DOT Hits JetBlue With Historic Fine

JetBlue’s “fantasy flight schedules” just earned it a $2 million fine from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

Chronic delays on multiple routes, despite warnings, pushed the DOT to make an example of the airline.

They even had 6 hour delays as recently as the day before New Year’s Eve.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that this constant trend of being late makes air travel unreliable.

Let’s hope JetBlue’s gets their planes in the air on time.

This should also serve notice to other airlines.

A domino reaction could start from this.

You may see other companies being more prompt in fear of a fine.

JetBlue Airways must pay a $2 million fine to the federal government for chronically delayed flights, the U.S. Transportation Department announced Friday. It is the first time the agency has fined an airline for systemic flight delays. https://t.co/8g13lv1q7S

— Spectrum News 1 BUF (@SPECNews1BUF) January 4, 2025

Fox News reports:

The U.S. Department of Transportation has fined JetBlue $2 million for chronic flight delays, marking the first time the federal agency has issued a penalty for such delays.

According to DOT, the fine stems from JetBlue promising unrealistic schedules that it can’t keep. DOT rules deem a flight chronically delayed if it is flown at least 10 times a month and arrives more than 30 minutes late more than half of the time. Cancellations are included as delays within this calculation.

“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,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a prepared statement.

According to DOT, 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 or more. DOT said it issued warnings to JetBlue about chronic delays between JFK Airport in New York and Raleigh-Durham Airport in North Carolina.

Despite those warnings, DOT says JetBlue ran three more chronically delayed flights between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida and JFK, and between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

DOT said it gave JetBlue adequate time to fix their schedules after flights were chronically late, but officials say JetBlue failed to do so.

MAJOR AIRLINE FINED ✈️ The Transportation Department said it will hit JetBlue Airways with a $2 million penalty for chronically late flights along the East Coast, and half the money will go to passengers who were delayed. https://t.co/hpmmnCYKQw pic.twitter.com/RcLxRCpbJI

— 10 Tampa Bay (@10TampaBay) January 4, 2025

I guess 6 hour delays are frowned upon.

@JetBlue Pilot was apologetic but 6 hour delay and switch of pilot all could have been avoided if you did your job and stocked the plane the afternoon prior. What a mess. Thx for having us spend a full day on the airplane due to ur incompetence pic.twitter.com/c9ZH3YrVVM

— seth h (@hens1729) December 30, 2024