Jetrader - January/February 2013 - 13

ISTAT foundation

JetBlue Donations Help Relief Efforts

JetBlue CEO & President Dave Barger with ﬂight crew and Team Rubicon volunteer John Eddy

Team Rubicon volunteers arriving in New York courtesy of JetBlue

On 29 October 2012, Hurricane Sandy barreled onto the eastern seaboard of the United States, causing extensive devastation and destruction throughout the Northeast. New York City and its surrounding boroughs, along with coastal areas in New Jersey, were among the hardest hit regions. The landscape was forever changed, as were the lives of all who lived in the affected communities and suffered the storm’s wrath. The day after Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast, Airlink member Team Rubicon — a disaster response organization that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with medical professionals to rapidly deploy response teams into crisis situations — contacted Airlink for assistance with the mobilization of a large number of their volunteers to the New York City Area. A massive response effort was underway by Team Rubicon to help clean up affected areas and to lend physical labor to the daunting process of recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Airlink immediately contacted member airline JetBlue Airways to provide airlift options for the volunteers. Despite having to manage the impact of Hurricane Sandy in their own backyard, including flooded and damaged gate areas and stranded aircraft, JetBlue responded instantly with an enthusiastic, “Yes!” Based in Queens, NY, many

of JetBlue’s own employees were also significantly impacted by the hurricane, yet their compassion and willingness to help others never waned. Just one day later, Team Rubicon submitted their first request to Airlink to fly a total of nine team leaders from Los Angeles to New York City; within hours, JetBlue fully donated all nine seats. Later that same day, Team Rubicon submitted a second request to fly an additional 11 team members from Seattle to New York City. Once again, JetBlue responded immediately and donated all the seats. Over the course of several days, there was a constant stream of requests to move passengers as quickly as possible for deployment to the disaster areas, and to maintain the relief efforts as clean up continued. With help from Airlink and JetBlue, Team Rubicon was able to maintain a presence in the New York area for almost two weeks, providing life-saving recovery operations in the wake of the storm. In addition, Team Rubicon veterans used their military experience to coordinate and lead thousands of volunteers who showed up willing to help, but without experience. The partnership afforded an even greater opportunity for more of Team Rubicon’s volunteers to be a part of this extraordinary mission. According to Joanne Dennis, director of programs for Team

Rubicon, “Airlink truly has saved lives the last couple weeks — both disaster victims and veterans.” The mission saved the lives of veterans because they wouldn’t have made the trip without the donated airfare, and it gave them a chance to plug back into society in a meaningful way after the experience of serving in a foreign war. Ultimately, JetBlue fully donated a total of 128 round trip tickets to Team Rubicon for the transport of their volunteer veterans from cities all across the United States to the affected areas in New York. Upon conclusion of the missions, the monetary value of all JetBlue’s donated passenger tickets exceeded $81,000. “I was at JFK working and was asked by two veterans if there was a USO in the terminal that they could use. Unfortunately, there is not at JFK anymore. We wound up eating lunch next to them, and through our discussion, they let me know that they were here to assist the families that were devastated by Hurricane Sandy. I asked if they were with Team Rubicon (and I must say that they were quite shocked that I knew the organization). They were such nice gentlemen, so I explained how we were connected through Airlink. They were so impressed about what Airlink makes available to NGOs… Great job Airlink!” said Athena Amideneau, a JetBlue analyst in Care & Emergency Response. Jetrader 13

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Jetrader - January/February 2013

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