“Our bicycle policy has now been updated to reflect that customers traveling with a folding bikes in a bag that fits within the standard checked bag weights and dimensions will not be charged the Bike fee and will be treated like any checked bag.”
— Morgan Johnston, manager of corporate communications for JetBlue
Yesterday we shared the story of Carl Larson, a BTA staffer who was irked when he was charged a $50 fee by JetBlue airlines simply because he had a foldable bike in a piece of luggage.
The story traveled around the web and was noticed yesterday evening by someone at JetBlue. Then, a few minutes ago I got a response via email from Morgan Johnston, JetBlue’s manager of corporate communications:
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for helping to bring this to our attention. We pride ourselves on our customer service and when we’re faced with a situation where policy doesn’t make sense in practice, we’re always ready to correct or clarify. On reading your article, and Carl’s post on BTA4Bikes.org I reached out to our Airports team to address the policy which lacked the definition needed to accommodate situations ‘outside the norm’ such as customers traveling with folding bikes.
Our bicycle policy has now been updated to reflect that Customers traveling with a folding bikes in a bag that fits within the standard checked bag weights and dimensions (62 inches in overall dimensions and 50 pounds in weight — see our baggage requirements here) will not be charged the Bike fee and will be treated like any checked bag.
Thank you again for helping us keep JetBlue attentive to the needs of our customers.
—
Morgan Johnston
Manager Corporate Communications
JetBlue Airways
I asked Mr. Johnston when customers could reasonably expect the new policy update to appear in the checked baggage requirements page on their website and to trickle down to JetBlue staffers. He said a memo went to out all airport crewmembers this morning and that “both internal and external documentation will reflect the change within 24 hours.”
Now that’s a responsive company. Less than 24 hours to notice an issue, address it, and then communicate their decision. Well done JetBlue. And well done (and thank you!) Carl Larson for taking the time to follow-up on this.
See folks, there’s no need to lie (which is what many readers said Carl should have done) when you have a legitimate grievance. This is also a great reminder that one person (with a bit of publicity of course) can make a difference.
UPDATE: Carl Larson wrote in to tell us that his $50 fee has been refunded.