Jetblue

Jetblue has been my favorite airline since it has been in existence, and I have given it a lot of love in my blog.  I love their roomy, comfy seats and their TVs, their snacks, and their customer service.  My only “bad” experiences with them weren’t bad enough to make me stop loving them   That all changed the other day, and I figure if I can praise them when I think they’re doing well, I should also criticize them when they do something that is definitely not okay with me.

Living in Burlington as I do, I am never able to take direct flights to my vacation destinations.  We are not a hub airport, so I pretty much have to take what I can get.  One month ago, when I was booking my trip to Orlando in May, I saw that Jetblue had one direct flight per day going in each direction between Burlington and Orlando.   Hallelujah, cue the angel choir!  Finally, I could take a trip without having to worry about missing my connection!  No frenzied running through an airport!  Just hop on a plane and three hours later, I’d be in sunny Florida.  The times were terrific, too:  I would leave at 9am and get to Orlando by noon, and returning, I wouldn’t have to leave until 6pm and I’d get home by 9.  It was a little more expensive than the connecting flights through JFK, but in my opinion, it was worth it.  So I booked them.

This week I got an email alert from Jetblue announcing that my flights had changed.  I thought it was just a time change; that happens a lot.  So I clicked into my account, only to discover they had cancelled the direct flights and rebooked me on connecting flights through JFK–at radically different times than I was originally planning to fly.  After reviewing their online calendar, I saw that all of their direct flights for May had been removed from their system–with no explanation.  I called their customer service line, but the woman I spoke with didn’t know what was going on, either.

Now, in addition to worrying about missing my connections, I have to get up before the crack of dawn to depart at 6:00 am and won’t get home until midnight when I return.  Instead of walking to and from the Burlington airport, I’m going to have to pay for a cab (because I’m not walking there and back at those hours).  So not only did I pay more for my now-connecting flights than people who purposely booked those flights, but I’m out an extra $20 for cab fare.

So what do you think?  Is it ever okay to change someone’s booking from a direct flight to a connecting flight?  To me, that’s a bait-and-switch. It’s like paying for first class and getting bumped to coach without any compensation. Now, granted, I might have booked with Jetblue even if there hadn’t been any direct flights available.  For me, it’s always a balancing act between flight times and prices.  But that would have been my choice, and this wasn’t.  I also would have been more understanding if they explained why the change was made and it was an explanation that made sense to me.  I’m not an unreasonable person; I understand they’re a business and they need to make money.

I (sadly) expect that kind of behavior from other airlines.  I didn’t expect it from Jetblue.   This is just not cool, Jetblue.  The honeymoon’s over.