From the WSJ Opinion Archives
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The Politics of JetBlue
Come fly with Congress.
Right on cue, politicians are making a fuss about a "passenger bill of rights" and demanding Congressional intervention after last week's JetBlue airline debacle. The irony is that the marketplace is already moving to address the problem, and the government could really help by relaxing some of the rules that incentivize airlines to discomfit passengers in the first place.
On February 14, an ice storm obstructed travel throughout the Northeast. At New York's JFK International, JetBlue's central hub, nine aircraft were frozen to the tarmac for more than six hours each, some longer. The reverberations caused thousands of cancellations and delays throughout the JetBlue schedule.
Clearly JetBlue would have done better to offload the stranded passengers as the waits grew longer, and by its own admission the company's communications and contingency planning were lousy. But moving to regulate now, through the introduction of a legally binding "passenger bill of rights," would amount to closing the hangar door after the plane has pushed back. The market is already punishing JetBlue with damage to its image and bottom line. In atonement, CEO David Neeleman has introduced a new, retroactive "bill of rights" of his own that will offer refunds and free flights to tardy JetBlue fliers, depending on the severity of their delays.
Nevertheless, Congress senses an opportunity to pander. Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.) recently introduced a bill in the Senate to let passengers deplane if they have been held too long before takeoff. Mike Thompson (D., Calif.) intends to introduce a similar provision next week in the House, as well as mandates for minimum standards of comfort and service. Members are at least holding off on punitive compliance measures, but in Washington a consensus for some sort of action seems to be building.
The benefits of any such rules are speculative, but higher costs are certain. The airlines would face more paperwork, bureaucracy and cost--and just wait until the trial bar piles on. These costs would be passed on to consumers whether they wanted these new "rights" or not.
Two years ago, the European Union handed down a suite of "transport directives," including one mandating compensation for delays or cancellations, so far without a marked improvement in either problem. European airlines, meanwhile, note that they have been saddled with billions in extra outlays. In the case of discount airlines, the minimum compensation for delays is often many times larger than the price of the original ticket.
Such regulation is both expensive and unnecessary. In 2006, according to the Department of Transportation, 75.4% of flights on U.S. carriers arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. Only 36 flights last year--out of some 10 million flown--left the gate and then waited more than five hours to take off.
For the record, most delays happen for three reasons, roughly distributed equally: errors on the part of the carrier; a jam-up caused by another plane; or a disruption due to the antiquated air-traffic-control system. When a flight is held up on the runway, FAA rules stipulate, it loses its slot in the takeoff line if it returns to the boarding gate, which is why the JetBlue planes were reluctant to turn back in the face of an indeterminate delay.
In hindsight, it's easy to say JetBlue waited too long, but we wonder how many passengers, offered a choice between the
Ticket buyers who opt for low-fare airlines are generally aware that the choice comes with tradeoffs. JetBlue has supported its low-fare model in part by keeping its planes in the air, which has meant being reluctant to cancel flights. Until last week, that was an asset; it had found that passengers preferred to get to their destinations, even if late. Other airlines offer a different mix of conveniences, priorities and costs. This diversity is all to the good.
The self-styled consumer advocates who think that government action here will prevent a repeat of last week's debacle should be careful what they wish for. Meteorological mishaps can't be outlawed, and rules designed to address one situation will be found inappropriate when the next, no doubt different, crisis arises. Mr. Neeleman's solution of writing his own bill of rights has the virtue that consumers can decide for themselves if it meets their needs. If it doesn't, they'll book with someone else. And that's the most important right of all.
