Home » Archives » February 2007 » Is Your Jet Feeling Blue?
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02/21/2007: "Is Your Jet Feeling Blue?"
Good news, travel fans! Yesterday, JetBlue Airways managed to fly a full schedule of flights for the first time since a Valentine's Day blizzard left their schedule - and reputation - in tatters. The pictures coming from the JetBlue terminals on the east coast last week weren't pretty - stranded passengers packed like sardines, all clamoring for a seat on a flight ... any flight ... that was heading home. Now the lawyers and the spin doctors and the politicians are involved; you can bet we haven't heard the last of this one.
Here's what I find funny: JetBlue is one of those so-called "discount airlines" that consistently undercut the major carriers. You can pay $600 for a round trip to New York on American, or $199 on JetBlue. For people on a budget - or just plain cheap - that's hard to pass. But do they ever think about why JetBlue and others low price carriers can make this offer? There are certain costs that are pretty much fixed in the airline business - planes and fuel for example (although Southwest is famous for a forward-thinking fuel deal that it cut). Other costs - like pilot salaries - could be cut, but are you sure you want the guy who couldn't get a full-paying job at the big carriers and had to settle for a lower salary to fly you? Sounds like a Bud Light commercial ... "Mr Discount Airline Pilot Guy" ... oh, wait - that was the one that was banned ...
But I digress. Let's assume for a moment that the discount guys don't cut corners on safety, or maintenance, or equipment. Where do you think they make up the difference? Sure, they've cut out meals and blankies and drink service, but so have the others. The only place left is in infrastructure - the unseen folks who keep things running when it gets bad. American Airlines has a logistics center in Fort Worth with 8,000 employees - I doubt JetBlue even has 8,000 employees. So when things go bad for American - and they have (remember 9-11?) - they can develop a recovery plan. When it goes bad for JetBlue, all they can do is wring their hands and talk into the camera.
I do a fair share of travel in my job. Last year, I made six trips around the country, and the worst thing that happened to me was an hour's delay in St. Louis - after they suffered the worst storm in a century and people were using the light of their cell phones to navigate through the terminal! But the airlines managed to keep going.
I always fly major carriers, and I pay extra if required to go non-stop - fewer flights means fewer opportunities to fail. If you choose to try and save a few bucks by flying a marginal airline, why should you be surprised if you get marginal results? Hell, they have a reality series on A&E ("Airline") that is based on the failure scenarios faced by people trying to fly Southwest - why on earth would anyone be willing to go through that?
Now the talk is that Congress will demand a "Passenger's Bill of Rights" insuring certain levels of treatment. Great - who do you think is going to pay for that? Do you really think it will make things better? JetBlue, as part of their PR mea culpa, introduced their own version yesterday. Departure delay? Get a travel voucher. Arrival Delay? Another voucher. Frankly, if I got screwed by an airline, the last thing I want is a discount on a future trip! And you just know that if Congress is involved, we'll get the best possible outcome ... not!
Look, this is just part of the overall greediness of the average American - I want it all, I want it now, and I won't pay for it. It's why our schools turn out generations of uneducated adults, why our power grid is held together with paper clips, and why there's no incentive for business to do anything to improve service if it would result in even the slightest increase in cost.
Cheap bastards ... you get what you deserve ... 
