1. What are key forces in the general and industry environments that affect JetBlue’s choice of strategy?
Key forces that affect JetBlue's choice are, for the low-cost airline industry, new entrants with more commercial experience might be the central issue. Sometimes, global forces are driving the way competitiveness is established in the low-cost airline industry such as the rising oil prices which are forcing some of the airlines to increase their charges. Understanding and being in touch with the environment of any organization is critical to being able to function as an ever-changing organization. Many of the forces for change an organization experiences arise in the external environment. These come from customers, suppliers, competitors, technological advances, globalization of businesses, and the demands of different cultures and regulations established. Although the five forces analysis by Porter was designed primarily with commercial organizations in mind, it is of most value to JetBlue.
2. What internal resources and assets does JetBlue have that may give it a competitive advantage?
JetBlue was able to lobby for exemptions for additional 75 slots at John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport. With this strategy, JetBlue was able to avoid the hubs for major players and at the same time, was able to target nineteen million New Yorkers who lived within a sixty mile radius. JetBlue was able to maximize and take advantage of the current infrastructure of JFK. Aside from JFK, Neeleman chose the Long Beach airport (LGB) instead of opting for the crowded Los Angeles airport (LAX). This strategy allowed JetBlue to target six million potential customers within the 20 miles of LGB and 16 million people living in Los Angeles. It was also able to avoid the hubs of the major players and at the same time, lower airport and gate rents. JetBlue uses a single aircraft type from Airbus Industrie. Most of these are A320s which are more technologically