SALT LAKE CITY — Many JetBlue passengers were feeling blue after hundreds of cancellations over the weekend, including one that almost wrecked a local newlywed’s honeymoon.
“We were talking about not even going on our honeymoon because we would have lost so much money, it wouldn’t even be worth it at that point,” Shiloh Lofgran said.
JetBlue canceled hundreds of flights this weekend citing bad weather and staffing shortages.
Ariel and Shiloh Lofgran went from celebrating their wedding this weekend, to desperately trying to figure out a new flight after getting a surprise email.
“We were in the middle of our reception yesterday, and I was using my phone just to DJ our playlist and I saw that we had an email from JetBlue and it said that our flight was canceled,’” Ariel Lofgran said
Ariel and Shiloh had planned to honeymoon in Florida right after their wedding.
But this unexpected cancellation sent them into a frenzy.
“We jumped online and called JetBlue but the wait time to speak to somebody was 128 minutes,” said Ariel Lofgran.
“They sent us a reschedule but it was two days later which was kind of unfortunate because we had car rentals and a timeshare booked, all stuff we couldn’t get refunded for,” Shiloh Lofgran said
They tried to call and message, and it was an over two-hour wait. Even after waiting, they still got no answers.
That’s when Ariel posted in her Saratoga Springs community page on Facebook.
“Like hey, this is what happened, does anyone have tips, or connections or advice?” asked Ariel Lofgran.
To her surprise, a JetBlue employee, who happened to be in this same small group, messaged the couple offering to help.
She was able to get them a flight for Monday free of charge.
Ariel says, if it weren’t for this helpful employee reaching out from a community Facebook group, she thinks their honeymoon would have been ruined.
This likely isn’t the end of travel woes as we see a surge in demand.
According to a CNBC report, JetBlue has hired 2,500 people so far this year and is still short staffed.
JetBlue told employees that it plans to cut summer capacity by as much as 10 percent.
If your flight is canceled by JetBlue for any reason and you had a confirmed reservation at the time of cancellation, there are a few options for you. You can travel on the next available JetBlue flight at no additional charge, receive a JetBlue credit, or receive a refund to the original form of payment if your flight cannot be rebooked within 2 hours.
