It's Valentine's Day. An ice storm has paralyzed JFK Airport. Nine JetBlue flights are stranded on runways for up to ten hours. In the days that follow, over 1,000 flights will be canceled and thousands of passengers stranded. The airline that promised to bring "humanity back to air travel" has just become the poster child for the opposite.
You are David Neeleman. You built this company on customer service and servant leadership. Now the company you love is burning in the press, and your board of directors is watching your every move. How you lead in the next 72 hours will define your legacy — and your tenure.
Situation Intelligence // Feb 14, 2007
9Flights stranded on JFK runways — up to 10 hours
1,000+Flights canceled over subsequent five days
#4JetBlue ranked in BusinessWeek customer service — now crossed out
$30MCost of Neeleman's eventual Customer Bill of Rights
6 decision points · ~10 minutes · AI-powered debrief at the end
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The Stakes
You built JetBlue from nothing. In 48 hours, you could lose everything.
JetBlue's brand identity — its entire competitive advantage — rests on customer experience. The company that won #4 in customer service across all U.S. industries just stranded passengers on runways for 10 hours with no food, no information, and no way out.
Your operational team was unprepared. Your COO was in Florida. Your board is skeptical of how vocal you want to be. The Today Show and David Letterman have both called. The media cycle turns every six hours. Your decisions in the next 72 hours will define whether JetBlue recovers — or whether you do.