JetBlue Airways Corporation has been a rapidly growing discount airline and biggest success story in the industry by using its strong customer service considerations and low fares to build a solid, growing customer base. David Neeleman, CEO and director began JetBlue in 1999 and flying since 2000 after his previous airline company-Morris Air was brought by Herb Kelleher, the Southwest Airline founder. He signed a 5-year non-compete agreement not to launch another airline. Kelleher hired Neeleman at Southwest but was not happy with the structured environment he did not control and was fired (Essentials of Entrepreneurship p78). JetBlue's strategy is developed around its core competencies. The company has benefited by being able to start with a clean slate. It has a last-mover advantage and its information technology infrastructure and use has given JetBlue a sustainable competitive advantage. Starting with a clean slate gave Neeleman and President, COO David Barger the advantage of handpicking a management and supportive staff that reflected their vision. JetBlue's management has numerous years of airline industry experience. The team members have catered to customers, they've been customers, and they have extensive backgrounds on what it takes to be successful in the industry. In the early planning process, 20 members of JetBlue's management staff met for two days and settled on five core values: safety, caring, integrity, fun and passion. These five values result in a superior customer and crewmember experience (Motley Fool). JetBlue is different from other discount airlines. While Southwest and JetBlue use the same type of jet (Boeing 737 for Southwest and Airbus A320 for JetBlue), Jet Blue planes accommodate 162 passengers versus Southwest holds 135 passengers. The use of this plane allows the maintenance costs to stay low. This low maintenance cost is lower than any other carrier in the industry. JetBlue also focuses on longer flights (Essentials). Neeleman decided to upholster every seat in leather, which costs $15,000 more per plane. The leather surfaces are easier to maintain and last much longer (Essentials). Another advantage is its workforce is nonunion. Neeleman is not against unionization but he would prefer to avoid them. He feels if management and employees trust one another and if people feel they are compensated fairly, he believes that there's no need for a third party.
From 2004 to 2009, I lived in Atlanta, Ga while working for a large firm; I was able to travel all across the country and overseas. When I was younger I use to travel quite a bit with my family. These times in my life cannot be over looked as they gave me experiences in culture that cannot be learned from a book. When I use to travel, I hated the actual traveling aspect. Getting on planes were the worst. Most companies were the same. Really uncomfortable and no space for my legs loved getting the aisle seat for legs but the occasional cart crashing or running into my leg sucked. The one thing missing from most of my flights was the service and the way employees and customers were treated by the companies.
As part of marketing in business, strategy is a leading light because it is a plan of action designed and followed by businesses to become successful. Three companies in the same industry can offer similar products in a completely different ways. Branding is everything and understanding what customers want determines a company’s brand position. Airline companies are great examples of numerous companies offering the same product. Major differences in brand and quality management come when comparing three airline companies that offer the same product such as Spirit Airlines, Jet Blue and American Airlines. Although their product is the same, the processes to marketing their product are completely different.
Southwest Airlines: A Case Analysis. ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS It is evident that the greatest strength Southwest Airlines has is its financial stability. As known in the US airline industry, Southwest is one of those airlines who are consistently earning profits despite the problems the industry is facing. With such stability, the corporation is able to make decisions and adjust policies, which other heavily burdened airlines may not be able to imitate.
The Boeing Corporation is one of the largest manufacturers in the world. Rivaled only by European giant Airbus in the aerospace industry, Boeing is a leader in research, design and manufacture of commercial jet airliners, for commercial, industrial and military customers. Despite enjoying immense success in its market and dominating an industry that solely recognizes engineering excellence, it is crucial for Boeing to ensure continued growth through consistent strategy formulation and execution to avoid falling behind in market share to close and coming rivals.
After the Air mail Act in 1934, which separated the ownership of aircraft manufacturer and airlines, the President of the UATC had to be resigned and he moved to another airline at the time, which is Trans-Canada Airlines, now Air Canada. After this fall, Boeing’s company was broken into several parts, the first one was aircraft manufacturing, the second part is the parts supplier, and the third part is the United Air Lines airline group. After having a separate airline, they needed a new president to fresh sta...
Westjet has a unique corporate spirit: To enrich the lives of everyone in WestJet's world by providing safe, friendly and affordable air travel (2). In order to fulfill this company mission, westjet pursue to become one of the five most successful international airlines in the world by 2016, providing the guests with a friendly and caring experience that will change air travel forever.
Southwest Airlines strategy of focusing on short haul passenger and providing rates as low as one third of their competitors, they have seen tremendous growth in the last decade. Market share for top city pairs on Southwest's schedule has reached 80% to 85%. Maintaining the largest fleet of 737's in the world and utilizing point-to-point versus the hub-and-spoke method of connection philosophy allowed Southwest to provide their service to more people at a lower cost. By putting the employee first, Southwest has found the key to success in the airline business. A happy worker is a more productive one as well as a better service provider. Southwest will continue to reserve their growth in the future by entering select markets only after careful market research.
Delta Airlines was founded by C.E. Woolman, who was an agriculture extension agent. He was not as aggressive,
Jet Blue does have a business level strategy. Jet Blue’s business level strategy can be characterized as a combination of cost leadership strategy and differentiation strategy.
There are few things that are impressive about Southwest Airlines first one is how they treat the employees. For Southwest Airlines employees are first and customers are second. If the employees are treated well that will bring in happy customers. Next is that Southwest is not only with their low prices but is able to create a competitive advantage by offering a fun and humorous experience when flying. Finally another impressive fact is when Herb Kelleher’s retire from CEO position yet remained a Southwest employee till July 2014. Even after the retirement he was still active with the Southwest Airlines that reflected his enthusiasm and dedication for the
Jet Airways was found in 1st April 1992 by Mr. Naresh Goyal and they started their operation after one year may 5th 1993, Jet began international operations from Chennai to Colombo in March 2004. The company was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange
With regard to product, JetBlue is cornering the marketplace with its productivity, in-flight features, and customer service. Due to the fact that the company only purchases new planes of a single type, maintenance downtime is reduced and it is able to keep its planes in the air. In fact, JetBlue maintains the highest in-air average in the industry. Additionally, JetBlue employs an "operational recovery tool" technology that allows planners to minimize flight cancellations and delays. On board, JetBlue prides itself on treating all customers as equals and providing more comfort than other airlines.
The first initiative that they were able to gain in competitive advantage was the reduction of costs. They have been able to use an online system where consumers can reserve tickets avoiding which avoids using travel agents. Having this systems reduces costs for the company as well because they do not have to hire nearly as many as employees. Along with buying tickets, JetBlue has been able to use other systems to reduce costs which helps them with the maintenance of their planes and organizing information that involves every aspect of their business ranging from their planes to their employees and consumers. The second initiative that JetBlue uses is the creating of new services. By creating their new online services and systems they are able to gain competitive advantage because it allows easier and less expensive accessibility to their services. Not only have they created new services but they are able to differentiate these services from their competitors because of the easiness and quality of the services that they do provide. They not only focus on making their services the best but also the highest level of customer service that they can offer which other airlines struggle to do. Other competitors have realized that JetBlue is beating them in many aspects in the business that they have needed to adjust what they are doing to catch up. Even with the jumps in technology use with the other companies, JetBlue has still been able to enhance their services to continue to gain competitive
Service is an intangible product involving a deed, performance or effort that cannot be stored or physically processed, were customers directly participate in the production process. Product strategy is therefore very vital for the organization's success. It needs to be developed and manage very careful in order to be successful. British Airways product strategy includes flight services, quality of flights, various destinations across Europe and the world, executive class, business class, speed, security, support facilities and years of experience. It provides the basic product and various alternatives to satisfy all the different customer needs.
The target market of JetBlue airlines is customers who along with low cost seek services. The services provided by JetBlue included in-flight entertainment, TV on every seat, satellite radio, extra leg room, free unlimited snacks, and leather seats. The target market of JetBlue is also the leisure traveler, the low cost ticket seeking traveler, and the cost conscious business traveler. JetBlue has actually, posed a threat to the other low cost airlines like the Southwest Airlines.