JetBlue Delayed or Cancelled Flight Compensation and Refund

Reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Last Updated: April 15, 2024

Your Air Passenger Rights 

When you fly with jetBlue, your air passenger rights are determined by where you’re traveling and not by your nationality or place of residence. So, even though jetBlue is based in the US, you are still subject to the regulations for each country or region. 

EU and UK Air Passenger Rights Regulations

If your travel involves the European Union or the United Kingdom, your rights are protected by regulation UK261 in the UK and the EU’s regulation, EU261/2004.  These nearly identical passenger rights regulations require jetBlue to provide you with monetary and care compensation whenever your disrupted flight was scheduled to depart from an EU or UK airport. This means that if you have delays, cancellations, or a denied boarding situation, your compensation will be based on the length of your delay and the distance of your flight.

Canada

If you’re taking a jetBlue flight to Canada, then your air passenger rights are governed by the Canadian Transportation Agency. For passengers, this means that if you are departing from, arriving in, or traveling within Canada, you can get cash compensation, refunds, rebooked flights, and care and assistance for flight disruptions. The type and amount of compensation you receive will be based on whether you experienced a jetBlue delay, cancellation, or denied boarding situation. 

United States

As a jetBlue passenger on a flight in the United States, your rights are regulated by the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT). Unfortunately, the United States doesn’t require airlines to compensate passengers in any way for flight disruptions. The only exception to this is that you are entitled to refunds in certain situations as well as compensation for seating downgrades and overbooked flights if you were involuntarily denied boarding.

Here’s a table that will help you see how different regions protect air passenger rights.

JetBlue Flight Delay Compensation 

The US Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ report for December 2023 says that jetBlue had 21,398 flights of which 6,142 were delayed (or 28.70%). August was their busiest month in 2023, during which time jetBlue operated 22,895 flights with 8,225 delays (35.92%). 

As you can see, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll have a flight delay as a jetBlue passenger. So, let’s look at how the airline will compensate you for the inconvenience.

JetBlue Flight Delays in the EU and UK

Fortunately, the EU and UK passenger rights regulations allow for compensation if your flight is delayed. These regulations base the amount of compensation you receive on the duration of your delay, the total distance of your flight, and if jetBlue can be blamed for the disturbance. Generally, you can expect to receive:

• Between $270/€250 and $650/€600 
• Complementary meals, refreshments, hotel
• Refunds 

The following table will give you a better idea.

Flight Delays in Canada

If your jetBlue flight is delayed while traveling in Canada you are entitled to:

• Complementary meals and refreshments
• Access to communication 
• Hotel accommodation and transport there and back
• Ticket refund
• Rebooked flight

If the airline could have controlled the circumstances that led to the delay, then you will be eligible for cash compensation, otherwise, your entitlements depend on the length of the delay.

Flight Delays in the US

Surprisingly, the United States doesn’t require airlines to provide passengers with any kind of compensation for delays. What you receive depends on the unique policies of jetBlue. The airline does say that they will help book you onto another flight with jetBlue or a “partner airline” if your delay exceeds 2 hours.

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JetBlue Canceled Flight Compensation 

According to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics, jetBlue operated 274,852 flights in 2023. Of these, 5,763 were canceled. In July alone, the airline had 1,564 cancellations out of 22,853 flights for that month.

Should you experience a flight cancellation, then the airline will take care of you in different ways depending upon where you’re traveling.

Flight Cancellations in the EU and UK

Thanks to the passenger rights regulations in the UK and EU, jetBlue must provide you with these forms of compensation when you encounter a flight cancellation.

• Up to $650/€600 your flight is canceled less than 2 weeks before departure and the disruption was caused by something jetBlue could control.
• An alternate flight or a full ticket refund.
• If the canceled flight results in you waiting at least 2 hours then you are entitled to complimentary meals, refreshments, and access to communication.
• Overnight hotel accommodation for rebooked flights leaving the next day.
• Transportation to and from the hotel.

This table will help you see how much you could get in financial compensation.

* JetBlue might try to reduce this amount by as much as 50%, but AirAdvisor always works to get the full amount.

JetBlue Canceled Flights in Canada

If your jetBlue flight is canceled during your travel to Canada, then you are entitled by Canadian law to the following:

• Up to $738 USD when the airline gives less than 14 days notice and they could have avoided the disruption 
• Choice of an alternate flight or a full ticket refund
• Free overnight hotel stay if your alternate flight leaves the next day
• Transport to and from the hotel
• Access to communication
• Complementary meals and refreshments

JetBlue Flight Cancellations in the United States

If you have a domestic jetBlue flight that ends up being canceled, then you do have a couple of entitlements. Mainly, you can always expect to get a rebooking on the next available flight or a refund. If your flight can’t be rescheduled, then the carrier will issue you a refund within 2 hours.

JetBlue says on their site that if they can’t put you on another flight within an hour of your original flight then you are entitled to a voucher for future travel on JetBlue. They also offer passengers a $50 USD credit that can be used for future flights if your flight is canceled within 4 hours of the departure time. They’ll give you a $100 USD credit if your flight is canceled after the scheduled departure time.

If you accept an alternate flight but have a delay of 3 hours or more then jetBlue will give a ‘meal’ voucher worth $12 USD including taxes and fees. It might not get you a meal, especially with today’s airport prices, but you can enjoy a bottled water and a candy bar.

When the airline rebooks you but your flight doesn't leave until the following day, they will help you with overnight hotel accommodation and transportation there and back. This will only be offered if a room is available and only if the airline is to blame for the canceled US flight.

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Denied Boarding

Denied boarding situations can arise for many reasons. Sometimes the airline has to use a different aircraft from what they had originally intended. If this airplane is smaller, then there won’t be enough seats. You can also be denied boarding for unruly or disruptive behavior. But in many cases, denied boarding is the result of airline oversales. The table below illustrates the number of jetBlue denied boarding instances because of oversold or overbooked flights.

When this happens, the UK, EU, Canada, and even the US has regulations in place to protect passengers who are involuntarily bumped from a flight.

JetBlue Denied Boarding Entitlements

Denied Boarding in the EU and UK

As ever, the world-class EU and UK passenger rights regulations provide for jetBlue passengers in the event they are involuntarily denied boarding by requiring the airline to give you:

• An alternate flight at no extra cost
• Or the choice of a full ticket refund
• Complimentary meals and refreshments if your delay is at least 2 hours until your alternate flight
• As much as $650 USD depending on the flight distance and delay time.

Denied Boarding in Canada 

If you’re involuntarily denied boarding by jetBlue because of an oversold flight, then you are entitled to:

• An alternate flight to your final destination at no additional charge, or
• A full ticket refund, and
• Care and assistance in the form of food and drink, and
• Up to $1,773 USD in monetary compensation based on the amount of time you are delayed at your final destination. 

* Payment must be made to passengers as soon as they are denied boarding or within 48 hours of their flight.

Denied Boarding in the United States

If your domestic jetBlue flight was oversold and you were involuntarily bumped, then US law steps in requiring the airline to furnish you with:

• A rebooked flight at no additional charge
• Up to $1,550 USD if you’re delayed by an hour or more at your final destination. This amount must be issued within 24-hours of your flight.

Compensation for Denied Boarding in the United States (Domestic Flights)
Delay Duration	Compensation Amount
Less than an hour	None
Between 1 and 2 hours	Up to $775 USD (or 200% of the one-way fare, whichever is less)
More than 2 hours	Up to $1,550 USD (or 400% of the one-way fare, whichever is less)

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Missed Connections

Many passengers are familiar with missing a connecting flight because of an earlier delay or cancellation. If this happens to you then you should refer to the compensation schedule for delays or cancellations for the region you’re traveling in. Ultimately, you are entitled to a rebooked flight in the EU, UK, Canada, and the US, but you will only get compensation for the flight disruption related to the missed connection. In the States however, jetBlue has no contractual obligation to its passengers for compensation.

What are Extraordinary Circumstances?

There are some situations in which a flight disruption will be eligible for cash compensation by the airline. If your jetBlue flight is delayed or canceled because of extraordinary circumstances then the airline will still help you get to your final destination, but not financial compensation for the inconvenience. Some of the most commonly seen extraordinary circumstances are:

• Air traffic control restrictions
• Dangerous weather conditions
• Strikes or other airport disruptions
• Bird strikes
• Hidden manufacturing defects 

Always try to discern what caused your flight disruption by asking airline staff. Keep track of their response so you can submit this along with your paperwork when filing a compensation claim. 

Another option that can make your claims process easier, is to let the experts at AIrAdvisor take care of the compensation claim for you. We can do all the hard work, including finding the cause of the delay or cancellation, and then doing all the leg work including taking the airline to court if it comes to that.

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• Our legal team operates on a no-win, no-fee basis. We only get paid if you get paid.
• More than 240,000 passengers have turned to AirAdvisor to get them the compensation they deserve
• We have an outstanding 98% win rate as well as 7 years of experience protecting air passengers’ rights.

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