- The US Department of Transportation has hit JetBlue with a $2 million fine for delayed flights.
- The DOT called the unrealistic flight schedules deceptive and anticompetitive.
- Half of the $2 million fine will be to compensate JetBlue customers.
JetBlue Airways was fined $2 million by the Department of Transportation, the agency said Friday, for operating chronically delayed flights.
The first-of-its-kind penalty follows a DOT investigation that found JetBlue promised its customers unrealistic schedules that did not reflect actual flight departure and arrival times on four routes between its New York and Florida bases, and destinations in North Carolina and Connecticut. The agency called this practice a “deceptive and anticompetitive” way to unfairly generate business by misleading customers.
Half the $2 million will be paid in cash to the US Treasury, and the other half will be set aside as compensation for JetBlue passengers harmed by future delayed flights. Compensation and vouchers for each affected passenger must be valued at at least $75.
Just 74.5% of JetBlue flights managed to stay on schedule last year, according to the latest data from Cirium. That puts it behind all major US competitors. Only Frontier had a lower on-time percentage.
JetBlue said the government should upgrade the nation’s air traffic control system to increase reliability for all flights.
“We appreciate how important it is to our customers to arrive to their destinations on-time and work very hard to operate our flights as schedule,” the airline said. “While we’ve reached a settlement to resolve this matter regarding four flights in 2022 and 2023, we believe accountability for reliable air travel equally lies with the U.S. government, which operates our nation’s air traffic control system.”
The DOT also said it is looking into similar practices by other carriers but did not go into specifics.
Shares of JetBlue fell about 2% in trading Friday morning.
