Case Study - Jetblue Airlines
February 20, 2013
JetBlue Airways Corporation Case Study Report
Situation Analysis
History
JetBlue Airways Corporation was created my David Neeleman. His vision was to create an inexpensive, easy way to travel by airplane. He was quoted saying he wants to “bring humanity back to air travel.” David Neeleman was already a seasoned entrepreneur. Two years after dropping out of the University of Utah he established his own business by renting out condominiums in Hawaii. Soon after he established his own travel agency and began chartering flights from Salt Lake City to the islands to bring in more prospective clients to rent his condo’s. In 1984 Neeleman joined forces with June Morris, who owned a large corporate travel agency in Utah, to bring to the world a company known as “Morris Air”. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2011) Success followed and the company was bought by Southwest Airlines for $129 Million. Soon after the sale of “Morris Air” Neeleman pioneered the use of “at home reservation agents”. By using their homes as offices the reservation agents were saving money by lowering overhead expenses. He also developed the first electronic ticketing system in the airline industry. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2011)
Neeleman became the executive vice president for Southwest but realized it wasn’t a good fit. He signed a five year noncompete agreement and was on his way. During his five year agreement he developed the electronic ticketing system he had initiated at Morris Air into one of the worlds easiest airline reservation systems. He called it Open Skies. He then sold this innovation to Hewlett-Packard in 1999. Finally in 1999 the noncompete agreement had reached its expiration and Neeleman launched his own airline. He raised the needed capital with ease and JetBlue became the highest-funded start up airline in aviation history. JetBlue commenced operations in August 2000. For a start up base JetBlue chose John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
JetBlue Airways Corporation Case Study Report
Situation Analysis
History
JetBlue Airways Corporation was created my David Neeleman. His vision was to create an inexpensive, easy way to travel by airplane. He was quoted saying he wants to “bring humanity back to air travel.” David Neeleman was already a seasoned entrepreneur. Two years after dropping out of the University of Utah he established his own business by renting out condominiums in Hawaii. Soon after he established his own travel agency and began chartering flights from Salt Lake City to the islands to bring in more prospective clients to rent his condo’s. In 1984 Neeleman joined forces with June Morris, who owned a large corporate travel agency in Utah, to bring to the world a company known as “Morris Air”. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2011) Success followed and the company was bought by Southwest Airlines for $129 Million. Soon after the sale of “Morris Air” Neeleman pioneered the use of “at home reservation agents”. By using their homes as offices the reservation agents were saving money by lowering overhead expenses. He also developed the first electronic ticketing system in the airline industry. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2011)
Neeleman became the executive vice president for Southwest but realized it wasn’t a good fit. He signed a five year noncompete agreement and was on his way. During his five year agreement he developed the electronic ticketing system he had initiated at Morris Air into one of the worlds easiest airline reservation systems. He called it Open Skies. He then sold this innovation to Hewlett-Packard in 1999. Finally in 1999 the noncompete agreement had reached its expiration and Neeleman launched his own airline. He raised the needed capital with ease and JetBlue became the highest-funded start up airline in aviation history. JetBlue commenced operations in August 2000. For a start up base JetBlue chose John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
Cited: Corporation, J. A. (2013). JetBlue Reports Record Fourth Quarter and Full Year Revenues. New York: PR Newswire. Damaraju, N. L. (2009). JetBlue Airlines: Will it Remain Blue? In McGraw-Timmons, Capstone Bus 250s (pp. 213-220). Dallas: University of Texas. Farzad, R., & Bachman, J. (2012). Once High-Flying, JetBlue Returns to Earth. Bloomberg Businessweek , 27-29. JetBlue Airways Corporation. (2012). Company Profile JetBlue Airways Corporation. marketline.com. JetBlue Airways Corporation. (2011). Reference for Business. New York: referenceforbusiness.com. John W. Kelly for KR Consulting, L. (2008). Shaping Tomorrow 's Solutions for JetBlue Airways- A Strategic Analysis. San Fernando Valley: University of La Verne.