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Travel Forum / Travel Types / Air Travel / July 2008Jet Blue: 'Your flight is canceled, we won't re-route you, we won't pay for a hotel, here's a refund of half your round-trip fare, now go away.'
This morning my mom (83) and her husband (79) were scheduled on JetBlue 1402 from SFO to FLL. When they got to the airport, they were informed that the flight was canceled due to mechanical problems. JetBlue told them that they could take a taxi to OAK and get a Jet Blue flight to JFK and then a Jet Blue flight to FLL, but that Jet Blue wouldn't pay for the taxi, and the taxi ride was about $90. The airline wouldn't schedule them on the next day's flight 1402 because it was already full. They wouldn't rebook them onto another airline (JetBlue doesn't do this). They wouldn't pay for a hotel or meals (no point I guess, since they wouldn't rebook them for the next day anyway). The only thing JetBlue would do was to refund half the cost of the round-trip ticket. They had to buy a full fare one-way ticket on another airline. The one-way Continental flight cost much more than the whole round-trip on JetBlue. Apparently there are no longer any rules that require that an airline get you to your destination. They are free to simply give you your money back and tell you to get lost. It's a real problem with airlines like JetBlue that have very few flights to each airport they serve. JetBlue doesn't abide by Rule 240, and never had to deal with it because they came into existence after the CAB was eliminated. >This morning my mom (83) and her husband (79) were scheduled on JetBlue >1402 from SFO to FLL. When they got to the airport, they were informed [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >get you to your destination. They are free to simply give you your money >back and tell you to get lost. No they aren't. When you buy a ticket, you enter into a contract with the airline to transport you from Point A to Point B under certain conditions. In JetBlue's case, you can read those terms here: http://www.jetblue.com/p/jetblue_coc.pdf The relevant paragrah is 37, which states: CANCELLATIONS: All Customers whose flight is cancelled by JetBlue will, at the Customers option, receive a full refund or reaccomodation on the next available JetBlue flight at no additional charge or fare, except that when a portion of the trip has been made, any refund will be made in an amount equal to the applicable oneway fare for the portion of the trip cancelled or not operated as scheduled by Carrier. If JetBlue cancels a flight within 4 hours of scheduled departure and the cancellation is due to a Controllable Irregularity, as defined in Section 1, JetBlue will also provide the Customer with a $50 Voucher valid for future travel on JetBlue. Unfortunately for your folks, there is no requirement to rebook on another airline. While they could have taken the chance of getting on standby the next day, the odds these days with load factors so high are pretty small that 2 seats would open up. In those circumstances you can ask to be put on another airline, but they aren't obligated to. >JetBlue doesn't abide by Rule 240, and never had to deal with it because >they came into existence after the CAB was eliminated. Rule 240 doesn't exist for any airline and hasn't for years (since 1978). It has nothing to do as to when the airline came into existence. http://www.petergreenberg.com/2008/02/11/setting-the-record-straight-on-rule-240/ > Rule 240 doesn't exist for any airline and hasn't for years (since 1978). It has > nothing to do as to when the airline came into existence. > > http://www.petergreenberg.com/2008/02/11/setting-the-record-straight-on-rule-240/ Did you actually read your own cite? Many older airlines will still honor the terms of Rule 240 even though they are not obligated to do so. > > Rule 240 doesn't exist for any airline and hasn't for years (since 1978). > > It has [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Did you actually read your own cite? Many older airlines will still > honor the terms of Rule 240 even though they are not obligated to do so. Will they still? Seems like a nice cost cutting option. > Will they still? Seems like a nice cost cutting option. Yes, at least according to my nephew who works at Delta. They have reciprocal agreements with other carriers, they're not paying cash for the fare at those carriers. There are policies in place to prevent abuse by the carriers, i.e. excessive rebooking. It all depends on how knowledgeable the traveler is. The airline is happy to have the passenger wait at the airport for four hours, six hours, whatever, for the next available flight, if the passenger doesn't know to request to be rebooked on another carrier. >> Rule 240 doesn't exist for any airline and hasn't for years (since 1978). It has >> nothing to do as to when the airline came into existence. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >Did you actually read your own cite? Many older airlines will still >honor the terms of Rule 240 even though they are not obligated to do so. And how does that conflict with what I posted above? Or with the part you didn't quote, which was: "In those circumstances you can ask to be put on another airline, but they aren't obligated to." > No they aren't. When you buy a ticket, you enter into a contract with the > airline to transport you from Point A to Point B under certain conditions. In > JetBlue's case, you can read those terms here: I talked to JetBlue today about the eight $25 vouchers they promised me for canceling the route that I had four tickets on (SFO-SLC). Afterward I asked her about what happens if a flight is canceled. Their policy is exactly what happened to my mother and step-father. They will put you on the next available flight, but "next" could be 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, whatever in the future, and they don't put you up in a hotel and feed you while you're waiting for them to get you on a flight. You can go to the airport and hope for an empty seat on a flight earilier than the one that they rebook you onto. If the next available flight is too many days (or weeks) in the future then they will simply give you your money back. They will put you on a flight from another airport, if they have seats available, but it's up to you to find your way to the other airport. Basically it's not an airline to use if you absolutely have to be somewhere within a certain time-frame, as they have so few flights, and these flights are so full, that it's not likely you'll be able to get on the same flight the next day or two. Nothing like Southwest which generally has many flights per day from each airport they serve. > This morning my mom (83) and her husband (79) were scheduled on JetBlue > 1402 from SFO to FLL. When they got to the airport, they were informed [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > airline. The one-way Continental flight cost much more than the whole > round-trip on JetBlue. I am confused. The airline gave them a choice of paying $90 for a taxi to Oakland ro fly OAK-JFK-FLL, so they chose to spend money for a CO ticket? Can you provide a cite for this story. >I am confused. The airline gave them a choice of paying $90 for a taxi >to Oakland ro fly OAK-JFK-FLL, so they chose to spend money for a CO ticket? > >Can you provide a cite for this story. Somehow I doubt this made the news. But they felt they would have problems making a connection at JFK because of their age from what I remember. >> I am confused. The airline gave them a choice of paying $90 for a taxi >> to Oakland ro fly OAK-JFK-FLL, so they chose to spend money for a CO ticket? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > But they felt they would have problems making a connection at JFK > because of their age from what I remember. Actually my stepfather uses a wheel chair at the airport, and it speeds things up. He gets to bypass the normal security line due to his pacemaker too! It used to be that the airline wouldn't give a refund--if they were sending you to a nearby airport then they were fulfilling their obligation, but they provided the transportation. United even had a bus between SJC and SFO. The problem with JetBlue is that they have so few flights from SFO that they really can't accommodate a cancelled plane load of passengers in a timely manner, it would take a couple of weeks for enough open seats to be available for all the passengers. It's easier for them to just give a refund and wish you good luck on finding a flight. No costly hotels, no costly rebooking, no costly transportation to other airports that they fly to. Until they do this sort of thing to a reporter for a major news organization, few people will be aware of how they operate. I'll certainly think twice before booking on JetBlue again, given what happened in this case, and my recent experience with them canceling the route that I had four tickets on. > United even had a bus > between SJC and SFO. The United bus was a scheduled "flight". They used to use actually fly between SJC and SFO before they had the bus. It was a commuter aircraft operated by Air West. It was often cheaper to go SJC-SFO-xxx than SFO-xxx if it was a route United didn't service directly from SJC but wanted to get it listed in the reservation system. In the days of double and triple mileage with 1,000 miles minimum, you really racked up mileage. In the 70's, TWA flew a 707 from SFO to SJC and back. It's route was JFK- SFO-SJC and the next day SJC-SFO-JFK. The ramp fees at SJC were so much lower than at SFO that it paid to fly for the overnight even if there were no passengers. (Fuel was cheap back then). It also let TWA list JFK-SJC flights on the reservation system |
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