With all the bad news floating around about the airline industry, it’s nice to be able to share a positive story.
You’ve probably had a negative airline travel experience recently. It might have been the sticker shock when trying to book a flight. It might have been battling long lines at the airport, putting up with delayed flights or paying extra for baggage. Or maybe just being made to feel lucky to sit on a chock-full flight and actually receive a free bag of peanuts or use a restroom that works.
I got a message from British Airlines this week informing me that our family flight plans to Europe have been changed. (I know what you’re thinking…"Lydon, why are you going to Europe now?") Now we have one day of our vacation completely messed up because British Airways had a change. We’re having to catch an early morning flight three hours away from where were staying just to fly to London so we can wait five and a half hours to get the next connection.
What do we do with three kids in Heathrow for five and a half hours? Didn’t they make a movie about that? Yuck!
The Good Story – I was on a return flight from New York to Long Beach on jetBlue this week. jetBlue has the easiest, most comfortable direct flight for me to get to New York. Long Beach Airport is close and small so I don’t have to battle the crowds. jetBlue has an upgrade option; I’m able to get an exit row for another $39. And, since I’m a TV junkie, I can click to my hearts content with their thirty-plus TV networks.
So having an easy, on-time flight home Thursday was a breath of fresh air while the airline industry is smoldering.
Then, in the middle of the flight, an Asian man with a collared shirt got on the microphone. He quickly apologized for the interruption and introduced himself as Russ Chew, president of jetBlue. He sincerely thanked everyone for flying with jetBlue…I could tell he meant it. Then he asked if we wanted to have a little fun. He and the flight attendants drew a letter out of a cup ("A") then drew a number ("16") out of another cup. With that, a woman in seat 16A won two round trip tickets on jetBlue. How cool!
When I was getting off the plane I tucked into a front row with Russ and introduced myself. He gave me a big smile and shook my hand with his blue rubber gloves on…he was ready to help the rest of the crew clean the plane and get it ready for the next group of passengers. We talked for a few minutes about the troubles in the airline industry. I thanked him for delivering on what they had promised; he felt confident they’d be able to continue to deliver. And, I thanked him for providing a little fun on the flight.
Many on Wall Street believe airlines will continue to suffer as oil prices remain at record levels and consumers reduce their flying plans dramatically. But with the AMEX Airline Index dropping over 60% in a year, is the bottom in sight? I don’t know about you, but I’m just not in the mood to do some bottom fishing.
I’m also not excited about flying these days. The long lines and the cost isn’t the main reason. I think it’s that I’ve lost trust and go into each flight with the idea that something is going to go wrong if it doesn’t get canceled ahead of time. jetBlue gave me a little hope this week.