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JetBlue Airways is going through a $2 million advantageous after a federal authorities investigation revealed that it was “operating multiple chronically delayed flights.”
This marks the primary time the U.S. Division of Transportation (DOT) has imposed a penalty on an airline for constantly delaying flights. The federal government lambasted this motion, calling it a “prohibited unrealistic scheduling practice which can harm both passengers and fair competition across the airline industry.”
DOT’s order requires JetBlue to cease power flight delays and pay a $2 million penalty, half of which can go on to the U.S. Treasury. The opposite half will likely be used to compensate passengers that have been impacted by the chronically delayed flights or any future flight disruptions of three hours or extra attributable to JetBlue inside the subsequent 12 months, the DOT mentioned in its Friday announcement.
The long run compensation have to be valued at a minimal of $75 for every harmed passenger, the DOT mentioned.
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A JetBlue aircraft at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Worldwide Airport (FLL) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Nov. 1, 2023. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg through Getty Pictures / Getty Pictures)
“Today’s action puts the entire airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg mentioned in a press release on 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 passengers are treated fairly.”
Beneath the DOT guidelines, flights are thought-about chronically delayed if they’re flown a minimum of 10 occasions a month and arrive greater than half-hour late, greater than half of the time. Cancelations are included as delays inside this calculation, the federal government mentioned. Persistently delaying a flight for greater than 4 consecutive months is taken into account unrealistic scheduling.
Moreover, JetBlue continued to function three extra chronically delayed flights between Florida, New York and Connecticut regardless of receiving warnings from the DOT, officers mentioned.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimated that the airline was chargeable for over 70% of the disruptions for the 4 chronically delayed flights primarily based off of information submitted to DOT by JetBlue.
Ticker Safety Final Change Change % JBLU JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP. 7.48 -0.38
-4.83%
Beneath DOT guidelines, airways are given “adequate time to fix their schedule after a flight becomes chronically delayed to avoid illegal unrealistic scheduling.” Nevertheless, the DOT mentioned “JetBlue failed to do so.”
Nevertheless, JetBlue advised FOX Enterprise in a press release 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 within the Northeast and Florida over the previous two years.
“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 Metropolis-based provider mentioned.
JETBLUE, SPIRIT AGREE TO TERMINATE MERGER OVER REGULATORY ISSUES
Passengers drop their checked-in luggage with JetBlue Airways on the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Worldwide Airport on Could 16, 2022, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Pictures / Getty Pictures)
The provider continued saying that whereas it reached a settlement to resolve this matter concerning 4 flights in 2022 and 2023, the provider believes “accountability for reliable air travel equally lies with the U.S. government, which operates our nation’s air traffic control system.”
The provider argued that the incoming administration must “prioritize modernizing outdated ATC technology” and handle “chronic air traffic controller staffing shortages to reduce ATC delays that affect millions of air travelers each year.”
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However JetBlue isn’t alone. The DOT said it’s presently investigating different airways for “unrealistic flight schedules” as effectively.
The DOT considers unrealistic scheduling to be misleading and anticompetitive observe because it denies vacationers dependable scheduling data and “allows airlines to unfairly capture business from competitors by misleading consumers.”
