The US Division of Transportation (DOT) introduced on Friday a $2m positive in opposition to JetBlue for “working a number of chronically delayed flights”. The company stated it was the primary time it had fined an airline for persistent delays on particular routes, which it stated was brought on by “unrealistic” scheduling practices by JetBlue.
“Unlawful persistent flight delays make flying unreliable for vacationers. Right this moment’s motion places your complete airline business on discover that we anticipate their flight schedules to mirror actuality,” the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, stated in an announcement.
The Division of Transportation defines “persistent delays” as flights which can be flown no less than 10 instances a month and arrive greater than half-hour late greater than 50% of the time.
The DOT says an investigation into JetBlue discovered that the airline operated 4 chronically delayed flights no less than 145 instances between June 2022 via November 2023. Every flight was chronically delayed for no less than 5 consecutive months.
JetBlue had been beforehand warned by the DOT about persistent delays on its flights between Kennedy worldwide airport and Raleigh-Durham worldwide airport in North Carolina, in keeping with the federal company’s assertion.
Regardless of the warning, JetBlue went on to function three extra repeatedly delayed flights between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida, and JFK; and between Fort Lauderdale and Windsor Locks in Connecticut, the DOT stated. They discovered that there have been a complete of 395 delays and cancellations throughout these 4 chronically delayed flights.
“No matter the reason for the delay (service, climate, nationwide airspace, safety) for any particular flight, JetBlue had satisfactory time to behave to keep away from the persistent delays,” the DOT stated.
Derek Dombrowski, a spokesperson for JetBlue, stated in an announcement that the airline invested “tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} to scale back flight delays”, which resulted in higher on-time efficiency in 2024, together with throughout the peak summer season journey season.
JetBlue, which constructed a status for its spacious seating choices and comparatively excessive charges of buyer satisfaction, has had a yr full of setbacks. In March, it deserted its $3.8bn transfer to accumulate Spirit Airways after a US district court docket blocked the transaction. Final month, JetBlue introduced that it could proceed to lower much less worthwhile routes, together with flights from New York to Miami and Houston.
Final weekend, passengers of the airline stated that they have been “kicked to the road like canines” after their return flight to Boston was delayed by practically 24 hours.
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