjoy WN they have a great service.

As for this new one "We would rather get out passengers there late then not at all. " reflects even worse on the company - you should ask the customers whether they want cancellation or delay. If what you quoted had truly been the moda operandi, that would basically translate into that the company cares for its schedule more than how customers would feel - a real departure from what was advertised.

:confused: That is exactly what customers wanted. Obviously not a 10 hr delay on the runway but a large majority of customers would rather be a couple of hours late than cxld, right? That was Jetblue's purpose from the start and in the end, after the airline got too large to accomodate that with their heavy JFK presence the schedule was what was compromised. If anything, this exhibits the company caring more for the customer than the schedule. Unfortunately, they had to learn the hard way that the two must go hand in hand.

I think interlining might have to become a reality here in the near future... 80% of our flights touch JFK or BOS and when those go sour we can't move customers around and provide them alternatives. This is the key issue for me. I like the B6 product and people fine, I'm happy to do my leisure / family trips on B6, but I will not risk business (client-related) / time-critical travel on JetBlue.