JetBlue fined $2 million for flying chronically delayed routes

JetBlue has agreed to pay a $2 million penalty after federal regulators charged the U.S. carrier with operating multiple chronically delayed flight routes.

The penalty is the first time the U.S. Department of Transportation has fined an airline for engaging in unrealistic scheduling practices that it says can harm both passengers and fair competition across the airline industry.

Half the penalty will go toward compensating JetBlue customers affected by the airline’s chronic delays or any future disruptions caused by JetBlue within the next year — with a minimum of $75 for each harmed passenger. 

“Illegal chronic flight delays make flying unreliable for travelers. Today’s action puts the airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “The department will enforce the law against airlines with chronic delays or unrealistic scheduling practices in order to protect healthy competition and ensure passengers are treated fairly.”

The department said it has ongoing investigations into other airlines for unrealistic flight schedules. 

JetBlue had the seventh-worst on-time rate among North American carriers last year, trailing only Frontier Airlines, Air Canada and the Canadian carrier WestJet, according to the International Air Transport Association.

The transportation department’s investigation found JetBlue operated four chronically delayed routes, with the airline responsible for around 80% of the disruptions.  

In a statement, JetBlue said it had invested tens of millions of dollars to reduce flight delays that stemmed in part from ongoing air traffic control challenges in its largest markets in the Northeast and Florida that it said were out of its control.

“While we’ve reached a settlement to resolve this matter regarding four flights in 2022 and 2023, we believe accountability for reliable air travel equally lies with the U.S. government, which operates our nation’s air traffic control system,” it said. “We believe the U.S. should have the safest, most efficient, and advanced air traffic control system in the world, and we urge the incoming administration to prioritize modernizing outdated ATC technology and addressing chronic air traffic controller staffing shortages to reduce ATC delays that affect millions of air travelers each year.”

Last year, a federal judge blocked a proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, saying it would hurt consumers. In 2023, another federal judge ruled JetBlue and American Airlines had to end a partnership in the Northeast that was also deemed anticompetitive.

Over the past five years, JetBlue’s stock price has lost approximately half its value.