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JetBlue's Series of Unfortunate Events
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Yahoo! Finance
JetBlue (JBLU), the former upstart but now mature airline, found itself this week facing its biggest PR test since the Valentine’s Day debacle in 2007, when a less than stellar response to a severe snowstorm left thousands of fliers stranded in the Northeast. But according to one crisis expert, the company's leadership is responding beautifully to the latest drama.
In one of the most recent in a string of bad-behavior incidents in the skies, a JetBlue captain on a flight from New York to Las Vegas experienced a midair meltdown, forcing passengers to restrain him and the co-pilot to land in Amarillo, Texas. (The incident was just another chapter in the ongoing story of batty airplane behavior, which, of course, isn't limited to JetBlue flights.)
According to the airline’s blog, BlueTales, “the Captain is currently under the care of medical professionals.” JetBlue also said it’s offering Flight 191’s passengers a refund for a one-way fare as well as a voucher for twice the value of their original ticket. While it's not exactly Costa Concordia passengers being offered a discount on a future cruise, put yourself in the seat of a passenger who sees the pilot lose it at 30,000 feet. Maybe you wouldn't be in the biggest rush to take advantage of that voucher.
Launched in 2000, JetBlue has earned a reputation as something of a people’s airline, priding itself on stellar customer service, affordability, TVs at every seat and other in-flight amenities. The airline is a consistent favorite with fliers: In 2011 it won JD Power and Associates’ low-cost carrier category for the sixth straight year. It was also ranked by Consumer Reports magazine last June as the second-best commercial airline in the U.S.
Responding to the pilot’s crackup this week, CEO Dave Barger went on the "Today" show and told Matt Lauer that the passengers and crew did a “great job” of handling the situation on the plane. In terms of damage control, Barger did one media appearance -- as opposed to his predecessor, JetBlue founder David Neeleman, who felt the need to undertake an apology tour following the 2007 storm. Going on a whole mea culpa road show would have made Barger more vulnerable to hostility and criticism, said Eric Dezenhall, co-founder of crisis-management firm Dezenhall Resources and co-author of “Damage Control: How to Get the Upper Hand When Your Business is Under Attack.”
“The PR objective at this stage is to hustle the story out of the news, Dezenhall says. This might have been an anomalous event, but it's one the airline is taking seriously. Now the focus is on screening procedures for pilots. “It won’t be good enough to fall back on ‘these things happen,’ despite the fact that you can’t screen out everything,” Dezenhall said.
JetBlue is certainly hoping there won't be a repeat of this or any of the other headlines that weren't among its proudest moments. Other unfortunate events in JetBlue’s history:
February 2007
A Valentine’s Day snow storm hit the East Coast, forcing JetBlue to cancel more than 1,000 flights, leaving thousands of passengers and flight crews stranded. With no contingency plan for such an event, passengers were kept for hours on planes, many left out in the cold without food, proper restroom facilities or basic necessities. Fliers were trapped on the runway at New York's JFK for hours, many ultimately delayed in their travels by days.
In an attempt at controlling the fallout, Neeleman went on a week-long bid for forgiveness, stopping at the "Today" show and the “Late Show With David Letterman.” Neeleman’s response to the debacle garnered high praise and even served as a case study in crisis management and the basis of MBA courses in business schools. Following the troubles, JetBlue unveiled its new Consumer Bill of Rights and revamped its operating systems to be better prepared for future events like this one. Neeleman would step down as CEO in the spring, giving way to Barger, but he said the move wasn't related to JetBlue's storm response. (Neeleman went on to launch his fourth airline, Azul Brazilian Airlines in May 2008.)
August 9, 2010
On a flight from Pittsburgh to New York, flight attendant Steve Slater deployed the airplane's emergency chute, beer in hand, and slid to the tarmac at Kennedy International Airport. He had gotten into an argument with a passenger who stood to get their luggage too soon, and ended up striking Slater in the head. Slater got on the plane's public-address system, cursed out the passenger, declared that 20 years in the airline industry was enough, and then made his dramatic exit. Slater pleaded guilty to two charges of criminal mischief, one a felony and one a misdemeanor. Under his plea deal, Slater agreed to enroll in an alternative sentencing program that requires him to undergo mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment for the next year.
October 29, 2011
Passengers on three JetBlue planes and one American Airlines plane at Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Conn., said they were stranded on the tarmac for seven hours or more after being diverted from New York-area airports because of bad weather.
March 27, 2012
Flight 191 was diverted to Amarillo, Texas, following erratic behavior by Capt. Clayton Frederick Osbon, who allegedly ran through the cabin before passengers tackled him in the galley. On Wednesday, the Justice Department filed a complaint charging Osbon with interfering with the crew. If convicted, Osbon faces up to 20 years in prison.
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