JetBlue apologizes after passengers stranded

NEW YORK - The winter storm that blasted the Midwest and Northeast this week wreaked havoc with travelers and airlines alike. JetBlue apologized Thursday for several flights that kept passengers stranded on planes for several hours — 11 hours for one flight — and the low-cost carriers chief executive said the snafu would likely cost “many millions of dollars.”

JetBlue travelers continued to experience delays and cancelations Friday, however, as the airline struggled for a third day to recover from an operational meltdown at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

By 10:30 a.m., the 7-year-old air carrier had called off 71 of its 570 planned flights. Other flights were delayed and more cancelations were likely, said JetBlue Airways Corp. spokesman Bryan Baldwin.

The airline, he said, was having trouble getting enough planes and crews to JFK to handle to handle the flights, in part because of federal regulations limiting pilot work hours. The company had originally hoped to have things back to normal by Friday morning.

“It didn’t work as well as we planned,” Baldwin said. “It’s going to take longer than we anticipated to do that.”

JetBlue’s terminals buzzed Friday morning with hundreds of disgruntled passengers, many of whom expressed disbelief that the airline was still experiencing problems.

“We got here this morning, and it was chaos at the check in,” said Amy Mintz of Dix Hills. Her 8:55 a.m. flight to San Diego was quickly canceled. She, her husband and two children, ages 4 and 6, were on a standby list for a 6 p.m. flight, but weren’t guaranteed a seat.

“I could see the other day with all the ice ... but it hasn’t snowed or rained since Wednesday. They had two days to get enough equipment here,” Mintz said.

JetBlue is trying to calm a maelstrom of criticism after passengers were left waiting on planes at a New York airport for as long as 11 hours during a snow and ice storm.

The airline said 10 incoming and outbound flights at John F. Kennedy International Airport were “significantly delayed” with customers on board during Wednesday’s storm. Reasons included congestion, frozen equipment and an effort to keep planes ready to go in case the weather broke, said JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin.

More than 250 of JetBlue’s roughly 500 flights nationwide were canceled Wednesday, but “fairly normal” service resumed Thursday, he said.

Calling Wednesday’s delays “unacceptable,” the airline planned to offer the affected passengers refunds and free flights.

“It’s going to certainly impact us, and it’s going to be many millions of dollars that we’re going to lose from this,” JetBlue CEO David Neeleman told CNBC television. “I don’t blame our customers for being upset with this,” he added. 

Problems not over
Analysts said airlines would lose some revenue because of this week’s storm, but the carriers had enjoyed relatively mild weather for the first six weeks of the year. Demand for air travel is usually a bit slack during the first quarter.

American Airlines, the nation’s biggest carrier, expected to cancel 30 to 40 flights Thursday, many at New York’s Kennedy Airport, after canceling more than 700 flights nationwide the previous two days.

Slide show   Treacherous travel A storm that blasted the Midwest blew snow eastward, paralyzing travel. Click to view images.

Port Authority crews at JFK were struggling to clear runways, said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American, a unit of AMR Corp. Ice on the runways triggered tighter federal rules about airplane loads at takeoff, which further complicated operations, Wagner said.

Continental Airlines Inc. said only two flights had been canceled due to weather by Thursday afternoon, but there were delays, especially at Newark, N.J.

“Operations are rapidly returning to normal,” said Continental spokesman Dave Messing. “The main issue we face (Thursday) is winds at our Newark hub.”

A spokeswoman for Delta Air Lines Inc. said the carrier canceled some flights Thursday at New York’s Kennedy Airport, but that they weren’t having a ripple effect on other airports.

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