The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced today a $2 million penalty against JetBlue for operating multiple chronically delayed flights. The penalty marks the first time DOT has fined an airline for chronic flight delays — a prohibited unrealistic scheduling practice which can harm both passengers and fair competition across the airline industry.
Half of the penalty is going to compensate JetBlue customers affected by the airline’s chronic delays or any future disruptions caused by JetBlue within the next year. DOT has ongoing investigations into other airlines for unrealistic flight schedules.
“Illegal chronic flight delays make flying unreliable for travelers. Today’s action puts the airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The department will enforce the law against airlines with chronic delays or unrealistic scheduling practices in order to protect healthy competition and ensure passengers are treated fairly.”
DOT rules prohibit airlines from promising unrealistic schedules that do not reflect actual flight departure and arrival times. Unrealistic scheduling is an unfair, deceptive, and anticompetitive practice that disrupts passengers’ travel plans, denies them reliable scheduling information, and allows airlines to unfairly capture business from competitors by misleading consumers.
Chronically delaying a flight for more than four consecutive months is one form of unrealistic scheduling. Under DOT rules, a flight is chronically delayed if it is flown at least 10 times a month and arrives more than 30 minutes late more than 50 percent of the time. Cancellations are included as delays within this calculation.
DOT’s investigation uncovered that JetBlue operated four chronically delayed flights at least 145 times between June 2022 through November 2023. Each flight was chronically delayed for five straight months in a row — or more.
Despite DOT warning JetBlue about the chronic delays on its flight between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., the airline continued to operate three more chronically delayed flights between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla. and JFK, and between Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Windsor Locks, Conn.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimates, based off of data submitted to DOT by JetBlue, that the airline was responsible for over 70 percent of the disruptions for the four chronically delayed flights. Regardless of the cause of the disruption for any specific flight, DOT rules provide airlines adequate time to fix their schedule after a flight becomes chronically delayed to avoid illegal unrealistic scheduling. JetBlue failed to do so.
DOT’s order requires JetBlue cease and desist its chronic flight delays and pay a $2 million penalty. JetBlue must pay half of the penalty — $1 million in cash — directly to the U.S. Treasury. The other half of the penalty goes to compensate JetBlue passengers harmed by either the chronically delayed flights covered by the DOT’s order or any future flight cancellations or delays of three hours or more caused by JetBlue within the next year. The future compensation must be valued at a minimum of $75 for each harmed passenger.
Read the full consent order here.
Featured image credited to Jason Rabinowtiz
