Never again on B6

[up up and away]

sorry you had a bad trip. i've had many.

what i like about your post is that you stated, quite unemotionally, what happened to you, then explained that's why you'll never fly JetBlue again. bravo, that's what consumerism is all about. you bought something; you didn't like it; and you'll never buy it again.

but did you really think any airline would hold up a flight simply because you asked?

even if you paid $500 for your ticket, it's unreasonable to expect any airline would hold up a multi-million dollar operation to accomodate two retirees messed up by a weather-related delay.

again,sorry

 

[up up and away]

This would happen at any airline...wonder why jetblue keeps getting awards and #1
recognition from JD Power and Airline Passenger associations??
Why are you complaining on this site? Read by mostly airline employees.
It's so typical to bash B6......why, because for some reason other airline employees are jealous.

 

[daveinric]

This would happen at any airline...wonder why jetblue keeps getting awards and #1
recognition from JD Power and Airline Passenger associations??
Why are you complaining on this site? Read by mostly airline employees.
It's so typical to bash B6......why, because for some reason other airline employees are jealous.

Me an airline employee? Not on your life!! A retired Air Force Reserve officer, yes. But certainly not an airline employee.

Your intimation that I am somehow jealous of B6 is absurd. I was in fact looking forward to the experience of flying B6. As I said in my initial post, the on-board experience was fine. It was the missed connection and failure to cover my necessary car rental from PHX to TUS that really got me. That plus my wife's mangled suitcase and the lip I got from the Baggage office at SYR.

As the reply to my initial post stated, I tried to lay out the entire story in a dispassionate manner. Perhaps B6 Koolaid impairment got the better of your ability to read and/or reason.

In one sense, you do pose a good question. I also wonder why B6 wins awards from JD Power and pax associations. Especially in light of the listings on Flightstats.com for the reliability of B6 Flights 75 and 105, the two flights with which I was concerned.

 

[Alice Cramden]

Me an airline employee? Not on your life!! A retired Air Force Reserve officer, yes. But certainly not an airline employee.

Your intimation that I am somehow jealous of B6 is absurd. I was in fact looking forward to the experience of flying B6. As I said in my initial post, the on-board experience was fine. It was the missed connection and failure to cover my necessary car rental from PHX to TUS that really got me. That plus my wife's mangled suitcase and the lip I got from the Baggage office at SYR.

As the reply to my initial post stated, I tried to lay out the entire story in a dispassionate manner. Perhaps B6 Koolaid impairment got the better of your ability to read and/or reason.

In one sense, you do pose a good question. I also wonder why B6 wins awards from JD Power and pax associations. Especially in light of the listings on Flightstats.com for the reliability of B6 Flights 75 and 105, the two flights with which I was concerned.

It's really all about choices. You could have driven your car. No one forces you to fly. For that matter, you could have taken a train or a bus. If someone forces you on a plane, then I think you have a legitamit gripe.

 

[Travelagent]

1. Normal wear and tear to a suitcase happens. The suitcase is suppose to protect the contents. You are lucky to have gotten a credit voucher unless there was obvious abuse (large gaping slash where is was dragged underneath a bag cart or caught in the baggage conveyor)

2. Weather and Air traffic contol delays are never covered by the airline. Yes, they should have offered you a list of hotels that had distressed passenger rates but did you go up to the counter pounding your fist, complaining loudly and demanding things or did you nicely ask the agent for obtaining a list of hotels?

3. Pay for your car?? You are the one that opted to change your destination city.

This could have happened on any airline. Refuse to fly again on airine XX everytime something like this happens and you will be booking greyhound on their $199 roundtrip cross country special. (FYI- Greyhound won't give you anything for lost or damaged bags, won't hold a bus for late connecting passengers and certianly won't pay for your car rental if you get off at a different city)

My best advice to you- buy travel insurance. A cheap policy (say $40-$50 for two travelers) would have:
1. Reimbused you for the cost of buying a new suitcase.
2. Reimbursed you for any out of pocket expense for any delays incurred (meals, hotels)
3. Reimbursed you if you chose to purchase another ticket on another carrier to get you to TUS. (Jetblue/Southwest won't protect you on another carrier)
4. Reimbursed you for your car rental

As for the lip you got from the SYR agent- these people are barely making above minimum wage- again were you nice or irrate? Don't expect airlines employees to put up with alot of verbal abuse/venting. They can quit and go flip hamburgers for the same amount of $$ and not put up with people with their panties in a bunch. This is what the airline industry has come down to. In order to offer the internet $59 roundtrip airfare from JFK-LAX the airline has to pay their employees squat.

 

[BartlettAve]

Me an airline employee? Not on your life!! A retired Air Force Reserve officer, yes. But certainly not an airline employee.

Your intimation that I am somehow jealous of B6 is absurd. I was in fact looking forward to the experience of flying B6. As I said in my initial post, the on-board experience was fine. It was the missed connection and failure to cover my necessary car rental from PHX to TUS that really got me. That plus my wife's mangled suitcase and the lip I got from the Baggage office at SYR.

As the reply to my initial post stated, I tried to lay out the entire story in a dispassionate manner. Perhaps B6 Koolaid impairment got the better of your ability to read and/or reason.

In one sense, you do pose a good question. I also wonder why B6 wins awards from JD Power and pax associations. Especially in light of the listings on Flightstats.com for the reliability of B6 Flights 75 and 105, the two flights with which I was concerned.

JetBlue wins awards because they satisfy the majority of their customers. It's as simple as that.

 

[daveinric]

1. Normal wear and tear to a suitcase happens. The suitcase is suppose to protect the contents. You are lucky to have gotten a credit voucher unless there was obvious abuse (large gaping slash where is was dragged underneath a bag cart or caught in the baggage conveyor)

2. Weather and Air traffic contol delays are never covered by the airline. Yes, they should have offered you a list of hotels that had distressed passenger rates but did you go up to the counter pounding your fist, complaining loudly and demanding things or did you nicely ask the agent for obtaining a list of hotels?

3. Pay for your car?? You are the one that opted to change your destination city.

This could have happened on any airline. Refuse to fly again on airine XX everytime something like this happens and you will be booking greyhound on their $199 roundtrip cross country special. (FYI- Greyhound won't give you anything for lost or damaged bags, won't hold a bus for late connecting passengers and certianly won't pay for your car rental if you get off at a different city)

My best advice to you- buy travel insurance. A cheap policy (say $40-$50 for two travelers) would have:
1. Reimbused you for the cost of buying a new suitcase.
2. Reimbursed you for any out of pocket expense for any delays incurred (meals, hotels)
3. Reimbursed you if you chose to purchase another ticket on another carrier to get you to TUS. (Jetblue/Southwest won't protect you on another carrier)
4. Reimbursed you for your car rental

As for the lip you got from the SYR agent- these people are barely making above minimum wage- again were you nice or irrate? Don't expect airlines employees to put up with alot of verbal abuse/venting. They can quit and go flip hamburgers for the same amount of $$ and not put up with people with their panties in a bunch. This is what the airline industry has come down to. In order to offer the internet $59 roundtrip airfare from JFK-LAX the airline has to pay their employees squat.

Memo to travel agent:

Don't make assumptions about someone's demeanor when you do not know what you are talking about. Was I upset? Yes, I was. But I conducted myself in a completely professional and gentlemanly manner throughout. You have no business insinuating otherwise.

As to your assertion that I "opted to change" my destination city, again, you need first to know what you are talking about. Had I not flown to PHX instead of TUS, I would have had to wait at least another 12 hours. Had I waited for flight 105, the day's only flight from JFK to TUS (when in fact it operates), I would have run the risk of a cancellation and a wait of at least another 24 hours beyond that. Bear in mind that Flight 105 had been canceled at least five times in the two month period preceding my experience. I would submit to you that I really had no alternative but to change my destination city. (I even had one JetBlue representative suggest I fly to another city near TUS, such as Houston!!! That shows the geographical ignorance for which provincial NYers are so notorious.)

As far as hotels in the JFK area, a couple of hotels in the area were mentioned to me. However, the agent at the service (?) desk acted as though I was crazy when I told her gate personnel in SYR had mentioned distressed pax rates. She indicated she had never heard of such a thing.

Perhaps I should consider travel insurance in the future. But you know what? In travels on Southwest, American, and even Northwest and US Air, I have never even come close to needing it. I guess I let JetBlue's undeservedly high customer satisfaction ratings lull me into a sense of false security.

And finally, I am aware of the guff airline personnel often take from the public. With that in mind, I strive even harder to be polite and courteous when I have to speak with them concerning matters I know are beyond their control. That said, nobody forces them to work for an airline. As I believe Harry Truman once said, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

I have sworn off JetBlue koolaid for once and for all.

 

[tadjr]

As far as hotels in the JFK area, a couple of hotels in the area were mentioned to me. However, the agent at the service (?) desk acted as though I was crazy when I told her gate personnel in SYR had mentioned distressed pax rates. She indicated she had never heard of such a thing.

This agent must have been new then. We actually have hotels coming to the airport bringing us goodies (chocolate and cookies) to get us to suggest them for distressed customers. We even have a company that has printed handouts for us to give distressed customers that they call and the company gives them a list of hotels that are currently offering distressed customer rates. I cant imagine that the agent doesnt know about this, unless again they are new in the business.

 

[daveinric]

This agent must have been new then. We actually have hotels coming to the airport bringing us goodies (chocolate and cookies) to get us to suggest them for distressed customers. We even have a company that has printed handouts for us to give distressed customers that they call and the company gives them a list of hotels that are currently offering distressed customer rates. I cant imagine that the agent doesnt know about this, unless again they are new in the business.

I was surprised as well. The agent in question knew the ropes well enough to make a call or two to insure our baggage made our flight to PHX, so I don't think she lacked for training. In fairness to the agent, I have to say we probably would have elected to rack out in the sushi bar as we did rather go to a hotel and chance a traffic tieup or security checkpoint delay at JFK the following AM. Enough had gone wrong already.

 

[DDMAN]

Sorry to hear you hadproblem. My experience with Jet Blue is quite different. I really like this airline.

My recent trip on Jet Blue, BUR - JFK - SYR and back. We boarded the aircraft at BUR Friday afternoon. Then there was announcement that the there would be a delay leaving because we were waiting for connecting passengers to board from a delayed flight. I applaud them. We actually arrived at JFK early. Jet Blue has an LDC TV in all the seatbacks with 30+ channels of Direct TV (free) plus 3 channels of movies ($5.00 per movie). One of the channels shows the aircrafts position along with the altitude and airspeed. I was more interested in watching Die Hard 4 (I think), but since the middle seat was open we had it set to view the aircraft progress. The fastest airspeed I read was 696 MPH. I realize this is a fortunate result of weather. My connecting flight into SYR had to delay landing for 15 minutes since visibility was to low because of snow. We cruised around for about 15 minutes and then landed. Returning last Sunday there were many weather related delays in the NE. My originating return flight left SYR about two hours late. They periodically announced the status and kept the passenger informed. I was fortunate that my connection was another two hours after the flight landed. I was able to have a beer and watch some football at JFK. They have really good chicken strips. The flight departing JFK boarded on time, but we sat there waiting for the pilot to arrive. After the pilot arrived they announced that take off would happen shortly and the flight may need to make an unscheduled fuel stop in Salt Lake City. I was seated near the front and heard another passenger complain to the FA about the possible fuel stop. The attendant explained that the A320 on rare occasions may need to make an extra fuel stop on this route when there are strong head winds and a full flight. The passenger kept complaining. I told the passenger next to me that I would be happy to stop for fuel is the pilot thinks we need to. After all, what are the options? The pilot also made a few announcements with updates on our progress. Some of the delay in departure was made up on the ground since there were so many canceled flights we were able to go right to the front of the line for take off. Fortunately, we did not need to stop for fuel and landed about 15 minutes late. Yesterday I received the following UNSOLICITED email from Jet Blue:

Thank you for flying with JetBlue Airways on flight # from New York's JFK on December 2, 2007. We regret that we were not able to operate your flight as scheduled because of the fuel stop in Salt Lake City. We sincerely apologize for your late arrival and the inconvenience the situation may have caused you. As always, the safety of our customers is our first consideration.

As part of our commitment to you and consistent with our Customer Bill of Rights, we have issued you a $25 JetBlue electronic Voucher. When you are ready to use your Voucher, please call 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583) with your confirmation number for this flight. The Voucher is for you and is non-transferable. JetBlue Vouchers are valid for one year and can be applied towards JetBlue Airways reservations or to the airfare portion of a JetBlue Getaways vacation package. Please visit our website's Help section for more information on how to use your Voucher.

We thank you for choosing to fly with JetBlue Airways and hope you will continue to look to us for your travel needs. We look forward to welcoming you onboard with us again soon.

Sincerely,

JetBlue Airways

Isn’t that impressive? I’ll have to call and mention the flight didn’t actually make the fuel stop. My guess is they will still want to honor the voucher. Also, this trip was a reward I earned and only cost me $10.00!!

 

[daveinric]

Interesting to note one of your flights was held for connecting PAX. They didn't show us the same courtesy in August when we were attempting to connect to their only flight of the day from JFK to TUS, but missed our connection by 20 minutes. The dismissive, condescending treatment I received from the Customer Service Rep only served to compound matters. Glad you were able to make your connection. We should have been so fortunate. :angry:

 

[usstew]

Interesting to note one of your flights was held for connecting PAX. They didn't show us the same courtesy in August when we were attempting to connect to their only flight of the day from JFK to TUS, but missed our connection by 20 minutes. The dismissive, condescending treatment I received from the Customer Service Rep only served to compound matters. Glad you were able to make your connection. We should have been so fortunate. :angry:

Give it a rest already!!

 

[cooper43]

Having actually worked as a gate agent at a couple of airline hubs, the people who are telling you that flights never hold for connecting pax are full of crap. It happens all the time. As a real business traveler no longer held hostage by an airline paycheck, I've also seen it happen a few times.

So, ignore all the Jetblue Koolaide drinkers -- you have every reason to be pissed off.. You bought transportation between SYR and TUS. It wasn't provided. They blame it on the weather, but it's no secret that B6's dependability at JFK is horrible because of overscheduling by both Jetblue and Delta, and you got stuck in their little pissing match.

Unfortunately, you made the choice to fly an airline that goes it alone and can't reroute you on Brand X to actually get you home without the 90 minute ride on the I-10 Deathway. That's why I fly on an airline which has agreements with other airlines, and can get me where I want to be more than once a day.

Airlines sometimes do hold aircraft, but that decision is made at the scheduling level, not the passenger or gate agent level. The info that goes into that decision is very complex. You have to know where that plane is going, how long of a duty day the crew has, downline connections, etc. . If they hold a flight for you, just consider yourself lucky that day. Airlines are not out to get passengers. But it seems that everyone loves to beat up on airlines. Once again it is a very dynamic industry, constant change is the only thing you can count on. Just my 2cents.

 

[I'mRayFlyMe]

...The real kicker came on the way back west, however. We were booked (by a JetBlue reservations agent) on Flt. 75 out of SYR. Our departure was delayed supposedly due to low ceiling at JFK. I called the 800 number for reservations and pleaded to have Flt. 105 (the one and only flight of the day to TUS) held for a few minutes so we could make our connection. But, no, they didn't hold the flight, and we missed it by 20 minutes. (Even had they held it, it would have been possible for the flight to arrive TUS ahead of the 2301L scheduled arrival)...

Sorry to hear about your experience, but what jumped out at me immediately is how you could expect JetBlue to hold an aircraft for you because you begged and pleaded to a reservations agent???!!!???!!! While it is true these folks have access to flight information via their computers, they are not onsite at the airport and are really in no position of power to order an aircraft held for a passenger.

 

[daveinric]

I'm aware of that, Ray. However, by this time I was at the gate. I called the 800 number, and I also spoke to personnel at the gate, including the captain of the originating flight. The captain said that if he knew the captain of the flight to TUS, he could possibly send an instant message, but he didn't know who the skipper of that flight was. The flight captain understood my dilemma, but he indicated there really wasn't anything he could do. What else could I have done? If you have any thoughts, I'd sure appreciate seeing them, just in case this situation happens again (if it does, it won't be on B6, though). Thanks.