English 420Y - Business Writing Online

I chose the article “Runway debacle and JetBlue stock goes ... up?” located on msnbc.com.

This can be found at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17175598/

The article I used can be found at this website:

http://crisisblogger.wordpress.com/2007/02/19/can-jetblue-recover/

The article begins by explaining hat JetBlue is in the middle of a major crisis, and then saying that they are dealing with a frenzy of bad press. One of the most important parts of the beginning of the article is when the author states:

The basic rules for response when things have gone wrong are:
1) Accept responsibility
2) Apologize and make restitution if possible
3) Clearly identify the changes that will be made to prevent recurrence

This article from The Boston Globe gives more information about the cancelled flights from Jet Blue. It gives more details about why flights were still being cancelled a few days after the ice storm. Jet Blue encountered problems when the pilots could not fly because they did not have enough time to rest. This article also talks about how people, such as Maria Arbelo, were inconvenienced by the crisis.

This article, from the New York Times, entitled "JetBlue’s C.E.O. Is ‘Mortified’ After Fliers Are Stranded" and is mainly focused on the situation of having a scarcity of workers when times where at the roughest point. The first problem and misjudgment the company made was not cancelling and delaying flights much sooner. Every other company had better plans set for the ice storm that went through the area. JetBlue tried handling the situation differently, thinking they could work through the weather and had to suffer the consequences for their actions.

This article from CBS does a good job to show what some people who were on the planes that were delayed for hours felt like during the delay. I think it's important to see what these people have to say about such a terrible situation instead of listening to Jet Blue employees promising to improve service when they weren't there on the actual flights. It also gives some data that talks about how many flights of theirs were delayed or cancelled and what the airline is going to do to fix the problem.

The JetBlue crisis is a situation that everyone hopes they do not have to encounter. Being stranded on a plane for 11 hours without clean water or a restroom is not a desirable situation. For the Corporate Communication's project I thought one important part to consider before writing the press release, etc was what really happened. I kept questioning why people were stranded for so long. How is that possible? Why could they not merely walk off the plane? What were the lagistics that made the situation so hectic and complicated?

Crisis Communications Lessons Learned the Hard Way | Main | What You Can Learn About New Media From the President of Iran »
February 20, 2007
Recovering from a Crisis: Jet Blue Gets It Right
How would you respond to a week-long fiasco of international media scrutiny and criticism following a highly publicized episode of your intolerable treatment of customers, especially if your company was founded on a pledge of superior customer service?
.

The article I chose concerning the JetBlue crisis comes from the Businessweek magazine website. The article gave a brief description of the meltdown on Valentines Day, but more importantly addressed what the future holds for JetBlue Airlines. One interesting part of the article was a paragraph describing how Businessweek removed JetBlue from it's list of Customer Service Champs. I am not really familiar with this periodical, or the validity of this list, but apparently JetBlue had a #4 ranking and had racked up service accolades faster than any other airline.

The article that i have found was posted on CNNMoney.com on february 15, 2007. It talks about the increse in the stock prices of jet Blue, even after having followed such confusion due to cancellations and delays. As stated by the article, "people still like their low fares and simple product." The situation was well handled by the company as the CEO admitted his mistake and also releasing the customer rights, which would compensate the customers for their inconvinience.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/15/news/companies/jetblue/index.htm

The article I found was published a couple hours ago on the CNN website. It talks about the result of the JetBlue crisis in February on JetBlue Airways founder and Chairman David Neeleman. In addition, the article discusses how the company has reorganized and responded to the February disaster. Since the February incident David Neeleman is no longer CEO and Chairman of JetBlue. Although it was originally presented as a mutual agreement between Neeleman and the board of directors, this was not the case at all. Neeleman was basically forced out of a position he still wished he could have.