JetBlue Will Refund Tickets to Laid-Off Customers

Contributing Editor Carl Unger believes that every trip is worth taking. He loves an extended trip to Europe as much as he enjoys exploring the towns and landscape near home. Basically, you'll find him wherever there is good food, fresh air, and plenty of stories to bring home.

Carl has been writing for SmarterTravel since 2005. His travel writing has also appeared on USA Today and the About.com Boston travel guide.

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[[JetBlue]] is offering a little peace of mind to potential travelers worried about losing their jobs. The airline announced its Promise Program, which will provide refunds to customers who purchase tickets and subsequently lose their jobs. Passengers who book flights between February 1 and June 1 and are laid off on or after February 17 can receive a full refund for up to nine people traveling on their itinerary.

This is a very generous and timely gesture, but as you’d expect with any airline refund program, the process of obtaining a refund requires nothing less than jumping through flaming hoops. Here’s what you need to do, straight from JetBlue’s press release:

Person seeking to cancel reservation for flight(s) and request a refund under the Program must (1) involuntarily lose his/her full time job on or after February 17, 2009, (2) be aged 18 or older as of February 17, 2009, (3) be a traveler on the reservation/itinerary for which a refund is sought; and (4) have personally paid for the travel for which a refund is sought. Requestor must agree to, complete, sign, notarize and return full Program Terms and the original Eligibility Letter to JetBlue via (a) facsimile AND (b) via certified mail, return receipt requested. The facsimile must be received NO LATER THAN 14 DAYS PRIOR TO SCHEDULED DEPARTURE OF OUTBOUND FLIGHT. The original Eligibility Letter sent via certified mail must be received no later than the departure date of the outbound flight. Failure to do so will make Requestor ineligible for Program.

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Whew! Did you get all that? Anyway, if your information arrives on time, JetBlue will immediately cancel your itinerary and then evaluate your request to make sure it’s valid. If it is, the carrier will refund your payment within 30 days.

But what if your request isn’t valid? More from the airline: “If JetBlue determines [sic] request is ineligible, JetBlue will not reinstate the flight but will charge the $100 cancel fee and place any remaining amount in a JetBlue Credit Shell valid for use toward a future JetBlue flight for up to one year.”

Hopefully this is one airline offer you’ll never have to take. But it’s nice to know it’s there.

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