In 2001, JetBlue began a focus city operation at Long Beach Airport in Long Beach, California, and another at Boston's Logan International Airport, in 2004. It also has focus city operations at Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport, Orlando International Airport and at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan. The airline mainly serves destinations in the United States, along with flights to the Caribbean, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Mexico. As of November 19, 2010 JetBlue serves 63 destinations in 22 states (including Puerto Rico), and eleven countries in the Caribbean and Latin America.
JetBlue maintains a corporate office in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, a satellite office in Darien, Connecticut, and its Information Technology center in Garden City, New York. JetBlue is a non-union airline.
History
Founding
JetBlue was incorporated in Delaware in August 1998. David Neeleman founded the company in February 1999, under the name "NewAir." Several of JetBlue's executives, including Neeleman, are former Southwest Airlines employees. JetBlue started by following Southwest's approach of offering low-cost travel, but sought to distinguish itself by its amenities, such as in-flight entertainment, TV on every seat and Satellite radio. In Neeleman's words, JetBlue looks "to bring humanity back to air travel."
In September 1999 the airline was awarded 75 initial take off/landing slots at John F. Kennedy International Airport, and received formal U.S. authorization in February 2000. It started operations on February 11, 2000, with service to Buffalo and Ft. Lauderdale.
JetBlue's founders had set out to call the airline "Taxi" and therefore have a yellow livery to associate the airline with New York. The idea was dropped, however, for several reasons: the negative connotation behind New York City taxis; the ambiguity of the word taxi with regard to air traffic control; and threats from investor JP Morgan to pull its share ($20 million of the total $128 million) of the airline's initial funding unless the name was changed.
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| A JetBlue Airbus A320, "Whole Lotta Blue" (N594JB) at Salt Lake City International Airport. |
9/11 aftermath
JetBlue was one of only a few U.S. airlines that made a profit during the sharp downturn in airline travel following the September 11, 2001 attacks. Since its IPO on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 2002, JetBlue has become one of the most popular airline stocks in history and currently has about two billion dollars in market capitalization. Financial results were strong for the airline throughout the 2002–2004 years, and many analysts and journalists lauded the airline for its success.
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JetBlue has not yet attempted to raise money by selling snacks during flights, a move that many larger airlines have made on domestic flights and some international flights. JetBlue has also told customers in commercials and print ads that they "encourage you to use the call button", advertising their devotion to customer service. JetBlue is also known for its "letter ads", for example: "Dear New York", and ending with, "Sincerely, JetBlue".
As the airline continued to make record profits, new planes allowed for additional route opportunities. These included JetBlue's first international service, New York City to the Dominican Republic, on June 10, 2004. Additional service to The Bahamas began on November 1, 2004, and service to Bermuda began May 4, 2006. Service to Aruba began September 15, 2006.
In 2004, JetBlue began flights from New York City's LaGuardia Airport and added service in 2005 to Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, thereby serving all three major New York City area airports. Also in 2005, the company added service between JFK and Boston's Logan Airport with ten daily flights using its new 100-seat Embraer 190 fixed-wing aircraft. In October 2006 JetBlue announced they would begin service from Stewart International Airport, in Newburgh, New York. Later, the airline announced new service to Westchester County Airport, also known as White Plains, allowing JetBlue access to five of the six New York City area airports.
Developments since 2005
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| JetBlue Founder David Neeleman in 2006 |
In October 2005, JetBlue announced that its quarterly profit had plunged from US$8.1 million to $2.7 million largely due to rising fuel costs. In addition, the airline was struggling with their new aircraft, the Embraer 190. Operational issues, fuel prices, and low fares, JetBlue's hallmark, were bringing its financial performance down. In addition, with higher costs related to the airline's numerous amenities, JetBlue was becoming less competitive.
Regardless, the airline continued to plan for growth. It was announced that 36 new aircraft were scheduled for delivery in the year 2006.
However, trouble was on the horizon. For many years, analysts had predicted that JetBlue's growth rate would become unsustainable. Despite this, the airline continued to add planes and routes to the fleet at a brisk pace. In addition in 2006, the IAM (International Association of Machinists) attempted to unionize JetBlue's "ramp service workers," in a move that was described by JetBlue's COO Dave Barger as "pretty hypocritical," as the IAM opposed JetBlue's creation when it was founded as New Air in 1998. The union organizing petition was dismissed by the National Mediation Board because fewer than 35 percent of eligible employees supported an election.
In February 2006, JetBlue announced its first ever quarterly loss. For 4th quarter 2005, the airline lost $42.4 million, enough to make them unprofitable for the entire year of 2005. The loss was the airline's first since going public in 2002. JetBlue also reported a loss in the 1st quarter 2006. In addition to that, JetBlue forecast a loss for 2006, citing high fuel prices, operating inefficiency, and fleet costs. During the first quarter report, CEO David Neeleman, President Dave Barger, and then-CFO John Owen released JetBlue's "Return to Profitability" ("RTP") plan, stating in detail how they would curtail costs and improve revenue to regain profitability. The plan called for $50 million in annual cost cuts and a push to boost revenue by $30 million. JetBlue Airways moved out of the dark during the second quarter of 2006, beating Wall Street expectations by announcing a net profit of $14 million. That result was flat when compared to JetBlue's results from the same quarter a year ago ($13 million), but it was double Wall Street forecasts of a $7 million profit, Reuters reports. The carrier said cost-cutting and stronger revenue helped it offset higher jet fuel costs. In October 2006, JetBlue announced a net loss of $500,000 for Quarter 3, and a plan to regain that loss by deferring some of their E190 deliveries, and by selling 5 of their A320s.
In December 2006, JetBlue announced another component of the RTP, when they explained the reasoning behind their decision to remove a row of seats off their A320s. The removal of the seats will lighten the aircraft by 904 lb (410 kg), and will reduce the inflight crew size from four to three (per FAA regulation requiring one flight attendant per 50 seats), thus offsetting the lost revenue from the removal of seats, and further lightening the aircraft, resulting in less fuel burned.
In January 2007, JetBlue announced it had returned to profitability with a fourth quarter profit for 2006, reversing a quarterly loss in the year-earlier period. As part of the RTP plan, 2006's full year loss was $1 million compared to 2005's full year loss of $20 million. JetBlue was one of the few major airlines to post a profit in the quarter.
While its financial performance started showing signs of improvement, in February 2007, JetBlue faced a crisis, when a snowstorm hit the Northeast and Midwest, throwing the airline's operations into chaos. Because JetBlue followed the practice of never canceling flights, it desisted from calling flights off, even when the ice storm hit and the airline was forced to keep several planes on the ground. Because of this, passengers were kept waiting at the airports for their flights to take off. In some cases, passengers who had already boarded their planes were kept waiting on the tarmac for several hours and were not allowed to disembark. However, after all this, the airline was eventually forced to cancel most of its flights because of prevailing weather conditions. The fiasco reportedly cost JetBlue $30 million.
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| David Barger after a presentation in October 2010 |
On May 10, 2007, JetBlue announced Barger's appointment as CEO, who also retains the position of President. Neeleman, who was named non-executive Chairman of the Board, said "This is a natural evolution of our leadership structure as JetBlue continues to grow. As Chairman of the Board of Directors, I will focus on developing JetBlue's long-term vision and strategy, and how we can continue to be a preferred product in a commodity business."
On July 24, 2007, JetBlue reported that its second-quarter revenue increased to $730 million, compared to $612 in 2006. Second quarter net income grew to $21 million for the quarter, from $14 million the previous year. CEO David Barger said the airline will take delivery of three fewer planes this year and will sell three planes from their current fleet, "slowing capacity growth...to strengthen our balance sheet and facilitate earnings growth", but will continue to add two to four new destinations each year.
In July 2007, the airline partnered with 20th Century Fox's film "The Simpsons Movie" to become the "Official Airline of Springfield." In addition a contest was held in which the grand prize would be a trip on JetBlue to Los Angeles to attend the premiere of the film. The airline's website was also redecorated with characters and their favorite JetBlue destinations and the company was taken over by the show/film's businessman villain Montgomery Burns.
In August 2007, the airline announced the addition of exclusive content from The New York Times in the form of an in-flight video magazine, conducted by Times' journalists and content from NYTimes.com.
On October 11, 2007, JetBlue announced expanded service to the Caribbean with service to St. Maarten and Puerto Plata commencing January 10, 2008. With these additional destinations, JetBlue's service expands to a total of eleven Caribbean/Atlantic destinations including Aruba; Bermuda; Cancún; Nassau; Aguadilla, Ponce and San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Santiago and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. As of December 31, 2009 JetBlue serves 60 destinations in 20 states, Puerto Rico, and eleven countries in the Caribbean and Latin America.
On November 8, 2007, JetBlue announced the appointment of Ed Barnes as interim CFO, following the resignation of former CFO John Harvey.
On December 13, 2007, JetBlue and German-based Lufthansa announced their intent to sell 19% of JetBlue to Lufthansa, pending approval from US regulators. Following the acquisition, Lufthansa stated they plan to seek operational cooperation with JetBlue. Lufthansa plans to offer connections to JetBlue flights in Boston, New York (JFK), and Orlando International Airport.
In the March edition of Airways Magazine, it was announced that JetBlue partnered with Yahoo! and BlackBerry producer, Research in Motion, that the airline would offer free, limited Wi-Fi capabilities on N651JB, an Airbus A320-200 dubbed "BetaBlue." People can access e-mail with a Wi-Fi capable Blackberry, or use Yahoo!'s e-mail and instant messaging with a Wi-Fi capable laptop.
On March 19, 2008, JetBlue announced the addition of Orlando, Florida as a gateway focus city to international destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico, and South America. New international routes from Orlando International Airport include Cancún, Mexico, Bogotá, Colombia, Nassau, Bahamas, San José, Costa Rica and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In conjunction with the addition of new routes the airline will continue significant expansion of operations at Orlando International Airport including a planned 292-room lodge that will house trainees attending the existing "JetBlue University" training facility.
On April 8, 2008, JetBlue introduced a new "Happy Jetting" brand campaign. The marketing campaign, developed in partnership with JWT New York, emphasizes competitive fares, service and complimentary onboard amenities such as free satellite television and radio, snacks and leather seats.
On May 21, 2008, JetBlue named Joel Peterson chairman and Frank Sica vice chairman of its board of directors, replacing David Neeleman, who stepped down as CEO in 2007.
On August 4, 2008, the Associated Press reported that JetBlue would replace their recycled pillows and blankets with an "ecofriendly" pillow and blanket package that passengers would have to purchase for use. Each package will cost $7, and will include a $5 coupon from retailer Bed, Bath and Beyond. This decision is the latest in a series of moves designed to increase revenue. JetBlue told the Associated Press that it expects to collect $40 million from passengers selecting seats with extra legroom and $20 million from passengers paying $15 to check a second bag. As of September 8, 2008 JetBlue charges passengers $10–$30 for an extended-leg-room seat depending on the length of the flight.
In September 2008 JetBlue began operating Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin's campaign aircraft, an E190.
On October 13, 2009, the airline unveiled a modification to its livery in commemoration of the upcoming 10th anniversary of the airline in February 2010. Besides a new tail design, the revised livery includes larger "billboard" titles extending down over the passenger windows at the front of the aircraft. The logo word 'jetBlue' will no longer be silver and blue but now a dark, navy blue.
On June 16, 2010, JetBlue began selling snack boxes on Airbus A320 flights over 3 hours, 45 minutes. There are 5 options for $6 each.
On October 14, 2010, the California Council of the Blind and three individuals with visual impairments have filed a lawsuit against JetBlue Airways in Federal Court on allegations that JetBlue's website and airport kiosks are not accessible.
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| The TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport |
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| The JetBlue T5 Re-opening Logo. |
The TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport
Main article: TWA Flight Center
On October 22, 2008 JetBlue opened its new primary hub at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Terminal 5, or simply T5. The mostly new terminal, costing approximately $800 million partially encircles the historic TWA Flight Center, the former Trans World Airlines terminal designed by Eero Saarinen, which remains closed. According to the plan, passengers will eventually be able to check-in for flights in the landmark building, then transfer to the new structure via the original passenger departing-arrival tubes from Saarinen's original terminal and its 1969 addition by Roche-Dinkeloo.
The first flight arrived from Burbank (B6 #358) at 5:06 a.m. followed by arrivals from OAK & LGB respectively. The last flight to operate out of T6 was a departure to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico (BQN) departing at 11:59 p.m.
Awards
In October 2007, JetBlue was named the number one U.S. domestic airline by Conde Nast Traveler magazine's "Readers' Choice Awards" for the sixth year in a row.
On June 8, 2010, JetBlue ranked 'Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Low Cost Carriers in North America' by J.D. Power and Associates, a customer satisfaction recognition received for the sixth year in a row.
Jetblue is currently ranked as 4-star low-cost carrier by Skytrax.
Destinations
JetBlue Airways destinations
As of December 31, 2009 JetBlue Airways flies to 60 destinations in 11 countries, including Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, and the United States, including Puerto Rico. Additional international service between Saint Lucia (UVF) and New York, NY (JFK) began October 26, 2009, and Kingston, Jamaica (KIN) and New York, NY (JFK) began October 30, 2009.
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| A JetBlue Airbus A320 (N595JB), Rhythm & Blues on landing at Oakland International Airport |
On December 4, 2003, JetBlue pulled out of Atlanta. In 2006, JetBlue launched service to Pittsburgh, Portland (Maine), Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville, Bermuda, and Aruba. JetBlue received authority to serve Cancún, Mexico, after having competed for the route against Delta Air Lines and USA 3000. JetBlue also began service to Houston-Hobby, Sarasota, Columbus, and Tucson; Service to Columbus, Tucson, and Nashville have since been discontinued.
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| A320 Unforgettably Blue in Portland, Maine. |
Prior to the passage of the Wright Amendment Reform Act of 2006, JetBlue expressed an interest in serving Dallas Love Field's customers if the Wright Amendment was repealed. It has also expressed refusal to serve Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on the grounds that it does not wish to contend with American Airlines, which has a dominating presence there.
On August 17, 2006, service between New York JFK and Washington-Dulles commenced, finalizing JetBlue's plan to connect the three major Northeast cities of Boston, New York, and Washington DC, and also putting pressure on the airlines that operate those routes, namely Delta Shuttle and US Airways Shuttle. Washington-Dulles offers eight nonstop destinations, and with the addition of service to New York-JFK, 45 destinations via connection in New York.
In October 2006, JetBlue applied to the FAA for landing rights at Chicago's O'Hare Airport for eight flights per day. Almost immediately, United Airlines filed an objection, claiming JetBlue "did not follow proper procedures and should be denied." On October 16, 2006, JetBlue received approval from the FAA to land at O'Hare, though the number of slots requested was cut in half to four flights per day.JetBlue also bought three additional O'Hare slots from other carriers, and service to New York/JFK and Long Beach started January 4, 2007.
JetBlue started service to/from White Plains, New York on March 28, 2007. With this addition, JetBlue now serves five out of six airports in the New York City area. JetBlue announced in the Fall of 2007 that it was pulling out of Columbus and Nashville.
On September 3, 2008, JetBlue pulled out of Ontario International Airport, a part of LAWA. Service and growth out of Los Angeles International Airport, Bob Hope Burbank International Airport and Long Beach International Airport continues to be a focus for the airline. Earlier that year, JetBlue also ended service out of Tucson International Airport, Arizona.
In conjunction with the airline's focus cities, JetBlue serves a significant number of destinations from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Las Vegas International Airport, Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, Oakland International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport and Southwest Florida International Airport.
On April 19, 2010, JetBlue announced new service from Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Connecticut starting on November 17, 2010. They will offer twice daily non-stops (four daily departures) to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
On December 23, 2010, JetBlue announced new service from New York JFK to Marthas Vineyard Airport starting the summer of 2011. Starting in 2007, JetBlue offered service from New York JFK to Nantucket Memorial Airport. The JFK-MVY route will be served by the Embraer 190, as it does JFK-ACK. According to Cape Cod Times, JetBlue is discussing possibly expanding service to Barnstable Municipal Airport on Cape Cod, possibly in 2012.
Alliances
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| JetBlue Embraer 190 (N198JB) and Airbus A320 (N528JB) |
On February 6, 2007, USA Today reported that JetBlue plans to enter into an alliance with Irish flagship carrier Aer Lingus. The alliance will facilitate easy transfers to both airlines' customers, but will not allow either airline to sell seats on the other airline, unlike traditional codeshare alliances, meaning customers must make individual reservations with both carriers, the newspaper said. On February 1, 2008, JetBlue announced the details of this alliance. Passengers will be able to connect between Aer Lingus and JetBlue at New York/JFK on a single ticket, which can be booked through both airlines' websites. The booking will be started with one airline, and then transferred to the other airline's website to complete the booking. CEO David Barger was quoted as saying if this alliance is successful, JetBlue may be interested in partnering with other international carriers.
On March 12, 2008, Financial Times reported Lufthansa revealing its plans made with JetBlue. Lufthansa and JetBlue are reported to be investigating linking reservation systems and frequent flyer programs. By making use of JetBlue's North America routes as a feeder network, Lufthansa would be in a position to operate a quasi-hub at New York-JFK.
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According to Dave Barger, CEO of JetBlue Airways, the airline is currently considering becoming a member of a global airline alliance. Since Lufthansa owns a 19% stake in JetBlue, Star Alliance seems to be the most likely choice. JetBlue already partners Lufthansa, as well as Aer Lingus, which currently is not part of an alliance.
On Tuesday March 30, 2010, rumors surfaced in online aviation forums over a interline agreement between JetBlue Airways and American Airlines. On March 31, an official announcement was made by the airlines. The agreement includes the interlining of routes between the airlines. Eighteen of JetBlue's destinations that are not served by American and twelve of American's international destinations from John F. Kennedy International Airport are included in the agreement. The deal began in July 2010. Also, American is giving JetBlue 16 slots at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport for 8 round trips and 2 at Westchester County Airport. In return, JetBlue is giving American 12 slots or 6 round trips at JFK Airport.
On Friday May 7, 2010, JetBlue announced an interline agreement with South African Airways to take effect on May 12, 2010. The agreement enables passengers to travel on a single electronic ticket with both carriers, and permits the through-checking of baggage in both directions.
Codeshares
On February 14, 2007, JetBlue announced it had entered its first codeshare agreement, with Cape Air, to carry JetBlue passengers from Boston's Logan Airport to Cape Air's destinations throughout Cape Cod and the surrounding islands. The agreement will allow customers on both airlines to purchase seats on both airlines under one reservation. This announcement came the same day that JetBlue announced seasonal service from New York to Nantucket. JetBlue also has codeshares with Ireland-based Aer Lingus and Germany-based Lufthansa.
On August 31, 2009, German airline Lufthansa, parent company Deutsche Lufthansa AG, signed a codeshare agreement with JetBlue Airways. This news followed the decision by Lufthansa's parent company to purchase a stake in JetBlue in 2008. The agreement highlights codeshare agreements on both airlines networks beginning with connecting service between twelve JetBlue destinations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and Lufthansa's network of 180 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The codeshare agreement will allow JetBlue to place the Lufthansa code (LH) on JetBlue flights. In addition, the new partnership will yield greater benefits to both Lufthansa's "Miles & More" and JetBlue's "TrueBlue" frequent flyer programs. Initial U.S. cities include: Austin, Texas; Buffalo, New York; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Fort Myers, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina; Rochester, New York; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Syracuse, New York; Tampa, Florida; and West Palm Beach, Florida – service out of both New York's JFK and Boston's Logan Airport.
Fleet
As of November 2010, the JetBlue Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 6 years:
JetBlue Airways fleet
Aircraft Total Orders Seats Blended winglets
Airbus A320-200 115 150 No (Wingtip Fences)
Embraer 190 45 60 100 Yes
Total 160 60
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| JetBlue Embraer 190 N190JB ("Luiz F. Kahl") |
Nearly every plane in JetBlue's fleet is named with a designation containing some form of the word "blue." Examples include "Absolute Blue," "Big Blue Bus," "Blue Suede Shoes," "Canyon Blue," "Hopelessly devoted to Blue," "Mi Corazon Azul," "Rhapsody in Blue," "Sacre Bleu!," "The name is Blue, JetBlue," and "Whole Lotta Blue." However as of November 2006, there are two exceptions: tail number N190JB is "Luiz F. Kahl," named for the former Chairman of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, and tail number N533JB is "Usto Schulz," named for JetBlue's former VP of Safety. Every year employees submit suggestions for the names of the new planes. Past winners have received trips to Toulouse, France, to tour the Airbus hangar and fly home aboard the plane that bears their name suggestion.
The only plane that has not been named by a JetBlue employee is tail number N655JB, "Blue 100," which was named by the company in celebration for JetBlue's 100th Airbus A320. Also, the plane has its own original tail fin, unlike the rest of fleet which shares one of the 7 tail fin designs, entitled Stripes, Harelquin, Window Pane, Bubbles, Plaid, Dots and Mosaic. Also, tail number N658JB was named " Whoo-Hoo JetBlue! The Official Airline of Springfield " in celebration of the release of The Simpsons Movie. The plane also features Homer Simpson giving a thumbs up.
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| JetBlue Airbus A320 "Whole Lotta Blue" (N594JB) |
Aircraft N651JB, titled "BetaBlue," features special titles for Yahoo! and Research in Motion's Blackberry promotion to offer inflight wireless communication aboard the aircraft.
Some long-term maintenance on JetBlue's Airbus A320 aircraft is conducted at Aeroman, a facility in El Salvador owned by Air Canada. At one time, Aeroman was owned by Grupo TACA, who is also a major Airbus A320 operator. JetBlue also uses Air Canada's facilities in Canada, along with Empire Aero Center in Rome, NY. In the early years of the airline, founder David Neeleman said he always sat in the last row (row 27) of each Airbus A320 aircraft when flying on his company's airplanes, to demonstrate that pleasing the customer is more important than pleasing the CEO (at the time, seats in the 27th row — since removed from JetBlue's A320 airplanes — did not recline).
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| JetBlue Airbus A320 (N529JB) Ole Blue Eyes |
In December 2006, JetBlue announced it would remove one more row of seats from each A320, reducing the number of seats per A320 to 150. The airline also revealed that on each A320 it would adjust the remaining rows in the forward half of the cabin, increasing the seat pitch to 38 inches (97 cm), giving passengers more legroom than any other coach carrier. Fleet modifications have been completed as of February 8, 2007. At present, the A320 has a seat pitch of 38 inches (97 cm) in rows 2–5,10 and 11 (Exit rows) and 34 inches (86 cm) in all other rows. The E190 has a seat pitch of 32 inches (81 cm) in rows 1–10, and 33 inches (84 cm) in rows 13–25, with a pitch of 38 inches (97 cm) in the exit rows. The seat width on the A320 is 17.8 inches (45.2 cm), and the seat width on the E190 is 18.25 inches (46.4 cm).
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| JetBlue Tail (N556JB; "Betty Blue") |
Marketing
Marketing Strategy
Introduction Years (1998 to 2001)
Established in 1998, JetBlue Airways did not begin operational service until February 2000. With the goal of being “New York’s new low-fare, hometown airline,” JetBlue set out to offer a product superior to competitors at affordable prices. On average, JetBlue’s customers saved 65% compared to current competitor offerings.
JetBlue’s first major advertising campaign incorporated phrases like “Unbelievable” and “We like you, too”. Full-page newspaper advertisements boasted low-fares, new planes, leather seats, spacious legroom, and a customer-service oriented staff committed to “bringing humanity back to air travel.” With a goal of raising the bar for in-flight experience, JetBlue became the first airline to offer all passengers personalized in-flight entertainment. Flat-screen monitors installed in every seatback allow customers live access to over 20 DIRECTV channels at no additional cost.
JetBlue attributes their success to their strong business plan, experienced management team, dedicated employees, great product, and “service, service, service”. In their first six months of operation, JetBlue was the number one on-time airline with 80.25% of flights on-time while major airlines averaged 73.6%. JetBlue saw profit in their sixth month of operation and booked over $100 million in flown revenue within their first fiscal year
Establishing the Brand (2002 to 2009)
As JetBlue experienced growth, their marketing strategy adapted to suit their and their customers needs. In 2002, JetBlue remained profitable after the negative effects an feelings towards air travel as a whole in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Building a group of loyal JetBlue customers, management created the “True Blue” loyalty program to reward the airline’s most frequent travelers. Rather than rewarding customers with industry-standard “miles”, JetBlue created their own “points” system where trips were classified into short, medium, or long haul trips based on distance flown. Each type of trip was then awarded a set amount “points”. For every 100 points earned, a “True Blue” member earned a roundtrip flight anywhere JetBlue served.
As JetBlue gained market share, they found a unique positioning where they competed with other low-cost carriers (i.e. Southwest, AirTran) as well as major carriers (i.e. Delta, United, Continental). Amenities such as their live in-flight television, free and unlimited snack offerings, comfortable legroom, and unique promotions fostered an image of impeccable customer service that rivaled the major airlines while competitive low fares made them a threat to low-cost no-frills carriers as well.
During the company’s growth stage, advertising messages moved from customer oriented and engaging to less personal slogans and campaigns. Frequent changes in value statement resulted in mixed and frequently wasted marking dollars spent. Slogans varied from “More” to “Happy Jetting” and many other failed attempts.
With a marketing emphasis on customer service and enjoyable in-flight experience, JetBlue has been recognized for their efforts by receiving numerous prestigious rankings and awards.
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JetBlue has continued to grow within the airline industry with customer service and in-flight experience as their key advantage and core competency over competitors. The JetBlue name has become synonymous with customer service. In order to continue reaching customers, JetBlue has begun employing different marketing strategies.
A new marketing strategy has been partnerships with professional sports teams and venues. As the official airline of the New York Jets, JetBlue has specially painted the exterior of one of their Airbus A320s in the team's colors. Additionally, JetBlue and MasterCard have pledged to refund select flight purchases made online at JetBlue.com using a MasterCard card. JetBlue has also partnered with various other sports teams and sporting venues in cities they serve.
In October 2010, Mullen Advertising Agency worked with JetBlue to create a new brand campaign to re-emphasize and energize JetBlue’s commitment to their customers with their new “You Above All” campaign. This campaign is meant to build on JetBlue’s “passenger-centric image” by reaffirming the notion that JetBlue “not flying airplanes” but rather “flying people”.
JetBlue also utilizes various forms of advertising media. They use print, online, and television ads as well as advertisements on popular social media sites including Hulu.com and YouTube.com. JetBlue emphasizes a secondary slogan “If you wouldn’t take it on the ground, don’t take it in the air” poking fun at competitors with hidden fees, little or no amenities, and what JetBlue considers an unacceptable level of customer service.
According to Martin St. George, senior vice president of marketing and commercial strategy at JetBlue, the new “You Above All” campaign was created to get JetBlue back to their “DNA” and speak to the “core of who we are as a brand.” This motto is meant to support their efforts to always put the customer first and “bring humanity back to air travel”.
Customer Bill of Rights
In February 2007, a Valentine's Day storm triggered an “organizational meltdown” leading to an extremely high level of cancelations and controversies. Some controversies including holding passengers onboard their plane awaiting clearance for take off for nearly 11 hours before returning to their gate and cancelling their flight. JetBlue marketing managers took advantage of this negative incident to help build on the previously positive brand image that JetBlue had supported.
Various consumer rights organizations and activists called for the creation of a government mandated “Bill of Rights” to protect air travelers from future experiences similar to the one previously described. On February 20, 2010, JetBlue released an apologetic response to the events that had taken place less than a week before with the creation of their Customer Bill of Rights. Offering gracious financial reciprocation if a customer’s experience was less than perfect in any way this contract with customers helped rebuild brand image and showed JetBlue’s commitment to customers coming first.
TrueBlue
JetBlue's frequent-flyer program is called TrueBlue. Under the former TrueBlue program, flights were worth two, four or six points based on distance of the flights, and double points were awarded for flights booked online.
In September 2009, JetBlue announced changes to its TrueBlue program. Flying with JetBlue at least once a year will prevent point expiration. In the new program, one receives three points for every dollar spent toward a flight, excluding taxes and fees; one earns an additional three points for every dollar spent on a flight if they book online. The price of flights in points will depend on the fare of the flight in U.S. dollars. The new program launched on November 9, 2009.
Headquarters
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JetBlue has its headquarters in the Forest Hills Tower in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City. In the summer of 2001 the airline announced that it wanted to take 74,000 square feet (6,900 m2) of space in the Forest Hills Tower. By December 2002 the airline announced that it planned to increase its leased space and use contiguous and efficient floor plates. Steven Cuozzo of the New York Post said that the JetBlue plan was "possibly the largest office lease" in Queens in 2002. In December 2002 between 600 and 800 JetBlue employees worked at the Forest Hills Tower. Previously the airline headquarters were across the street, at 80–02 Kew Gardens Rd.
In 2009 JetBlue announced that it was looking for a new location for its headquarters. The company began considering moving the headquarters either within the New York City metropolitan area or to the Orlando, Florida area. In April of that year Helen Marshall, the president of the Borough of Queens, said that the City of New York was trying to keep JetBlue in the city. Her spokesperson, Dan Andrews, said that the mayor's office looked for office space in Queens and in other boroughs. In January 2010 the CEO of JetBlue, Dave Barger, and Governor of Florida Charlie Crist met at the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee, Florida to discuss a possible headquarters move to Orlando. Barger said that he anticipated that JetBlue would decide whether to move by March 2010. JetBlue officials stated that if the airline moves its headquarters, it will not happen until 2012, when its lease in the Forest Hills Tower expires. On March 22, 2010 JetBlue announced it will remain in the New York City area. Its new headquarters will be located in Long Island City, in the borough of Queens. Barger stated that the airline decided to keep the headquarters in New York City because of the airline's historical links to New York City, the cost of relocating most of the airline's staff, the airline's desire to retain access to financial markets, and the fact that Aer Lingus and Lufthansa, JetBlue's international marketing partners, fly into John F. Kennedy International Airport. JetBlue plans to combine its Forest Hills and Darien, Connecticut offices, together about 1,000 employees, into about 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) in the Brewster Building in Long Island City by mid-2012.
Incidents and accidents
JetBlue has had several incidents involving its planes, although none have resulted in any hull losses or fatalities.
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| JetBlue Flight 292, an Airbus A320 (N536JB), makes an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport |
Notable incidents:
On September 21, 2005, Flight 292 (N536JB "Canyon Blue") performed an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport following a failure of the front landing gear during retraction when it turned 90 degrees. The plane landed after holding for three hours to burn fuel and lighten the aircraft. The aircraft came to a stop without incident on runway 25L, the second-longest runway at LAX. The only apparent damage to the plane upon landing was the destruction of the front wheels, which were ground down to almost semi-circles, and the tires; the front landing strut held.
On February 14, 2007, a JetBlue flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Cancún, Mexico was delayed on the ramp in a snowstorm, keeping passengers on the plane for nearly nine hours. Throughout that day, at least nine other JetBlue aircraft were also stranded on the tarmac, keeping the passengers on board. Four days later, JetBlue was still not operating normally, canceling nearly all flights using Embraer 190 aircraft. On February 19, JetBlue's then-CEO, David Neeleman, issued a public apology for the cancellations and for his company's mismanagement of the situation. Neeleman said he was "humiliated and mortified" by the system failures and he promised that JetBlue would soon introduce a "Customer Bill of Rights" offering compensation for such events in the future. JetBlue predicted that the cancellations and passenger compensations would total between 20 and 30 million dollars.
Wikinews has related news: JetBlue flight attendant accused of cursing at passenger granted bail
On August 9, 2010, as Flight 1052 from Pittsburgh International Airport prepared to disembark its passengers at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Steven Slater, a JetBlue flight attendant, claimed to have been in a confrontation with a passenger who refused to remain seated during the safety instruction. Slater claims he was struck on the head by her luggage as it was being removed from the overhead storage bin. Several passengers have disputed his account. He cursed at the passengers over the aircraft's public address system, after which he activated the emergency chute, grabbed two beers, exited via the now-inflated evacuation slide, ran to his parked car, and drove home where he was later arrested.
On August 26, 2010, JetBlue Flight 262 (N590JB "Liberty Blue") from Long Beach Airport encountered problems upon landing at Sacramento International Airport. Four of the Airbus A320's tires blew out, and both the blown-out tires and the aircraft's brakes caught on fire. Fifteen of the flight's 86 passengers sustained minor injuries while evacuating the aircraft on the runway. The fire was quickly extinguished by emergency responders, but runway 16R/34L remained closed for over 24 hours, forcing all aircraft operations to use runway 16L/34R. There was no disruption to any other flights.
On September 9, 2010, JetBlue Flight 522 from Orlando, Florida to Newark, was experiencing turbulence mid-flight, when 21-year-old Playboy playmate Tiffany Livingston bolted from her seat and grabbed the handle on the exit door. She was tackled and subdued by nearby passengers, and the plane landed safely. Then, she was subsequently detained by Federal officials, and released hours later. Investigators determined that she was trying to stabilize and brace herself during a high anxiety attack brought on by the turbulence, rather than attempting to open the door in mid-flight.
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