Bad weather, terrorism, and labor shortages are typically to blame when an airline's routine operations collapse.
“Meltdown”: It’s a word that no airline wants to see on the front page of a newspaper in reference to its corporation. Though, over the years, many U.S. carriers have been unable to avoid the association.
Most recently, the New York-based low-cost carrier, JetBlue, made headlines when an icy snowstorm left some passengers stranded on its planes on the tarmac at JFK for more than six hours. The Valentine’s Day fiasco was the start of a six-day breakdown in operations, with more than 1,000 flights cancelled [1].
The incident revealed how quickly adoration can shift to anger and resentment. JetBlue, the airline once revered by passengers for its ability to wed low-fares and amenities (a feature that’s lacking in the traditional low-cost carrier business model), was attacked by both passengers and the media after the incident.
The event reached its peak several days ago with the resignation of the airline’s founder and (now former) CEO David Neeleman, though Neeleman will stay on-board. He’s moved into the role of “Chairman,” where he can focus more on operational strategy, rather than act as a “visionary” for the airline.
Because misery loves company and to demonstrate that JetBlue is not alone in its woes, here’s a look at a few other recent meltdowns in the U.S. airline industry:
Back-to-Back Blizzards Paralyze Denver International Airport
In December of 2006, a wicked snowstorm paralyzed operations at Denver International Airport, leaving 5,000 passengers stranded the first night of the storm [2]. Frontier Airlines, which is based in Denver, and United Airlines, the carrier that has a 59% share of the airport’s traffic, took particularly hard hits [3]. A week later, a second blizzard once again forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
US Airways—A Christmas to Forget
“They ruined everyone’s Christmas,” said Shirley Malave, a disgruntled passenger, of US Airways after its baggage meltdown during the 2004 Christmas season [4]. It was the “perfect storm” for US Airways that weekend in Philadelphia: high passenger volume, bad weather, and not enough employees to handle the chaos. The result? More than 300 canceled flights and thousands of passengers left without luggage.
Northwest Airlines—Not Enough Food and Water for Stranded Passengers
The airline’s slogan used to be, “Some people just know how to fly.” Though that sure wasn’t the case in early January of 1999 when a snowstorm hit Detroit, where the airline has a major hub. Things quickly went awry when the storm worsened after the carrier had already made the decision to continue limited operations [5]. Hundreds of passengers were stranded on taxiways, in some cases for up to 8 ½ hours.
References:
[1] JetBlue fiasco
[2] Snowstorm in Denver closes airport
[4] US Airways Christmas meltdown
[5] Northwest passengers stranded
