Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

But I had no reservations going into this flight because JetBlue had never let me down in the past. However, this travel experience was different than others. Upon arrival, I stood in the longest security line I’ve ever seen at an airport. Agitated passengers filled the entire length of a first-floor corridor, went up an escalator, snaked around the perimeter of the second floor, and down an enclosed elevated walkway. Passengers who had to board flights within the half hour were told they couldn’t move to the front of the line. At one point, the agent trying to keep the chaos under control even yelled at a small group that had formed around her to get back in line.

At the gate, the situation looked even bleaker. I was given no seat assignment upon check-in, so I squeezed through the crowds and made my way to the gate agent to get an assignment, however there was no agent working at the desk. Finally a flight attendant passing by noticed my distress (the door to the airplane was about to close in five minutes) and flagged down an agent to assist me. Yet the agent started typing on her keyboard, helping standby passengers and wouldn’t even lift her head or make eye contact with me for another 10 minutes. Luckily the plane ended up being delayed for 40 minutes and she eventually decided to help me.

I also noticed JetBlue stripped away amenities associated with the airline, like free headphones, as of June 1. And the flight attendants only offered one drink service (in a cup, not the can) during the five-hour flight, even though the flight guide in the seat pocket advises passengers to keep hydrated during the flight. At least the comfy leather seating and seat-back televisions were still in place.

As I sat staring at tributes of funny man George Carlin on my personal TV, people all around me griped about their airport experiences. I wondered if David Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue and the man who created a new way to fly, had flown his brainchild lately, and if so, what would he think? The airline, whose mission was supposed to “eliminate all those aggravating things that drive you crazy,” as Neeleman stated in a Reader’s Digest article, seemed no different than the Northwests and American Eagles of the airspace. Neeleman started JetBlue because he wanted to bring humanity back to air travel. Where was the humanity in my recent experience?

I saw Neeleman at a party in his hometown of New Canaan, CT, a couple weeks ago and at the time wanted to thank him for launching such a customer-centric company and to be a shining example for embattled organizations stalled in launching customer-focused strategies. I didn't, but now wish that I had. If I saw him today, maybe I'd even beg him to return to his beloved airline.

Was this the trickle-down effect of an airline operating in a struggling economy, a lack of leadership, or was my experience an isolated incident? Discuss here.