Case 10-2
Service Recovery Helps JetBlue Fly Higher
JetBlue Airways [http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/company/962767?u=tlearn_trl] knows that every
flight represents another opportunity to satisfy passengers and to win or reinforce their loyalty. Based at
New York’s JFK Airport, JetBlue sent its first jet taxiing down the runway in 2000 and now flies to
dozens of U.S. cities plus vacation spots in the Caribbean. The airline prides itself on its low fares and
friendly service with extras that many low-cost carriers do not offer. Its jets feature roomy leather seats,
satellite TV and satellite radio for everyone, and free Dunkin’ Donuts coffee on all flights.
It’s small wonder that loyal customers have voted JetBlue to the top of many industry surveys and
choose to fly the airline whenever they can. Nor has JetBlue been shy about trumpeting its awards and
raising customers’ expectations for a superior travel experience from start to finish. Delivering on its
service promises has helped JetBlue increase its annual revenues to nearly $6 billion.
But what happens when JetBlue customers arrive at the airport expecting an easy flight and instead
find themselves sleeping in the terminal or trapped on a parked jet? This service nightmare started when
an ice storm struck New York on Valentine’s Day in 2007. Believing that the storm would soon pass and
that some flights would then be able to take off, JetBlue allowed passengers to board nine planes, sealed
the doors, and sent the jets out toward the runway. As the storm continued to pound the airport, JetBlue
kept the jets parked near the runway. The storm raged on, food and water ran out, the bathrooms got dirty,
but the jets stayed put for as long as nine hours, until JetBlue brought them back to the terminal and let
the angry passengers off.
That day, JetBlue canceled more than 250 flights and stranded thousands of passengers in its JFK
terminal. The next day was not much better because JetBlue could not get enough planes and crew
members to New York quickly enough to fly the stranded passengers to their destinations. Nor could
planes stuck in New York get out to the other cities served by JetBlue, a predicament that disrupted the
airline’s entire schedule. Two days after the storm, the airline had to halt service to 11 cities and cancel 23
percent of its flights while it moved planes and people into position. In all, more than 1,000 flights were
canceled in a five-day period, leaving JetBlue customers outraged and frustrated.
However, even as this service nightmare was making headlines across the country, the airline’s top
executives were taking steps to unravel the mess, prevent a recurrence, and address the firestorm of
customer dissatisfaction. “This is going to be a different company because of this,” vowed the CEO. “It’s
going to be expensive. But what’s more important is to win back people’s confidence.” Within days,
JetBlue announced its Customer Bill of Rights, which provides refunds or vouchers for customers whose
flights have been canceled or delayed and pledges to get passengers off planes if they’ve been waiting to
take off for more than five hours.
In all, JetBlue paid out $40 million in vouchers and refunds to customers affected by the storm.
However, the bigger challenge was to repair its tarnished reputation. Just weeks after the storm,
BusinessWeek magazine removed JetBlue from its 2007 listing of Customer Service Champs; before the
crisis, the airline would have been number 4. JetBlue kept promoting its Customer Bill of Rights, added
more customer-service representatives, trained its workforce to deal more effectively with delays, and
redoubled its efforts to satisfy every customer on every flight. These service recovery steps are paying
off: JetBlue’s revenues have been growing, and it captured the number 7 spot on BusinessWeek’s listing
of Customer Service Champs in 2008.
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Case Questions
1. Use the disconfirmation paradigm to explain why you think that JetBlue should or should not be
raising customer expectations by promoting its service as competitively superior.
2. How was the speedy implementation of a Customer Bill of Rights likely to affect the post-decision
feelings of customers holding JetBlue tickets for future flights?
3. Were JetBlue customers affected by the storm likely to feel dissonance or regret? Why?
4. Could JetBlue have done anything differently to make customers happier?
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