CHICAGO -- The customer bill of rights and the $30 million that JetBlue Airways will hand out in vouchers and expenses related to last week’s operations meltdown could deliver more impact than any marketing executed by the seven-year-old airline. Or the new policy’s downside is it creates an entitlement that would make profitability even more elusive.

By proactively enacting its own customer bill of rights, the No. 9 carrier, in terms of operating revenue, has grabbed industry leadership on the issue of reconciling with passengers on delayed and canceled flights. That policy eventually will include compensation for lost or late luggage, said airline spokeswoman Jenny Dervin. It’s a reform that flyers—particularly grass roots groups like the Coalition for Airline Passengers’ Rights and "Travel Insider" e-newsletter publisher David Rowell—have been pleading for since long before 1999 when 4,000 of Northwest Airlines passengers were stranded, some for up to eight hours, on airport tarmacs during a Detroit winter storm.

Full Article:
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/rec..._id=1003548857

 

Don't forget diabetes is disqualifying. All that sugary Blue Kool-Aid is going to cost you your medical.

 

A diabetic can get a First Class medical with a waiver. I'm diabetic with type 2, and although my medical is currently not a Class 1, it was issued that way.

It's obviously not a desired plan, however.

I have to submit "blood work" once a year. Since it can take 60 days for FAA approval, you really need to start the process after 9 months, which will leave you with a 30 day "buffer". I don't really need a First Class, but I get one anyway and let it lapse into a 2nd class.

You get a letter from the FAA that states you can have a Class I,II, or III, but it will have a one year limit, which goes on your certificate.

So after six months, you can renew your First Class medical, but another renewal requires the submission of a doctor's report listing certain blood levels, and other items.

So diabetes doesn't automatically remove you from a medical, but it's certainly a lot better if you eat properly and avoid, if at all possible, type 2 diabetes.

Class 1 is more of an heredity issue, I believe.

 

The JB Passenger Bill of rights is a cost to the company, where will that money come from ?

Put in other terms, if a delay happens, all the usual variable costs will GENERALLY still be in play; i.e. increased fuel burn, possible hotel vouchers, crew costs, airframe time and so on. Now, we add to that a variable cost of the passenger bill of rights expenditure and so your snapshot CASM increases, but your revenue has not.


I'm curious who will pay for it the employees (less benefits) or the passengers(less service).

 

As usual - when the arguments run out - the koolaid joke comes up.
Is that all you have to offer? I am dissapointed.


How will YOUR airline deal with a future, legally mandated 'Bill of Rights'?

 

Looks like you have it all figured out.
The 'BoR' will bring in additional revenue as the word spreads that PAX on JetBlue will be reimbursed. By the way ,they get vouchers good for future JetBlue flights. Smart.

 

Dude I can now totally see it. Velocipede....you were turned down by jetBlue for a job weren't you? Oh dude if you deny it its even more obvious. Ok, its all becoming clear. Sour grapes.

 

The few times I buy a ticket, I find it remote if not nonsensical that I would choose one carrier over another because it has a BoR. In USA Today last week, JetBlue admitted it's BoR will cost nearly 30 million dollars to implement and reimburse its' passengers. Unfortunately, if implemented systemwide, it will undoubtdly be subsidized by the employees. I'm not sure I would brag about how great the BoR is when more than likely it will result in management approaching it's contractors or in other airline's cases, the collective bargaining agent, and asking for cost savings in the form of work rules changes, side letters, or other forms of subsidy. I would have to doubt seriously that the BoR will attract additional revenue, so much so, that it will offset the operating loss of all flights that are designated eligible for passenger payout. Vouchers for future flights may sound nice, but if an airline screws up, what are the chances that 100% of the passengers will give that airline a second try. Yes, some will. However, I would argue that even though JetBlue has a fantastic product, if you screw up you aren't going to receive repeat business, vis-a-vis, if you perform a normal flight you probably would. My point is, the vouchers for future flights are a marginal attractor for future flights that attract limit interest and presumably limited revenue.

One airline's screw-up shouldn't be the premise for all airline employees to take it in the shorts yet again, because the trailer trash that were too stupid to fly during a forecasted blizzard were inconvenienced.

 

Sorry, schmoe. I had double digit seniority with a major airline before B6 got their certificate. Besides, I've made it clear a number of times I wouldn't even apply to a non-Union carrier. Personally, my Union pedigree precludes compromising my ethics for something so pedestrian as a paycheck.

As the old country song goes, "You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything."

 

The employees, of course. Haven't you heard? All airline employees are taking pay cuts, benefit cuts and losing retirement plans so US consumers can travel with low airfares.

The airlines are probably the only business where employees subsidize low customer fares. What a joke.