Too Bad This Crew Was Only On the Plane

June 3, 2009 | Uncategorized

It’s Wednesday afternoon and I just walked in the door and came directly to my computer since I want to tell you about two JetBlue experiences I had today. Okay, I will admit I did take a very slight detour and grabbed a glass of wine en route to my desk, but I wanted to write this while it’s still fresh in my mind.

One experience concerns a flight crew that just saved the day of a hundred-plus passengers, the other is about people on the other side of the gate who are still trying to pull their heads out of you-know-where.

This morning I took JetBlue’s flight #1from New York to Ft. Lauderdale. In fact, I took it twice, the only problem being the first plane never got off the ground. There was a computer malfunction they just couldn’t fix so they had to put us on a new plane. Although this is not as bad as having your flight canceled, a plane change for most passengers is still hell.

As soon as the captain made the announcement — we were already about 20 minutes late at this point — the woman behind me hits speed dial on her cellphone and immediately starts calling everyone she knows this side of Afghanistan and LOUDLY tells each of them about the horrible event that has enveloped her in seat 7A.

“Doris, you’re not going to believe what’s happened to me…” “I’ll never get up to Palm Beach in time…” “Arthur, this is awful…”

Then she finally called home (since, we all surmised, most people stopped answering their phones when they see her name on caller ID) and we were treated to the following…”Hi, it’s me!”…( pause)…”Who? It’s Mommy!”…(long pause, and then with a stern voice)…”Your MOTHER!” I was tempted to lean back and ask her how often she travels and when she was home last.

But despite her incredible personal catastrophe the crew did manage to get us all off the plane, over to a new gate, re-boarded, luggage loaded and rolling back from the gate in just 45 minutes. Incredible! And it was all due to a top-rate crew that was courteous, compassionate and friendly. Unfortunately, they couldn’t stop 7A from hitting the speed button again with updates to the world as soon as her fanny hit the new leather.

What was interesting, though, was that the entire crew, with the exception of the co-pilot, was female. Of course gender had nothing to do with the well-choreographed movement to the new plane but once on board the crew mothered us, making us feel comfortable and at home and as if nothing had ever happened. Looking back I guess comping me on the Bloody Mary also helped.

In fact, it went so well I still feel there wasn’t any problem at all, which shows the value of having top-notch employees who have both common sense and a sense of purpose. Kudos to JetBlue!

However, tomorrow I’ll tell you about JetBlue’s customer-relations disaster that met us when we landed. I wonder if JetBlue even realizes it yet.

Jim Ferri