A Blue Sky Idea!

 Launched to succeed when major airline players in industry were

crumbling
 A well capitalized start-up
 Aim to bring humanity back to air travel
 An innovative operational model
 Strategy involving People, Technology and Low Cost
 Effective cost control to provide high quality service
 Strategy to Execution…

 First ‘paperless’ airline

 Low priced fares
 High quality airline service at affordable rates
 Replaced hub and spoke model with the point to point model for
flights
 Target audience: people who do not like to travel or unhappy
with current choices or who would prefer to drive
 Operating in under-served routes
 David Neeleman

Experience with low-fare charter airlines

Co-founded Morris Air along with June Morris
Worked for a short time on Executive Planning Committee of
Southwest Airlines
Became the CEO of Open Skies
Rendezvous with JetBlue
David Neeleman founded JetBlue in February 1999
Neeleman described JetBlue as "bringing humanity back to air travel“
The Future
On March 27, 2008, Neeleman officially announced plans to launch a
new airline, Azul, a domestic carrier in Brazil
 JetBlue – “I’m the innovator”

Last-mover advantage
Innovative use of IT – maximum automation
Focused on high-end customer service at low prices
Paperless operations
Point-to-point service rather than the hub-and-spoke model
Non-traditional means of reservations
Minimize CASM instead of maximize ROI
Customer-centric policies – happy customers – happy
employees – no unions.
…and how was this done??
 Uniquely Organized

● Centralised authority in the hands of a few.

● Virtual team of top management
● JetBlue has not diversified
● Functional Organization structure.
● Values based high commitment organizational culture.
● Union-free.
 The Plan

 To create a cost structure that could support low fares without

doing it on the backs of labour or sacrificing service
IT to enhance efficiency and add value
to its Employees and the Customers
● Created industry's first paperless cockpit - equipping pilots and first
officers with laptops.
● Setting up reservations agents at Utah, where work-at home
operators use voice over IP (VoIP) lines.
● Blue Performance Program tracked operational data and created an
intranet to share the information with JetBlue's 2,800 crew members.
● To use BlackBerry wireless devices to report and respond to irregular
operations
● Internet reservations pushing on JetBlue.com
● The simple queue program that lets the next person in line at check-
in know which agent is available.
● Adjustments to the Open Skies system to keep average check-in
times under a minute and electronic bag tagging.
 And not to forget…

 IT with Zero ROI:

The hidden cameras in the cabin with monitors in the cockpit,
installed as a security measure, is another IT project that pleases
passengers.
 Cohen drew the line between cutting-edge, cool stuff and
technology that actually helps pilot JetBlue‘s financial
performance:
For example, Cohen quashed wireless check-in at JFK after the
airline took over an entire terminal there starting last
Thanksgiving. It turned out agents could move people along
faster at its 40 counters.
 I’m Different

Have been quite successful for the past 30 years

I am good to all
But at times I charge more and become
unreasonable
I learn from other’s mistakes
Better and customized pay packages
 Gaps need to be filled

Inapt database for tracking

No baggage tracking system
Not flexible enough for expansion
No rebooking
Further improvement while passenger check-in
 How did they bounce back?

Immediate remedial actions:

• Neeleman apologized publicly to over 131,000 customers
affected, offering varying levels of compensation¹.
• February 21, JetBlue also issued a Customer Bill of Rights².
 Flight plan for the future

BASELINE GOALS

 Double the agents who handle the reservation system

 Fast-track project for seat rebooking
 Hours before deplaning-5
 Automatic lost baggage tracking
 Employee cross training
 Lessons from JetBlue's fiasco?

 Enough phone operators required

 Cancel flight at the right moment
 Database in place to better track its crew members
 Prepare for bad times. Need for effective crisis management
 Integrated Bag handling system
 Reducing turnaround time for customers
 Train CSR’s on all IT systems
 Enhancing website rebooking facilities
 References
 http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/news/1244592/Is-there-a-CRM-l
esson-in-JetBlue-s-snafu
 http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/26/news/companies/jetblue/index.
htm
 http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=4523