Imagine being on a transatlantic flight and diverting due to a technical issue, only to have the same exact thing happen on the replacement flight. Well, that’s exactly what some JetBlue passengers are currently dealing with (thanks to James for flagging this)…
Continue reading: Ouch: JetBlue Transatlantic Flight Has Double Diversion
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Lao Tzu: 'A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.'
(Especially on JetBlue. )
Someday some kids in high school will examine Laurie's tweets as part of an English assignment
Nah, ChatGPT would do that for the kids while they are doing all sorts of dumb things on TikTok.
So if this was BA would you think they would fly all the way to JFK?
BA made a good financial decision.
No wonder B6 isn't doing well financially.
Was replacement flight operated under different number?
Would this make passengers eligible for double EU-261 (for each flight)?
Not saying this is a good look for JetBlue, but wow... Laurie Kilmartin has a lot of anxiety if her biggest worry is clean underwear
Ummm… Airbus is based in Toulouse. Why would they need to fly a part from the U.S.?
Because they already had one? Ordering something from a manufacturer can take much longer.
All you can do in a case like this is to try to make the best of it. At least they'll get to see a little of Dublin. Swords, at least.
This is a good example of why you do not fly internationally with airlines without interline agreements.
How would work this out in regards to miles? When I miss a connection and am rebook on a different itinerary with an extra leg I get more status miles, will the pax also get miles for the return and the diversion flight?
double diversions aren't that uncommon.
Doing it for the same reason over the ocean is pretty UNCOMMON.
suppose JBLU will have "weight and balance issues" when WTF Laurie goes to scan her boarding pass to finally get home?
Stuff happens when it comes to airplanes. I'm lucky that I have a remote tech job so where ever I'm at I can work and don't have that worry. Furthermore, I ALWAYS bring one and usually two days of additional clothes because one should not simply 100% assume they're always going to make it home that day.
They would be eligible 2 x as two different flights. A delayed one the next day has to operate with a different number too even if the same aircraft.
@Ben
Your final statement is not correct.
“ At least these passengers will be eligible for €600 cash compensation plus all their expenses covered, thanks to the EU261 policy.”
Actually, passengers should be entitled to get the compensation twice.
If you are rebooked on a replacement flight and this is delayed or cancelled as well, then this is another inconvenience and covered by EU261 again. There is also a court ruling regarding Finnair.
We had a funny case with LH and they refused to pay 3 times or at least 2 times the compensation. Will need to take them to court but that is relatively easy in Germany.
I gave up on B6 years ago when they had a meltdown in PBI. I really understand having a system meltdown but they had all announcements made by an armed Police Officer that specifically unholstered her gun. I have been informed that a NYC Police Officer would never unholster unless facing a specific threat to safety.
Looks like one of the required ETOPS items failed to pass the coast out check.
Yeah. I always travel with at least 2 days' worth of extra underwear and a pair of extra socks.
I also know how to hand wash underwear in an absolute pinch when I get to the hotel, and have it dry overnight. Luckily this has only happened once out of over 1,000 trips, so pretty good. If delayed by more than a day, I will just go buy some.
Luckily I was not involved in the incident. That's why I tend not to fly carriers that have limited service or limited partner service to a place that I need to be.
Yeah that’s the main takeaway here.
I don’t really see too much that JetBlue did incorrectly here. It’s a messed up situation, but things happen. I mean sure if everyone was at the same hotel, maybe don’t bust them into the airport just to sit around and wait, but also they would have to get them out of their hotels before checkout time anyways. Unless JetBlue was like cutting corners and pushing for an all clear over maintenance concerns, there wasn’t much else they could do. It’s not like they can just run down to the store and buy a new airplane part even if they were willing to eat the cost (and yes I know Airbus is based in France, but they don’t have spare parts just sitting around).
This is unfortunately a risk when one flies on an airline with limited flights to an outstation. Like if they were flying Delta out of CDG (or UA out of FRA or AA out of LHR, no Delta favoritism just CDG was the airport in this situation), there would be many more options to get passengers on the flight out of CDG the first time, without having to wait for a new part.
Wow, Airbus assembly plant is in TLS and the idiots at Jetblue had to Fly a part from the USA!!!
Also, if airlines have good relationships with oth er carriers and have competent contractor for technician assistance, they could have "borrowed" the part and done full diagnostics to make sure the fix was NOT a secondary failure masking the root cause of the problem. Also, lesson learned for flying a carrier that has only one flight a day and so likely not going to have a reserve crew in Paris thus guaranteeing a minimum 24 hr delay because of crew rest.
We are only getting one I think since they merged it all into one ticket number now. They are clever. It was 2 ticket numbers before
Although I hope I'm wrong about the double EU compensation. JetBlue is compensating us with full refunds, $1,000 in travel credit has already hit my account, hotels and meals. The experience in Dublin has been far superior to Paris. The crew and flight attendants were great and were just as frustrated as us. The Paris airport staff was a joke, inept, and dysfunctional. And the Paris hotel many of us were put in "The Millennium" was way below the standards of what any traveler should be housed in for an airline problem. Super happy with the Dublin hotel, and hey, I've never been to Ireland so maximizing my time until our 9pm JetBlue flight back home (on a different aircraft) that I'm praying has no issues! Many other passengers have been booked on other airlines by JetBlue.
My home is NY, so fortunately for me this happened on the return leg of my awesome trip to Switzerland and Colmar/Strasbourg.
Y'all need to learn about a "FIM"...Flight Interruption Manifest. Even without any interline relationships, though JetBlue has a LOT of those contracts, ask for a FIM in last case scenario.
What is a FIM?
To begin, airlines HATE issuing a FIM. In these days of e-tickets, it's a coupon they can issue (used to be that they'd stamp an issued ticket, back when those existed). It's essentially an "agreement" with any other airline that will carry you, with the other airline being paid whatever airfare you originally paid to your initial operating airline...and interline agreements are not involved in the decision.
It's ENTIRELY up to the other airline if they will accept the FIM, and usually you'll be on stand-by. Be NICE when you ask to be re-accommodated on a FIM'd ticket. Most agents are not that familiar with a FIM. If you're rude and demanding...you will not be flying. Just show them the FIM coupon, and 9-ish out of 10 will take care of you to get onto their flight.
I've once missed a flight from AKL-LAX due to my own fault. I knew about FIM, and asked my original airline to FIM my flight coupon....and I was on an absurdly cheap ticket (so therefore the new airline would get paid almost next to nothing to fly me)...the other airline gave a few minutes of thought, they had open seats, so they put me onto their flight.
Hey, if a seat is going to be empty, why not make some pocket change on a FIM'd passenger.
Anyways...another option to put into your toolbox...
They seem to be very proactive at compensating you so that’s a positive. I don’t blame the poor staff at CDG as they should have had a back up plan so hopefully a lesson learned. As for the hotel, agree some of them are not so good. I’ve stayed at the Millennium at it was ok. I’ve been in worse. You can also claim back any expenses.
That said, if you’re rebooked on a replacement flight and that went tech you’re entitled to further compensation.
This might be the biggest lump of nonsense in the comment section today. I'd love to see you try to use a FIM with an airline without an ETK revalidation today!
Okay. Just an airline guy offering some information. Your choice not to refer to the info…bye-bye
Yes. Because we want safety decisions made based on the profit and loss statement.
They can be held in an immigration detention center until the next flight is arranged.
If I was in EK F, and assuming they replenished the dom and caviar, I think I wouldn't be too put out by a double diversion. But otherwise, yeah that would suck.
On a more serious note, this is one of the oft under appreciated (by non frequent travelers) benefits of larger airlines that are part of alliances. Any of the major carriers would have had loads of options to the NYC area from CDG they could have rebooked pax on the day of the first fault.
...or issued visa on spot. Most civilised countries have a procedure where an emergency visa can be issued directly at the border in circumstances like this, essentially if one ends up in the country accidentally. Just like with the regular visa, it's done on the individual case-by-case determination of how risky the applicant is, but most people who have a Schengen visa won't be considered high risk by other EU states.
Toulouse is only a few hours away by TGV. Why the hell fly an airbus part from North America when the factory is right next door? Or maybe use an Airbus Technician to fix the problem who knows what to do?
To add insult to injury, our son not only was in this infamous doubly diverted jetblue flight from CDG to JFK but a similar issue happened to us (and him) on the inbound flight from JFK to CDG on July 3rd which returned to JFK midway to Paris (and of course they lost our luggage when we were rebooked the next day). Over three days of delays for a week-long vacation -- thank you Jetblue.