damoose

New member here, I have read the forums for years and thanks to everyone for all the valuable information. I finally registered just to vent about JetBlue and to warn people about my experience last week on Tuesday, 7/9/2019.

I am a Mosaic member, and JetBlue has always treated me well. I am not a chronic complainer. I don't get upset about bad weather delays or late crews or mechanical problems, I'm very patient. These issues are almost never caused by the team members on the plane or at the gate and I would never even think to bother them about any of those things.

However, last week I had a non-stop flight from Boston to San Jose. Only one per day. When I flew out to Boston, I carried on my bag, but decided to check it for the return flight. Halfway through boarding, the attended comes and says my bag has a lithium ion battery in it and it can't fly. I can either continue to San Jose without it - and it will never fly because the can't go into passenger luggage - or I can get my suitcase at baggage claim and fly later. I re-book at the gate on the next flight, but it goes to San Francisco and there are only Mint seats available. I have the points, and I need to get home for a meeting early Wednesday morning, so I suck it up and pay the 100,000 points. At least I can get some rest on the plane.

I was so embarrassed. I am well aware that I cannot put lithium ion batteries into checked luggage, and I knew I hadn't done that. The gate attendant was very understanding and apologized and explained that some new luggage have pockets for portable chargers and that the battery was probably included with the suitcase. I had just bought this suitcase a few weeks earlier, and I guess I hadn't checked it before. At this point, I was pretty livid with the luggage company that they would sabotage a bag like this for an added "feature", but also felt stupid that I didn't realize this.

At baggage claim, things go haywire. The woman there brings out my bag from the back and immediately starts apologizing. There is no battery in my suitcase. Someone at JetBlue - before it got to TSA - saw that my suitcase had a pocket for a battery and pulled it off without even checking. They offer $100 travel funds to make up for it, even though I just spent 100,000 points on my seat to SFO, and it will cost me $100 to get from SFO to San Jose. I say that won't cut it.

After speaking with her manager, now suddenly there is a regular seat available. So they refund my points and stick me in the back at a window seat for a 6 hour flight. When I booked the original flight months ago, I made sure to get an aisle, but apparently I have no other options at this point. I am not going to negotiate with the baggage people like some kind of used car dealership, and this has taken so long that now I am nervous about getting through security in time to even make the next flight.

I can't believe that they wouldn't make more of an effort to rectify their mistake. I hate to even write this because I cringe when I hear people say it, but I am a Mosaic passenger. I am not going to jump up and down and scream "Don't you know who I am?!?!?". Although it doesn't change what happened, I would have felt somewhat better if they put me in Mint at no charge, or they certainly could have offered more that the pathetic $100 voucher. Instead of getting home at 8pm I got home at 11:30 at night. It cost me $100 to get from SFO to San Jose and I sat in traffic for an hour and a half. They said to call the Mosaic phone number and "maybe" they can do something else, but this is so absolutely absurd I am just going to drop JetBlue and they will be my last option for future travel. This was 100% their fault and they made practically no effort to make up for it.

As a warning to other members of this forum - this could happen to any of you. I would not trust JetBlue with a checked bag ever again. How do I know this won't happen in the future? And if it does, am I supposed to argue with the attendant on the plane that I know there is no battery in my suitcase? I have lost all respect for JetBlue, years of loyalty and good will have been squandered. They had plenty of opportunities to try to make up for this and they did nothing and now they want me to chase them down to give them another chance to make it right. That is their responsibility, not mine.

Rant over. Thanks for listening. Check bags at your own risk.

DaMoose