DOT fines JetBlue for alleged ‘unrealistic schedules’ causing chronic delays
The Department of Transportation said Friday that it will fine JetBlue $2 million for chronic delays, accusing the airline of posting unrealistic schedules that it knows it cannot actually achieve. .
According to the DOT, JetBlue allegedly operated four delayed routes at least 145 times between June 2022 and November 2023, and each route was delayed regularly for five consecutive months. The DOT defines a flight as “chronically delayed” if it is scheduled at least 10 times a month and arrives at least 31 minutes late more than half the time.
The flights include a route between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) for which the DOT said it had previously issued a warning, noting the trend frequent delays. Three other routes were penalized: JFK to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), JFK to Orlando International Airport (MCO), and Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport (BDL) to FLL.
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“Regular illegal flight delays make flying unreliable for travelers,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “Today’s action puts the entire airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality.”
The DOT said airlines were responsible for more than 70% of the delays on each route, not external factors such as air traffic control delays or inclement weather. However, even if the cause is beyond the airline’s control, the airline will be responsible for adjusting its schedule to take those factors into account following frequent route delays.
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Friday’s enforcement is the first time the DOT has fined an airline for chronic delays, the department said, noting that half of the fine will go to compensate passengers affected by the past or future delays.
IN an interview with TPG last yearButtigieg said that the agency is pressuring airlines to “demonstrate the realism of their schedules,” noting that carriers can publish scheduled departure and arrival times without they know that they cannot actually respond “for market share or other anti-competitive reasons”. reason.”
“We are currently actively investigating and are calling on the airlines to do the right thing from the beginning and not give any reason to suspect that they are intentionally scheduling flights for which they are not prepared,” Buttigieg said. to serve fully”. at that time.
In a statement, JetBlue noted that it has made major investments in its operations over the past two years, leading to significant improvements by 2024; The airline added that challenges related to air traffic control issues overseen by the DOT were notable in New York and Florida airspace.
JetBlue said in the statement: “While we have reached an agreement to resolve this matter involving four flights in 2022 and 2023, we believe it is our responsibility to ensure air travel Trust belongs to the United States government, which operates our nation’s air traffic control system.”
“We believe that the United States should have the most advanced, effective, and safe air traffic control system in the world, and we urge the incoming administration to prioritize modernizing outdated ATC technology and address the There is a chronic shortage of air traffic control personnel to reduce ATC delays affecting millions of people.” of air travelers each year.”
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