Strategic Analysis of Jet Blue Airlines: Executive Summary, Financial, Internal and External Industries, Competitors, Substitutes, and Stategies.

Strategic Analysis of Jet Blue Airlines

Executive Summary

JetBlue is a company built on a focus strategy of low-priced, no-hassle ticketing and refreshingly efficient customer service. The company began with the goal to eliminate many of the complexities and asininities of commercial air travel and set a new standard for customer service. Thus far the company has flown beyond these goals and everyone's expectations while returning a handsome profit to whomever chooses to invest in this airline industry success.

From his humble beginnings as a University of Utah drop-out, CEO David Neelman shorlty became a self-taught airline industry guru - gaining a comprehensive understanding of the inner workings of the industry as the co-founder of WestJet, CEO of Open Skies and President of Morris Air. His experiences gave him a first hand knowledge of what worked and what needed improvement in the airline business - knowledge that he believed would help him to create an innovative new airline able to revolutionize the market.

In 1999, Neelman announced his plans to start a new airline called "New Air". What New Air's name lacked in originality was later made up for in Neelman's innovative strategies. Within a year Neelman's airline, by then dubbed "JetBlue", successfully completed the airline application process, and its inaugural flight took place on February 11, 2000. By JetBlue's first birthday, it had already flown its one millionth passenger and reported $100 million in flying revenue. Soon after JetBlue's second anniversary, JetBlue's IPO was announced. Demand for the IPO was so high that the original offering price had to be raised - one of select few 'IPO Darlings' during the bear market economy. As the other airlines were suffering from the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, JetBlue's revenues were on a continual rise. In September 2002, JetBlue had...