JetBlue’s Impending Bag Fees May Already Be Hurting Its Brand Reputation
Skift Take
JetBlue's looming change in its bag-fee policy likely will create a larger controversy than when Southwest revamped its loyalty program a few years ago. JetBlue undoubtedly has run the numbers and figures it will come out ahead. It would be prudent to get the war room and phone banks ready, though.
JetBlue's brand reputation took a hit over the recent holiday travel period among likely travelers, and it hasn't even implemented its new bag-fee policy yet.
In a YouGov BrandIndex survey of 4,000 likely flyers on January 4, 2015, JetBlue's satisfaction score fell 11.3 points to 52.5 out of a possible 100 compared with an October 7, 2014 survey. Among U.S. domestic airlines, JetBlue's satisfaction score was the only one to notch a "significant" drop, according to a spokesperson for YouGov. (Virgin America's score fell 12.6 points, but the number of respondents opining about Virgin America wasn't statistically significant.)
What was behind JetBlue's fall, which put it in fourth place in the satisfaction ranking among U.S. domestic carriers while it was third three month earlier?
"December marked two major news stories for the airline. Firstly, in early December, JetBlue announced that it would eliminate its 'fir
