JetBlue CEO David Neeleman is expected to announce the company's own "Customer Bill of Rights" on Tuesday, which is expected to outline both self-imposed penalties and "major" rewards for its passengers if it experiences operational problems and cannot adjust to weather-related cancellations in a "reasonable" amount of time.If jetBlue takes these steps unilaterally and it goes a long way to protecting the flying public (it depends on what is ultimately included in the announcement tomorrow), is there a need to institute legislation that would do essentially the same thing? The flying public will choose airlines that serve their needs and interests best. jetBlue has succeeded in the market by offering great fares and a decent list of destinations. If jetBlue takes the lead on protecting passengers, the airline might not only recover from these service disruptions, but spur change in the industry without the need for legislation.
JetBlue declined to provide any further details on the program prior to Neeleman's announcement.
Gone from JetBlue's Monday schedule - representing 23 percent of the airline's flights - are 11 destinations: Austin and Houston, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Jacksonville, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Portland, Maine; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Richmond, Va.; and Bermuda.
Speaking Thursday with CNN, JetBlue CEO and founder David Neeleman apologized for the cancellations and offered to reimburse passengers for the price of their tickets.
UPDATE:
shel holtz comments on the way companies react to adversity is a good indication of how they will respond going forward.
Global Neighborhoods thinks that Neeleman went against the corporate lawyer types to admit that jetBlue did wrong by its customers but it was the right thing to do.
The Zero Boss thinks that now is the right time to buy tickets on the airline since they're going to be paying closer attention to customer details. However, I do recall that the CEO of the company that produces Tylenol bent over backwards and through every hoop and made every mea culpa following the cyanide poisoning incident in the 1980s. Not only did he oversee a voluntary recall of all Tylenol products, but instituted tamper resistant packaging. That crisis management has continued to serve as the gold standard by which all other corporate crises are measured. Neeleman appears to have come close to doing so, even though the company is not out of the woods just yet.
Blogging Stocks seems to think that Neeleman is talking himself out of a job. I think the deciding factor will be how the company performs in the next quarter. If it shows that the Valentine's Day massacre of its schedule and the related problems that contributed to the problems can be fixed and that customer service is improved, then not only will he keep his job, but lauded for it.
Others blogging: World Hum, Conservative Cat,
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