“While most other airlines cancelled dozens of flights in preparation for the storm, JetBlue management opted to wait it out. The airline’s policy is do to whatever it can to ensure a flight is completed, even if it means waiting for several hours”

“[passengers] had only one option to rebook their flights: call the JetBlue reservation office. The Navitaire reservation system was configured for JetBlue to only accommodate up to 650 agents at one time… Navitaire was able to boost the system to accommodate up to 950 agents at one time, but then it hit a wall. More agents could not be added without impacting system performance.”

“As passengers struggled to get through to reservations, their bags piled up in huge mounds at airports, particularly at the airline’s hub at JFK. Surprisingly, JetBlue did not have a computerized system in place for recording and tracking lost bags.”

“planners worked out a number of scenarios using SkySolver to get their operations back on track. However … SkySolver was unable to transfer the information into Sabre.”

So there you have it. It’s a classic… An operation running at full capacity hits a major service disruption that exposes potential flaws in policy, capacity limitations, lack of key systems, and systems that weren’t functioning properly.

Another good read is What JetBlue’s CIO Learned About Customer Satisfaction, an interview with Charles “Duffy” Mees, the CIO of JetBlue who was only three months into the job when this disaster struck. Some real heroics on his team’s part to help with the operational, customer service, and system’s issues. And Charles is not afraid to disagree with the boss on JetBlue’s policy on flight cancellations.

This is clearly part of JetBlue’s damage control, but it shows that they’re owning up to their mistakes, making changes, rolling up the sleeves when needed, and trying to make amends with their customers. Applause. I wish other airlines had SLA’s and were open about their issues.