To the Editor:

On July 14, I had some friends visiting from Florida. They planned to fly to the M.V. Airport via JFK. They were originally scheduled to depart from JFK at 1:10 pm. They were then advised that the new departure time would be 1:53 pm. A bit later it was moved to 2:46 pm. It was then moved back to 2:15 pm. Finally the flight was canceled altogether. It was rescheduled to land in the Vineyard the next day at 9:48 am.

JetBlue made no effort to provide accommodations for an overnight stay in New York. The claim was that the problem was weather-related, and they could not be responsible. Although the weather in New York may have been inclement, it should be noted that the weather in the Vineyard was not at all inclement. In any event, all that was offered was a rather insincere apology.

The airline might have been forgiven for their handling of the situation, given their perception of the weather situation. However, my friends were due to return to Florida on Monday, July 17. Their flight from the Island to JFK was supposed to leave at about 2 pm. It did NOT leave until 4 pm. At 6 pm, the flight to Palm Beach from JFK had not yet left. They were then told that the plane would leave at 1:23 am, and then it was postponed until 2:12 am. They finally landed in Florida at 5:42 am.

All in all, the experience with JetBlue was horrendous. My friends lost vacation time, which they have precious little of. They also lost work days because of the early morning arrival on Tuesday the 18th and the lack of sleep the night before. They will not be compensated for this or for the accommodations they were forced to find on the 14th.

I realize that JetBlue has a virtual monopoly on the routes to and from Martha’s Vineyard. However, the shabby treatment of passengers is unconscionable. Living on the Island, I have often recommended the airline to visitors. After this horrible experience, I will not do so in the future.

I suspect this grievance will fall on deaf ears, but I believe it was something that needed to be said.

Ted Jochsberger
West Tisbury