February 20th, 2007Jet Blue Founder & CEO David Neeleman appeared on the Today Show this morning to address its Valentine’s week meltdown that left passengers stranded and more than 1100 flights cancelled.
Neeleman said he was “horrified” by the mess and it was the worst possible case scenario. He took responsibility as CEO and introduced a “Passenger Bill of Rights” that pays passengers with vouchers and flights if they face delays. He vowed that this event will make the airline stronger and plans are in place to ensure something like this never happens again.
Neeleman went on to tell Today Show host Matt Lauer that the Passenger Bill of Rights will be retroactive to February 14th costing the airline $20 to $30 million dollars.
Neeleman said that Jet Blue doesn’t need Congress to tell them how to treat its passengers and that as CEO he is more concerned with long term than quarterly results.
Jet Blue has always been a passenger focused airline and previously enjoyed a sterling reputation. Neeleman’s quick response with the Passenger Bill of Rights, making it retroactive (at a cost of millions of dollars) and most importantly – apologizing and admitting that it should not have happened – will go a long way in helping the airline recover.

August 10th, 2006This morning I awoke to news of a security alert and arrests in London. The alleged plot involved terrorists bringing on various liquids, combining them and detonating them in the air over the Atlantic Ocean. The reaction over here was to ban all liquids from carry on bags and to increase inspections and passenger scrutiny. I saw a story of how people at the airports are either throwing out these liquids or repacking their checked bags. CNN then showed a woman that had repacked her checked bag and then was charged $25 by her airline because her checked bag was now over the weight limit.
Delta Airlines however is waiving these over weight fees. A great and positive example of a large company reacting quickly in times of crisis and being sensitive to their customers. I am hoping this is a sign of things to come as Delta struggles to reserect its image.
Great customer service is a combination of many small victories just like this.