Empty row of airplane seats.JetBlue Denied Refunds to Passengers Stranded Amid Pandemic, Federal Suit Claims
JetBlue canceled "hundreds of daily flights" in late March and April as travel plummeted and restrictions expanded, according to the suit, filed in Brooklyn federal court.
April 16, 2020 at 07:32 PM
2 minute read
A proposed class action suit filed Thursday in the Eastern District of New York alleges that JetBlue Airways violated federal law and its own contract with passengers by offering them flight credits rather than refunds amid the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic.
JetBlue canceled "hundreds of daily flights" in late March and April as travel plummeted and restrictions expanded, according to the suit, which was filed in Brooklyn federal court by Laurie Rubinow, a Connecticut-based partner in Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah.
The named plaintiff is a Florida resident whose March 19 JetBlue flight was canceled nine days before it would have taken off, according to the suit. She learned about the cancellation in an email that did not offer a refund or a booking on the next available flight, which are the available options under JetBlue's contract of carriage, according to the suit.
Instead, JetBlue told her she would have a credit in the company's "Travel Bank" for a future flight. She asked for a refund in a call to customer service, according to the complaint, but she was told the credit was her only option, even though JetBlue's press releases claimed that passengers were being offered a choice of a refund or a credit.
On April 3, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an enforcement notice to airlines, reminding them that "the longstanding obligation of carriers to provide refunds for flights that carriers cancel or significantly delay does not cease when the flight disruptions are outside of the carrier's control (e.g., a result of government restrictions)."
In the same notice, assistant general counsel for aviation enforcement and proceedings Blane Workie told the airlines that they would have a chance to avoid enforcement if they contacted the passengers who had been given flight credits and told them, "in a timely manner," that a refund was an option instead.
JetBlue had not entered an appearance in the case as of 6:45 p.m. Thursday, and the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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