company Case JetBlue: Delighting Customers Through Happy Jetting In. 2007, JetBlue was a thiving young aifine wth a strong reputa- ‘ion for outstanding service. Infact, the low-fare aitne referred to itself as 2 customer service company that just happened to fy planes. But on Valentines Day 2007, JetBlue was hit by the per fect stotm—iterlly—of events that led to an operational melt- ‘down, One of the most severe storms of the decade covered JetBlue's main hub at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International ‘Aiport with a thick layer of snow and ice. Small JetBlue did not have the infrastructure to deal with such a crisis, The severity of the storm, coupled with a series of poor management decisions, left JetBlue passengers stranded in planes on the runway for up to 11 houts. Worse stl, the ripple effect of the storm created major JetBlue fight disruptions for six more days Understandably, customers were vid. JetBlue’ efforts to dean Up the mess folowing the six-day Valentines Day nightmare cost ‘over $20 millon dollars in overtime, fight refunds, vouchers for future travel, and other expenses. But the blow to the company’s previously stellar customer-service reputation stung far more than ‘the financial fallout. JetBlue became the butt of jokes by ate night ‘alk show hosts Some industry observers even predicted that this ‘would be the end of the sever year-old aiine, But just three years late, the company isnot only stil yng, itis ‘rowing, profitable, and hotter than ever During the recent economic ‘downtum, even as mast competing aitines were ating routes, reti= ing aircrah, laying off employees, and losing money, JetBlue was ‘adding pines, expanding into new cites, hing thousands of new ‘employees, and turing profits. Even more, JetBlue customers adore ‘the itine. For the fith consecutive year (even ining 2007), JetBlue has had the highest .D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction ‘score forthe entre airine industry. Ntonly ite recover quickly from the Valentines Day hiccup, its now stonger than ever: ‘TRULY CUSTOMER FOCUSED What the secret to JetBlue’ success? Quite simply, its an abses- sion with making sure that every customer experience ives up to ‘the company slogan, "Happy Jetting.” Lots of companies sy they focus on customers. But at JetBlue, customer wellbeing Is in- ‘rained inthe culture From the beginning, JetBlue set out to provide features that would delight customers. For example, most air travelers expect to be squashed when flying coach. But JetBlue has configured its seats with three more inches of legroom than the average air- line seat. That may not sound like much. But those three inches ‘llow sixfoot three-inch Arianne Cohen, author of The Tall Book: A Celebration of Life from on High, to stretch out and ‘even cross het legs. If that's not enough, for as litle as $10 per flight, travelers can reserve one of JetBlues "Even More Legroom” seats, which offer even mare space and a flatter re- Cline position. Add the fact that ever JetBlue seat is well padded and covered in leather, and you already have an ait travel expe- rience that rivals first-class accommodations (something JetBlue doesn't offer). Food and beverage is another perk that JetBlue customers en- joy. The aitine doesn't serve meals, but it offers the best selection of free beverages and snacks tobe found at 30,000 feet. In adci- tion to the standard soft drinks, juices, and salty snacks, JetBlue flyers enjoy Terra Blues chips, Immaculate Baking’s Chocobilys cookies, and Dunkin’ Donuts coffe, But itisnt just the selection, its the fact that customers don't fel lke they have to beg for a nibble. One customer describes snacking on JetBlue as an “open boar for snacks. They are constantly walking around offering it. never feel thisty. | never feel hungry. ts not ‘Here, have a ite sip.’ and "Good-bye, that’ all you get.” ‘aifines often can’t control fight delays, especially at busy ar- ports lke JFK. So JetBlue wants to be sure that customers will be entertained even in the event of a delay. Thats why every seat has fits own LCD entertainment system. Customers can watch any of 136 channels on DrectTV or [ten to 100+ channels on Sirius XM Radio, free of charge. If that isn't enough, six bucks will buy 2 ‘movie or your favorite television show. JetBlue rounds out the ‘amenities with free WiFi terminals and fee sending and receiv- ing of e-mails and instant messages in the a. Even JetBlue main terminal, the newstate-of-He-at FS terminal {a JFK, is not the usual arine experience. Wth more security lanes than any terminal the county, travelers scury right through. High tend dining (tapas, lobster tempura, and Kobe sider, just to name a {ew options) can be found among the termina 22 restaurants. And its 25 retal toes are charactrstcof the lates mal oferings. Achil- ren’ play zone, comfortable lounge areas, work spaces, and piped ‘in music from Sus XM Radio make travelers hesitant to laveChapter 1 MORE THAN AMENITIES: ‘Although the tangible amenities that JetBlue offers aretkely to de light most travelers, CEO David Barger recognizes that these things ae not nearly enough to provde a sustanable competitive advan- ‘age. “The hard product—airplanes, leather seas, satelite TVs, bricks and mortar—as lng as you have a checkbook, they can be replicated,” Barger tls a group of new hires in training, "KS the ‘cthure that conte replicated. Ws how we treat each ther Oa we ‘rusteach other? Can we push backon each other? The hurman ide Of the equations the most important pat of what we're doing.” Its that culture that gies JetBlue custome service unlike that of any other zine. Taking care of custornes starts as ealy 25 2 cus tomer’ frst encounter with a JtBive cal center. Many callers feel like they are talking to the lady next dao. That's because, ral Hke- lnood, they are. JetBlue’ founder pioneered a reservation system ‘that employs part-time raps working from home. Mary Dil one (F700 at-home reservations agents in Salt Lake City alone. She logs onto her computerandreceives calls inher fouryearold daughters bedroom, under the watenfl eye of Raggady Ann, Potbelly Bear, and Chewy, the family Fomeranian-Chitushua mix. “it’s the best job "ve ever had,” says Dil. "Everyday lak to people who love the company as much a5 do, That reminds me 'm part of thi.” JetBlue employees are well acquainted with the company's core values safety ing, caring, passion, an fun, Hf that sounds ike an awful lt of warm fuzzes, i's intentional. But JetBlue hires the ‘ypes ofemployees that it these values. Te values then provide the basis for what Robin Hayes JetBlue’ chief commercial office, call the companys S.0.C.LALL. curency program. In Jetllue’s words: Standing for something, JeBlue was formed with the idea of bringing humanity back to travel, and our engagement with our customers is central to that mission, COperationalzing the brand. Whether it be inthe airport on the: planes, on the phones, or online, the connection with Our cus- tomers isa key factor in how we do busines. Conversing with customers, broadly To be properly in touch with ‘he community requires the abilty to understand and react to ‘the collective conversation that occurs. Involving, immersing employees. Socal media invoement re duires understanding and involvement from all aspects and de- partments of the company. ‘Advocating the brand. For JetBlue, we understand the ality to ‘market to a social community s dependent on our customers’ wil ingness to hear and spread those marketing messages. stoning. Waiving the carry-on bike fee... shows we quickly identify and adapt new polices based on feedback we receive through social media channels, I demonstrates our ability 2 fa- ‘ten and react hoisticaly. WHEN YOU LOVE YOUR CUSTOMERS, THEY LOVE YOU BACK Customers who spread positive word-of-mouth are caled many rames—tve friends, anges, apostles, evangelists. The religious ‘overtones of such labels come from the idea that loyal customers ate like true believers who share the good word Bke 2 missionary ‘would, JetBlue has an unusually high ratio of such custome. Most ane customers are loyal because they have frequert fyer Points. fnot for those points, most couldnt careless with whom they fly. For most, fying is generally unpleasant experience re gales: of wha operates the plane. However, JetBlue customers ae so enthralled with what thes line has to oer that they look forward to fying, And they want to Marketing: Creating and Capturing Customer Value 35 beep in touch with the brand even when they aren't fing, Jefe has 1.1 milton followers on Twitter, more than any other company ‘except Whole Foods Market and Zappos.com, two other custome senvicelegends. Twitter even features Blue asa case study onsmart ‘corporate twittering. More broadly, by the metric of soca currency (& {ancy term for networks of customers spreading by word of mouth, JetBlue the stiongest US. brand, outperforming even Apple Jetlue' strong word of mouth has been fueled by the com- ‘pany’ ability to alight customers. People love to talk about JetBlue because the experience is so unexpected, Most aire travel has a particular pattern: small seats, bad entertainment, and litle (if any) food. Jet Blue breaks this pattern. Leather sats, your own entertain- ment system with dozens of channels, and atleast some choice of food. People can’t stop talking about the exper fence because thay have to express thei supe, expecially {gven the “value” price. They ae so used to aiine travel be- ing poor, late, of uncomforable these days that cases where a company seems to care and provide good sevice seems noteworthy. Satisfaction itself is unexpected In ten short years, JetBlue has proven that an airine can deliver low Fares, excelent service, and steady profits. tt has shown that ‘even in the aifine busines, a poweriul brand can be built. Few ‘other atlines have baen abe to write this tow. If you‘ thinking Southwest Airlines, you'd be on target In fact, etBlue's founders tmadeled the aitine after Southwest. etalue has often been called, “the Southwest of the Northeast.” JetBlue’ onboard crews even ‘greet customers onboard with jokes. songs. and humorous versions ofthe safety routine, something Southwest has been known for Since the 1970, But where Southwest has made customers happy with no fils, JetBlue is arguably doing itll, including the fil Untillast year, Southwest and Jet steered clear of each other ‘But then both aires added 2 Bostor Baltimore rout. Boston is 2 JetBlue suonghold; Balior is Southwest’ biggest market But \with JelBlue’s younger worklorce and newer, more fueleffcient planes, its cost per avalable seat me is BB cents, whereas its 19,76 cents for Southwest. That ha alowed JetBlue to do something thatno other atin has done to Southwest; undercutiton price with $9 tckats that are $20 choaper than Southwest’ lowest fare. ts not clear yet how the battle ofthe lefare,high-servce lines wil play out. But ¢may wel tur out that as JBle ne Southwest cos paths on more routes, the losers willbe the ather anes Question 1, What makes JetBlue successful? 2. Is JetBlue likely to continue being successfuly? Why or Why not? Soures: tua ot “ete Ads Hers Kecp Spreading the Word,” New Vere Tes, May 10, 2010p 7, Mare Gunthe,“Nething Bue about JetBlue” Fortune, Sepsrbor 14,2000, . 114, chu Sa, “Calin ‘Ble." fast Company, Nay 1, 2008, accessed at wn fastcompany cml ‘magaznorezjetbiue_agentsimt Kevn Randal, "Red, Hot and se: The test Amansan Brand Not Appl,” Ft Company, lune, 2010, accent alow fascompany.conyesede6apple tbe soa-curency vl.