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JetBlue's CEO needs to quit apologizing

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JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ:JBLU) Chief Executive David Neeleman needs to quit apologizing and start performing.

The public gets that Neeleman, who founded Jet Blue, feels really, really bad that passengers were left stranded on airplanes for hours because their planes couldn't take off. We know that he feels worse that the problems persisted for days after.

Now Neeleman is ramping up the apologies with the Passenger Bill of Rights released today. In theory, it sounds like a great deal for passengers. Customers who experience delays can get vouchers for future flights. The bigger the delays, the bigger the vouchers. Passengers are also eligible to get a full refund under some circumstances. JetBlue also is promising to deplane people who have been stranded on the ground for more than five hours.

There's one problem with it though. Why would people who are angry already at JetBlue for either canceling or delaying their flights want to take the company up on its offer? I mean if things went wrong on one flight, wouldn't they expect them to go wrong again.

Talk isn't necessarily cheap -- Neeleman estimates the company's offer mistakes cost $30 million -- but actions really do speak louder than words.

Neeleman can beat his chest all he wants and beg forgiveness from every flier in America. The fact is that JetBlue screwed up royally. The best way that the company can win over the public is by flying people to the places that they want to go when they want to go there and not losing their luggage in the process.

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Last updated: November 22, 2009: 04:14 AM

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