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JetBlue Airways is facing a $2 million fine after a federal government investigation found it was “operating multiple chronically delayed flights.”
This marks the first time the US Department of Transportation (DOT) has imposed a penalty on an airline for persistent flight delays. The government criticized the move, calling it a “prohibited unrealistic scheduling practice that could harm both passengers and fair competition across the airline industry”.
The DOT order requires JetBlue to stop chronically delaying flights and pay a $2 million fine, half of which will go directly to the US Treasury. The other half will be used to compensate passengers who were affected by chronically delayed flights or any future flight disruptions of three hours or more caused by JetBlue within the next year, the DOT said in its announcement Friday. .
Future compensation should be assessed at a minimum of $75 for each injured passenger, the DOT said.
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A JetBlue aircraft at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on November 1, 2023. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“Today’s action puts the entire airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement Friday. “The department will enforce the law against airlines with chronic delays or other unrealistic scheduling practices in order to protect healthy competition in commercial aviation and ensure that passengers are treated fairly.”
According to DOT rules, flights are considered chronically delayed if they fly at least 10 times a month and arrive more than 30 minutes late, more than half the time. Cancellations are included as delays in this calculation, the government said. Continuously delaying a flight for more than four consecutive months is considered unrealistic planning.
After the DOT’s investigation, government officials found that JetBlue operated four chronically delayed flights at least 145 times from June 2022 to November 2023. Each of the four flights was consistently delayed for at least five consecutive months, according to the DOT.
In addition, JetBlue continued to operate three other chronically delayed flights between Florida, New York and Connecticut despite receiving warnings from the DOT, officials said.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimated that the airline was responsible for over 70% of the disruptions for the four chronically delayed flights based on data submitted to the DOT by JetBlue.
| TICKER | Safety | The last one | AmENdmENT | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JBLU | JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP. | 7.48 | -0.38 |
-4.83% |
According to DOT rules, airlines are given “adequate time to adjust their schedule after a flight is chronically delayed to avoid illegal unrealistic scheduling.” However, the DOT said “JetBlue failed to do so.”
However, JetBlue told FOX Business in a statement that it has “invested tens of millions of dollars to reduce flight delays, particularly related to ongoing air traffic control challenges” in its largest markets in the Northeast and Florida over two years. the last one.
“Through these efforts, we have seen significant operational improvements in 2024, including better on-time performance during this year’s peak summer travel season,” the New York-based carrier said.
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Passengers drop off their checked bags with JetBlue Airlines at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on May 16, 2022, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/Getty Images)
The carrier went on to say that while it reached an agreement to resolve the matter regarding four flights in 2022 and 2023, the carrier believes that “responsibility for reliable air travel rests equally with the U.S. government, which operates the air traffic control system.” air traffic of our country”.
The carrier argued that the next administration should “advance modernization of aging ATC technology” and address “chronic air traffic controller staffing shortages to reduce ATC delays that affect millions of air travelers each year.”
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But JetBlue is not alone. The DOT said it is currently investigating other airlines for “unrealistic flight schedules.”
The DOT considers unrealistic scheduling to be a deceptive and anticompetitive practice because it denies travelers reliable scheduling information and “allows airlines to unfairly capture business from competitors by misleading consumers.”
