JetBlue Kicks Frum Family Off Plane For 2 Year Old Not Wearing A Mask

[ah giten]

agreed, however if in truth they find out that the male FA recognized her from outbound flight and told the other FA to go after her, i think she will end up with some $$ (they'll subpoena JB's records and see if he worked the outbound. if yes, her story will be more likely believed)

There are cameras at the gate as well.

[Yehuda57]

Thanks, dug into it and you are correct.

Look at the August 5 press release:

"Customers two years and younger will not be required to wear a face covering if they cannot maintain one."

I dare say your post is wrong. They didn't forget to ammend the website, they changed policies because of this story without announcing it.

[sillypainter]

My wife flew this week FLL-EWR on UA and the FA said in the beginning on the PA system with prejudice that if you don't keep on the mask you'll be kicked off the plane, is this how you talk to adults?

At the end of the flight, everybody was supposed to be seated, they called out names (ליידער משלנו) to the front galley, telling them that they didn't adhere to the mask policy, my wife wasn't sure what they said to them. Maybe they were warned or perhaps banned?

[Yehuda57]

This is a big deal, IMHO. If I was writing the story, I would open with that and only after I'd get into the history and policies of other airlines and whether or not any of it makes sense. It's a good post, but an airline changing policies like that on the fly (sorry) is egregious.

[Dan]

Look at the August 5 press release:

"Customers two years and younger will not be required to wear a face covering if they cannot maintain one."

I dare say your post is wrong. They didn't forget to ammend the website, they changed policies because of this story without announcing it.

Wow, thanks. This is egregious.

[Dan]

Jetblue:

"Hi Dan,

Thanks for reaching out.

 

During these unprecedented times, our first priority is to keep crewmembers and customers safe, and we’ve quickly introduced new safety policies and procedures throughout the pandemic. Specifically, our face covering policy was updated most recently on August 10 to ensure everyone is wearing a face covering – adults and children alike – to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Children age 2 and over must wear a face covering, consistent with CDC guidelines, which say "Masks should not be worn by children under the age of 2.” (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html)

 

Customers receive an email before their flight outlining the latest safety protocols and face covering policies. Our crewmembers are ready to assist customers in the airport and onboard who might need support. We have a flexible rebooking policy for those who are unable to meet this requirement, and customers who refuse to follow these standards after requests from crewmembers will be reviewed for further travel eligibility on JetBlue.

 

FYI – I’ve attached a sample of a check-in email that was sent to this customer.  This policy has also been listed at jetblue.com/safety and jetblue.com/travel-alerts since August 10.  Our travel alerts page is updated often and marks the same time stamp in each section.  The policy has been accurately listed there since August 10, and was not retroactively changed in response to any incident."

[Dan]

Jetblue:

"Hi Dan,

Thanks for reaching out.

 

During these unprecedented times, our first priority is to keep crewmembers and customers safe, and we’ve quickly introduced new safety policies and procedures throughout the pandemic. Specifically, our face covering policy was updated most recently on August 10 to ensure everyone is wearing a face covering – adults and children alike – to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Children age 2 and over must wear a face covering, consistent with CDC guidelines, which say "Masks should not be worn by children under the age of 2.” (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html)

 

Customers receive an email before their flight outlining the latest safety protocols and face covering policies. Our crewmembers are ready to assist customers in the airport and onboard who might need support. We have a flexible rebooking policy for those who are unable to meet this requirement, and customers who refuse to follow these standards after requests from crewmembers will be reviewed for further travel eligibility on JetBlue.

 

FYI – I’ve attached a sample of a check-in email that was sent to this customer.  This policy has also been listed at jetblue.com/safety and jetblue.com/travel-alerts since August 10.  Our travel alerts page is updated often and marks the same time stamp in each section.  The policy has been accurately listed there since August 10, and was not retroactively changed in response to any incident."

My response,
"Thanks for the response,
1. Can you please send me the checkin email in a pdf format?
2. Your 8/5 press release said " Customers two years and younger will not be required to wear a face covering if they cannot maintain one." This child was 2.
3. Archive.org shows that the JetBlue site said at 2:34am yesterday that “Young children who are not able to maintain a face covering on their own are exempt from this policy.”: https://web.archive.org/web/20200819023446/https://www.jetblue.com/travel-alerts.
4. JetBlue.com indicates a 2pm update of that page: https://www.jetblue.com/travel-alerts
5. Archive.org also shows that the age limit of 2 years and older was not on the safety site on 8/14 at 3:18pm https://web.archive.org/web/20200814151812if_/https://www.jetblue.com/safety

Please let me know if you have answers for these questions,
Dan"

[yitzgar]

Look at the August 5 press release:

"Customers two years and younger will not be required to wear a face covering if they cannot maintain one."

I dare say your post is wrong. They didn't forget to ammend the website, they changed policies because of this story without announcing it.

Hence my questioning of the word blunder...

[Dan]

OK, v2.0, have at it @Yehuda57

https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/airlines/jetblue/jetblue-egregiously-kicks-mother-6-kids-off-flight-due-2-year-olds-mask-refusal-retroactively-amends-policy-website-response-incident/

[Lurker]

Hence my questioning of the word blunder...

With an admittedly cursory understanding of the situation here, it seems to me that blunder would be the correct term for the misunderstanding. JetBlue updated their policy twice in the span of 5 days, and with all the many moving pieces and platforms such a policy change involves, missed a step in updating their site. The cover-up after the fact seems to be egregious and would not fall under the "blunder" umbrella, but I don't see how that would change the characterization of the actual events leading to the cover-up. This is, of course, assuming that the August 10th change did happen and was reflected in other communications with customers.

I'm curious to know, from a legal standpoint, how a change in policy affects the customer's rights when it occurs in the middle of a roundtrip ticket. If the change makes it impossible for the customer to make the return trip, what are the airline's responsibilities to their now-stranded passenger? IINM, airlines treat a roundtrip ticket as one transaction. Changing the terms mid-transaction has to leave some room for the customer to be accommodated under the original terms.

[Euclid]

OK, v2.0, have at it @Yehuda57

https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/airlines/jetblue/jetblue-egregiously-kicks-mother-6-kids-off-flight-due-2-year-olds-mask-refusal-retroactively-amends-policy-website-response-incident/

You use "wound up" in back to back paragraphs. Maybe change this one to:

The JetBlue flight subsequently took off 53 minutes late.

[Lurker]

OK, v2.0, have at it @Yehuda57

https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/airlines/jetblue/jetblue-egregiously-kicks-mother-6-kids-off-flight-due-2-year-olds-mask-refusal-retroactively-amends-policy-website-response-incident/

She flew back yesterday on JetBlue flight 28

She didn't end up flying.

[Dan]

OK, v2.0, have at it @Yehuda57

https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/airlines/jetblue/jetblue-egregiously-kicks-mother-6-kids-off-flight-due-2-year-olds-mask-refusal-retroactively-amends-policy-website-response-incident/

Refresh, added blundered and egregious now

[Dan]

She didn't end up flying.

Indeed, thanks.

[Lurker]

OK, v2.0, have at it @Yehuda57

https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/airlines/jetblue/jetblue-egregiously-kicks-mother-6-kids-off-flight-due-2-year-olds-mask-refusal-retroactively-amends-policy-website-response-incident/

Maybe make it clear that you are giving her side of the story. You say that George started whispering, and other observations she made, without independent verification.

[Dan]

Maybe make it clear that you are giving her side of the story. You say that George started whispering, and other observations she made, without independent verification.

Done

[Dan]

OK, v2.0, have at it @Yehuda57

https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/airlines/jetblue/jetblue-egregiously-kicks-mother-6-kids-off-flight-due-2-year-olds-mask-refusal-retroactively-amends-policy-website-response-incident/

Last call, any more bombshells @Yehuda57 

[Yehuda57]

OK, v2.0, have at it @Yehuda57

https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/airlines/jetblue/jetblue-egregiously-kicks-mother-6-kids-off-flight-due-2-year-olds-mask-refusal-retroactively-amends-policy-website-response-incident/

What time was the flight?

[Dan]

What time was the flight?

"She was booked to fly back yesterday on JetBlue flight 28 from Orlando to Newark at 1:15pm."

[Yehuda57]

"She was booked to fly back yesterday on JetBlue flight 28 from Orlando to Newark at 1:15pm."

Oy, can't believe I missed that.

I very much doubt they could have made that edit so fast in response to the story, but they still had no right to kick her off the plane. If you have any way of confirming that FA was on her first flight, *that* would be huge.