JetBlue Airways created a new "customer promise and compensation program"

following mismanagement of its flight schedule during a winter storm, leading to more than a thousand flight delays over the past week and outrage among passengers trapped for as many as nine hours on idle airplanes. The airline pledged to inform passengers about delays and cancellations, and compensate for delays within its control. Meanwhile, some members of Congress have called for a passenger bill of rights that would legally require airlines to take certain measures during irregular operations. "Occasional delays may be unavoidable, but no one should be held hostage on an airplane for hours without food, safe drinking water or functioning restrooms," said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who helped introduce the proposed Airline Passenger Bill of Rights Act of 2007.