JetBlue Flights Canceled; Airline Founder 'mortified,' Report Says

NEW YORK (AP) -- The six-day siege of angry travelers at JetBlue's Kennedy airport terminal appeared to ease on Monday, despite new flight cancellations.

The company said it was canceling almost a quarter of its flights on Monday--139 of 600 scheduled flights--but hoped to restore full operations on Tuesday, a week after a Valentine's Day snowstorm virtually paralyzed JetBlue Airways Corp.

David G. Neeleman, the company's founder and chief executive, told The New York Times he was "humiliated and mortified" by the breakdown, which he blamed on several factors besides the weather--poor communications, an overwhelmed reservations system, and many of JetBlue's 11,000 pilots and flight attendants being stuck in locations other than where they were needed. Federal aviation rules also limit the number of hours that pilots can fly without mandatory rest breaks.

JetBlue spokesman Sebastian White said Monday's cancellations helped make sure all flight crews had legally mandated amounts of rest before flying again, and gave the airline the time to get equipment to the proper places. He said planes were being repositioned on Monday afternoon in order to be ready to go on Tuesday morning.

One travel expert suggested the airline had brought the crisis on itself by trying to do the right thing for its passengers despite the wintry weather threat.

"Most airlines don't try to operate when there is an ice storm problem--they've learned that it's better to cancel all flights at the outset and then try to get back to normal operations as quickly as possible," said David Stempler, president of the Washington-based, member-supported Air Travelers Association.

JetBlue had sent departing flights out to anti-icing stations where they waited for takeoff clearance, while incoming flights parked at the terminal and could not be moved as the storm worsened. That left the departing aircraft, filled with passengers, trapped--unable to return and unable to take off--for hours.

Stempler also said the fast growth of some airlines, such as JetBlue, can create demands that are beyond their capability, especially in a crisis.

"JetBlue tried to do their best--tried to keep the system rolling," he said. "Their heart was in the right place, but their head was not."

White said JetBlue has tried to reduce the backlog of passengers by using charter flights, adding flights in certain sectors, rebooking passengers to later dates, and booking seats on other airlines.

Monday's cancellations affected 139 of 600 scheduled flights, at 11 airports: Richmond, Va.; Pittsburgh; Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham, N.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Austin and Houston, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Nashville; Portland, Maine; and Bermuda.