The JetBlue Airline's Lack of Risk Management Protocol
The most significant business problem about the JetBlue airline is the fact that the company lacks a well-designed risk management protocol. During the storm on Valentine's Day, other airlines canceled all flights due to the predicted bad weather, but JetBlue organization decided to wait in the hope of better weather. The decision to not cancel flights resulted caused many inconveniences to the customers who spent hours at the airport. When the planes were stranded, it created a domino effect that added many problems later in the days following. Communication was vital on that particular occasion, and unfortunately, it failed ("JetBlue's Valentine's Day Crisis," 2008).
Inadequate Training and Lack of Communication
The critical constituency issues started when JetBlue airline made a risky gamble of not canceling the flights. The flight crew and attendants did not have adequate training on how to maintain a level environment when there was an emergency. The flight personnel should have assured the customers that the situation was being resolved, instead, the passengers were abandoned left with no one to answer their questions; this only escalated the tension at the airport. The situation also attracted the media who were stoned walled by JetBlue management (Quillia, 2018).
Desirable Outcomes and Strategies for Improvement
One of the three desirable outcomes after the incident is to gain customer's loyalty which is not simple, especially when the client's trust in the organization is shattered. Winning back the customers requires a careful and strategic plan. The airline employees should receive training on emergency situations and also about flexibility at work in high-pressure conditions. JetBlue should also ensure that the online reservation system accurately updates flight status is an outcome that can save time and money for the company. Bringing in additional phone operators would be necessary in the case of an emergency such as the one caused by the storm (Efthimiou, n.d.).
Positive Measures Taken by JetBlue
One of the areas that are regarded as best practice by JetBlue was through the public acknowledgment from executives of the problem indicated and the willingness to fix the problem. The other right decision made by JetBlue was the reimbursement to the customers affected by the delays with vouchers and also the implementation of the Customer Bill of Rights. The passenger's bill was a positive gesture suggesting that the airline regretted the incident and was willing to make amends (Quillia, 2018).
References
Efthimiou, G. G. (n.d.). Regaining Altitude: A Case Analysis of the JetBlue Airways Valentine's Day 2007 Crisis. The Handbook of Crisis Communication, 115-140. doi:10.1002/9781444314885.ch5
JetBlue's Valentine's Day Crisis. (2008, March 31). Retrieved from https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/jetblues-valentines-day-crisis
Quillia, O. (2018, June 19). JetBlue Weathers The Storm. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/id/17238574
