JetBlue TrueBlue - Bill of Rights: 2 Years Later

We're nearly 2 years after the B6 BOR was introduced...and how does it compare to the original?

CANCELLATIONS
TODAY
All customers whose flight is cancelled by JetBlue will, at the customer’s option, receive a full refund or reaccommodation on the next available JetBlue flight at no additional charge or fare. If JetBlue cancels a flight within 4 hours of scheduled departure and the cancellation is due to a Controllable Irregularity, JetBlue will also provide the customer with a $50 Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue.

ORIGINAL
All customers whose flight is cancelled by JetBlue will, at the customer’s option, receive a full refund or reaccommodation on a future JetBlue flight at no additional charge or fare. If JetBlue cancels a flight within 12 hours of
scheduled departure and the cancellation is due to a Controllable Irregularity, JetBlue will also provide the customer with a Voucher valid for future travel on JetBlue in the amount paid to JetBlue for the customer’s roundtrip.

DIFFERENCE: Time downgrade from 12 hours to 4 hours, compensation down from roundtrip price voucher to just $50 ... MAJOR DOWNGRADE



DEPARTURE DELAYS

TODAY
1. Customers whose flight is delayed for 1-1:59 hours after scheduled departure time due to a Controllable Irregularity are entitled to a $25 Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue.
2. Customers whose flight is delayed for 2-4:59 hours after scheduled departure time due to a Controllable Irregularity are entitled to a $50 Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue.
3. Customers whose flight is delayed for 5-5:59 hours after scheduled departure time due to a Controllable Irregularity are entitled to a Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue in the amount paid by the customer for the oneway trip (or $50, whichever is greater).
4. Customers whose flight is delayed for 6 or more hours after scheduled departure time due to a Controllable Irregularity are entitled to a Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue in the amount paid by the customer for the roundtrip (or the oneway trip, doubled).

ORIGINAL
1. Customers whose flight is delayed prior to scheduled departure for 1-2 hours due to a Controllable Irregularity are entitled to a $25 Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue.
2. Customers whose flight is delayed prior to scheduled departure for 2-4 hours due to a Controllable Irregularity are entitled to a $50 Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue.
3. Customers whose flight is delayed prior to scheduled departure for 4-6 hours due to a Controllable Irregularity are entitled to a Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue in the amount paid by the customer for the oneway trip.
4. Customers whose flight is delayed prior to scheduled departure for more than 6 hours due to a Controllable Irregularity are entitled to a Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue in the amount paid by the customer for the roundtrip.

DIFFERENCE: Wording changes, and 4-5 hour delay compensation downgraded from one-way voucher to just $50



DELAYS (DEPARTURE DELAYS AND ONBOARD GROUND DELAYS ON DEPARTURE)

TODAY
For customers whose flight is delayed 3 hours or more after scheduled departure, JetBlue will provide free movies on flights that are 2 hours or longer.

JetBlue will provide customers experiencing an Onboard Ground Delay with 36 channels of DIRECTV*, food and drink, access to clean restrooms and, as necessary, medical treatment. For customers who experience an Onboard Ground Delay for more than 5 hours, JetBlue will take necessary action so that customers may deplane.

1. Customers who experience an Onboard Ground Delay on Departure for 3-3:59 hours after scheduled departure time are entitled to a $50 Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue.
2. Customers who experience an Onboard Ground Delay on Departure for 4-4:59 hours after scheduled departure time are entitled to a Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue in the amount paid by the customer for the oneway trip (or $50, whichever is greater).
3. Customers who experience an Onboard Ground Delay on Departure for 5 or more hours after scheduled departure time are entitled to a Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue in the amount paid by the customer for the roundtrip (or the oneway trip, doubled).



ORIGINAL
For customers who experience a Ground Delay for more than 5 hours, JetBlue will take necessary action so that customers may deplane.

1. Customers who experience a Ground Delay on Departure for 3-4 hours are entitled to a $100 Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue.
2. Customers who experience a Ground Delay on Departure for more than 4 hours are entitled to a Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue in the amount paid by the customer for the roundtrip.

DIFFERENCE: Add free movies. 3-4 Hour delay down to $50 (from $100 voucher). 4-5 hour delay downgraded from roundtrip voucher to one-way voucher.



ARRIVAL DELAYS

TODAY
1. Customers who experience an Onboard Ground Delay on Arrival for 1-1:59 hours after scheduled arrival time are entitled to a $50 Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue.
2. Customers who experience an Onboard Ground Delay on Arrival for 2 or more hours after scheduled arrival time are entitled to a Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue in the amount paid by the customer for the roundtrip (or the oneway trip, doubled).

Original
1. Customers who experience a Ground Delay on Arrival for 30-60 minutes are entitled to a $25 Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue.
2. Customers who experience a Ground Delay on Arrival for 1-2 hours are entitled to a $100 Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue.
3. Customers who experience a Ground Delay on Arrival for 2-3 hours are entitled to a Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue in the amount paid by the customer for the oneway trip.
4. Customers who experience a Ground Delay on Arrival for more than 3 hours are entitled to a Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue in the amount paid by the customer for the roundtrip.

Difference:
30 - 60 Minute delay: $0 (down from $25)
1 - 2 hours $50 (down from $100)
2- 3 hours One-way voucher (down from roundtrip)
3+ hours Roundtrip (no change)



Overbookings
Customers who are involuntarily denied boarding shall receive $1,000.
(No change)

Very interesting analysis. Anyone know when it changed?

ETA: According to the bottom of the web page it looks like it changed on June 13, 2008.

EATA: But the internet archive wayback machine says it changed in October 23, 2007.

Fascinating. Why all the downgrades?

Interesting, but at the same time we have discussed the new terms of the BoR during IROPS on here (I believe this summer).

I look at it like this - obviously the BoR was introduced as a reactive protective measure of the brand following a meltdown. It earned the company great publicity and also rebuilt credibility in the airline for MOST customers. The fact is that JetBlue pretty much did everything listed in the BoR prior to 2/14/07...it was just never in black and white. The meltdown is what made the compensation official, and in all cases.

A lot has happened in two years - some airlines are now out of business, a select few have started ops (VX) others are hanging on, mergers, capacity has been cut, jobs have been lost, cities have lost service, oil has roller-coastered, fares have similarly roller-coastered, stocks are up and down, some charge for water and soda and chips, some charge for certain seats, some charge for luggage, etc., etc., etc. In the ongoing give and take style of airlines, JetBlue is still the ONLY airline with a written policy in place. Some forms of compensation may have been reduced, but it is still there! And, not to mention the ongoing status of JD Power Awards...

I look at it like this - obviously the BoR was introduced as a reactive protective measure of the brand following a meltdown. It earned the company great publicity and also rebuilt credibility in the airline for MOST customers. The fact is that JetBlue pretty much did everything listed in the BoR prior to 2/14/07...it was just never in black and white. The meltdown is what made the compensation official, and in all cases.

A lot has happened in two years - some airlines are now out of business, a select few have started ops (VX) others are hanging on, mergers, capacity has been cut, jobs have been lost, cities have lost service, oil has roller-coastered, fares have similarly roller-coastered, stocks are up and down, some charge for water and soda and chips, some charge for certain seats, some charge for luggage, etc., etc., etc. In the ongoing give and take style of airlines, JetBlue is still the ONLY airline with a written policy in place. Some forms of compensation may have been reduced, but it is still there! And, not to mention the ongoing status of JD Power Awards...So you're saying that the BOR might not have been introduced, if not to help JetBlue recover from a major PR SNAFU, and it was great for publicity at the time, and its benefits have since been rolled back since the initial rah, rah team?

I find that all hard to believe.

So you're saying that the BOR might not have been introduced, if not to help JetBlue recover from a major PR SNAFU, and it was great for publicity at the time, and its benefits have since been rolled back since the initial rah, rah team?

I find that all hard to believe.

Nope, re-read what I wrote...this time, carefully.

Nope, re-read what I wrote...this time, carefully....And then what?

So you're saying that the BOR might not have been introduced, if not to help JetBlue recover from a major PR SNAFU, and it was great for publicity at the time, and its benefits have since been rolled back since the initial rah, rah team?

I find that all hard to believe.

Nope, re-read what I wrote...this time, carefully.

It is pretty close to what you wrote.

The BoR was, indeed a marketing/PR event more than anything else. As you noted, most the benefits were there anyways but this codified them in a manner meant SPECIFICALLY to address the fiasco of 2/14.

And since then jetBlue has not seen any competitive reason to maintain the compensation levels that they started with. They've reduced costs and can still claim that they are the only carrier to have the BoR while letting the efforts cost them less money. And that is exactly what they've done. Why keep the BoR guaranteed compensation high if you don't have to? Sure, most other carriers have similar policies that are not published, just like jetBlue used to have. But when the marketing works by simply saying that the BoR exists, that is worth way more to the carrier than the minimal PR loss that came with reducing the benefits just over 3 months ago.

Why keep the BoR guaranteed compensation high if you don't have to?

Well for starters the CEO of the company went on national tv and promised it. Reneging on the BoR later seems, well, low. The company wanted us to believe that they were empathetic with their passengers and were different from other carriers... for awhile. Then, when convenient, they slowly take away that empathy and difference.

IMHO, all devaluations should be prominently announced in advance, ideally 6 months before they take effect. This change is a devaluation, albeit a relatively minor one. It's tempting for a company to believe that a minor devaluation does not warrant advance notice or any announcement at all. This is incorrect.

Customers form their perceptions and expectations based on a company's behavior in both small matters and large. No-notice changes harm a company's credibility with customers.

Unless FTers missed something (that'll be the day!) it looks to me like JetBlue mishandled this change.

Well for starters the CEO of the company went on national tv and promised it. Reneging on the BoR later seems, well, low. The company wanted us to believe that they were empathetic with their passengers and were different from other carriers... for awhile. Then, when convenient, they slowly take away that empathy and difference.
Exactly. I tried to say something similar in the few lines after the one you quoted. ;)

Unless FTers missed something (that'll be the day!) it looks to me like JetBlue mishandled this change.

Well, it wasn't noticed for a few months, so I guess we aren't perfect. :eek: