JetBlue Blog

As New York’s Hometown Airline, we’re no strangers to diverse opinions and cultures. After all, New York is THE cultural melting pot of the world, and New Yorkers are world renowned for their ability to share their opinions. We’re also proud to have customers and crewmembers that represent this rich mix of cultural backgrounds. So being a forward thinking airline with the deepest respect for the various cultures and beliefs of our 30 million customers a year, you can imagine our crewmembers’ collective pain when we’re accused of discriminatory practices, as is the subject of much public discussion stemming from this article in the Palm Beach Post.

The story presented by a customer is certainly riveting, and we understand that many who have read it feel entitled to get all the juicy details. However, out of respect for the privacy of our customers – even those who tell stories we don’t necessarily agree with – we will not share additional details for public discourse and will only say that the story presented in media reports in no way reflects the accounts from our crewmembers or customers on board.

We recognize that many observers of the story desire all the details so they can make their own judgments, and for many their opinion will be set regardless of any additional detail shared. We just request those who do feel the need to pass judgment take a moment to reflect on any of their past experiences with JetBlue and our award winning service, and think about the diversity of the 80,000 daily customers we serve before taking every story they see as fact.

JetBlue does not engage in discrimination on any basis. Maintaining the highest standards of safety for all of our customers and crew is our primary concern and JetBlue’s fundamental value. The decision to remove the customer from the flight in this instance was made in support of that value.

We’re offering unbelievable roundtrip fares to/from Boston and Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Houston - at the latest cost of a barrel of oil. Land a low fare from $108 when you book by July 11 and travel August 4 through November 20, 2014. Restrictions apply. Head over to JetBlue.com now for details!

In honor of today’s game, JetBlue is helping some customers fly in high spirits. As fun is one of our core values, we are thrilled to join the excitement and cheer on #USA. Customers flying with us today can “goal” ahead and have a free cocktail on us (a)!

Also, those traveling domestically during game time will be able watch it live at 30,000 feet as all JetBlue seats feature personal seatback screens (b). During game time, fans will have plenty of options onboard to watch the game and other sports programming. JetBlue airs more channels of free sports onboard than any other domestic airline including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, NBC Sports, Fox Sports 1 and NFL Network.

JetBlue customers enjoy individual channel surfing with 36 channels of free, live television programming, including most major networks, plus more than 100 channels of SiriusXM Radio for free, as well as JetBlue Features movies on select routes for a small fee within the US. Movies to Caribbean destinations remain free. JetBlue also offers free and unlimited non-alcoholic beverages and snacks on all flights across its 86-city network.

(a) While supplies last. Limit one drink per person. Offer valid on 7/1/2014 only. Selections may vary; not available on flights operating with express or no inflight service (flights under 340 miles). Must be 21 years of age or older to consume alcohol. Please drink responsibly.

(b) Live satellite TV and radio programming is not available on flights outside the contiguous U.S.

This Sunday June 8^th, JetBlue celebrates World Oceans Day, the UN-designated day for the global community to honor our oceans and all that they bring to humanity.

What does the ocean mean to you? Here at JetBlue, we can’t help but think of the beautiful shorelines and pristine beaches the oceans provide at many of our BlueCities. Destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean make up one-third of our route network, and we love being able to bring our customers to these picturesque ocean side locations.

World Oceans Day also calls worldwide attention to the many threats our oceans face, and asks us to take action in ocean conservation efforts. For example, unsustainable fishing threatens marine biodiversity and the valuable food stocks many people depend on, and ocean acidification occurs as the oceans absorb excess CO2 from our atmosphere, thus changing the chemistry of the water and the biological systems that live there.

This year’s World Oceans Day theme is “Together we have the power to protect the ocean”, reminding us that despite the significant threats to our oceans’ health, collective efforts can go a long way in reversing these trends.  As a part of our collaborative efforts, we’ve teamed up with The Ocean Foundation, Clinton Global Initiative, and Surfrider Foundation to explore a novel approach to keeping Caribbean beaches pristine and trash-free. With 29 destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean, we recognize that the health and appearance of these locations have a direct impact on our revenue. With the help of our partners, we’re working to show the economic value of clean beaches by directly tying the importance of nature to the airline’s main economic measure – revenue per available seat mile (RASM). Once we understand the connection between our revenue and this natural resource, we will then develop business related solutions to marine pollution and conservation. Learn more about this project and our other environmental initiatives by visiting jetblue.com/green.

Join us in celebrating our shared oceans by participating in an official World Oceans Day event, taking a “Selfie for the Sea”, or registering for a beach clean up near you.

Did you know you can vacay the JetBlue way? When you book a JetBlue Getaways vacation package, you’ll score exclusive savings on the flights you love + great hotels.

JetBlue crewmembers volunteered more than 50,000 hours last year. And last month, more than 260 crewmembers were honored for providing over 100 hours of community service and volunteerism at our Third Annual Community Connection Awards & Recognition dinner in Salt Lake City. This once again proves that or crewmembers bringing our ‘Inspiring Humanity’ message to life!  The reception celebrated the Crewmembers who continuously inspire humanity throughout their local communities, and work together to give back.

Highlights

• Seven individual winners from our workgroups and support centers received $1,000 grants for the charities of their choice.
• $10,000 was awarded to Seattle,  Long Beach, JFK and Salt Lake City crewmembers for the charities of their choice.
• In total, JetBlue donated $48,000 to continue to support nonprofits important to our crewmembers.

A sampling of volunteer initiatives:

• Seattle crewmembers have done a tremendous amount of volunteerism both as a station and as individual Crewmembers. They have “greened” their neighborhoods, participated in reading events and organized walks in their terminal. The SEA team also does a terrific job of supporting their USO in terminal. Their enthusiasm for bettering their community never ceases and they inspire humanity every day!
• Our Long Beach, CA inspired our onboard recycling program. This BlueCity worked tirelessly to support youth in the Long Beach area as they volunteered for the local Special Olympics, partnered with a foster care agency to give children in need of some TLC with a great holiday party and walked to raise awareness for Lupus.
• JFK crewmembers executed our inaugural Blue Horizons for Autism event with Autism Speaks in September, worked with numerous aviation schools to provide a behind the scenes look at JetBlue operations and has one of our strongest teams for Walks for a Cure.
• Salt Lake City crewmembers logged more than half of all hours logged in 2013.  This Support Center put together a quarter of all JetBlue Sweet Cases donated in 2013, logged more than half of all hours and has 125 Presidential Volunteer Service Award Winners

Last week, we officially welcomed Be Relax and their first New York  spa to T5 at JFK. The spa also marks another milestone – the first-ever blow-dry bar at JFK Airport.

Be Relax’s unique concept spa in New York spans 1,000 square feet and brings a superior feeling of comfort to its customers with a vegetation wall and warm wood elements.

Be Relax offers signature wellness services including Swedish massages, hot-stone massages, foot massages and acupressure chair massages. Additionally, the full service spa also offers beauty-oriented services, such as manicures, pedicures exclusively using OPI Gel color. Be Relax will also offer barbering services.

The T5 Be Relax Spa location features:

• Two (2) treatment rooms for table massages, facials and hair removal services
• A hair salon corner
• Barbering services
• Exclusive brands including  Dermalogica, Moroccan Oil, Jack Black, Clarisonic, OPI

Next time you’re at T5 and have a little extra time, stop on by and relax. Services can be done in as a little as 10 minutes!  Visit www.berelax.com for more information.

Adeline Moya, Chief Operating Officer Be Relax officially cuts the ribbon to celebrate the opening of Be Relax spa in JFK Airport. She’s joined by Nicholas Briest, CEO, Be Relax, Marty St. George, SVP Commercial, JetBlue Airways and Alexandria Dames, GM, Be Relax JFK location.

Customers receive complimentary chair massages at Be Relax in JetBlue’s T5 to celebrate the opening of the spa’s first New York location.

Beauty Bar at Be Relax in JetBlue’s T5.

Relaxation stations at Be Relax in JetBlue’s T5.

A customer receives a manicure at Be Relax in JetBlue’s T5.

Thank you.

To have our customers honor us for customer satisfaction is truly gratifying. To receive that distinction 10 years in a row is both humbling and flattering—we are floored to be ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Low-Cost Carriers in North America” by J.D. Power.

The 2014 North America Airline Satisfaction Study^SM measures customer satisfaction among both business and leisure customers of major North America carriers. The study is based on responses from 11,370 customers who flew on a major North America airline between March 2013 and March 2014. The study was fielded between April 2013 and March 2014, and measures overall customer satisfaction based on performance in seven measures (in order of importance): cost and fees; inflight services; boarding/deplaning/baggage; flight crew; aircraft; check-in; and reservation.

We don’t take these accolades lightly, and while we know there’s always room for improvement, it’s an incredible honor to know our customers appreciate the experience we deliver. To celebrate this momentous occasion, we decided to give 10 lucky winners a chance to really experience our award-winning product and service… by bringing back one of your favorite promotions of all time.

AYCJ

Yup, that’s right. Head over to jetblue.com/jdpower every day from now through May 23, 2014 and enter to win an All-You-Can-Jet pass good for unlimited travel between September 2- November 2, 2014. We’re giving one pair of AYCJ passes per day over the next 10 days – so bookmark jetblue.com/jdpower and enter once every 24 hours!

It is our pleasure to serve you. If we’ve done our job right, we’ve done more than simply fly you from point A to point B. Hopefully we’ve enhanced your journey, maybe with a little extra legroom or the ability to pack a little more for your vacation with a free first checked bag. Or maybe it’s a complimentary snack and TV show that helped the flight go by a little faster. Or even extra help on the phone with a reservation or a smile from a crewmember at the airport or as you boarded your flight.

Either way, we couldn’t do it without the 15,000+ crewmembers delivering the JetBlue experience every day, so a big thanks to them for making our operation a success.

And thank you for trusting us and giving us the opportunity to serve you. We hope to see you again on a future flight very soon.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS SWEEPSTAKES. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Sweepstakes starts at 12:00:00 AM ET on 5/14/14 and ends at 11:59:59 PM ET on 5/23/14. Open to legal residents of the U.S., DC & PR who are at least 18 years old at time of entry.   Void outside the U.S., DC, PR and where prohibited. Ten (10) Grand Prizes, each valued at $999, will be awarded. Total ARV of all prizes to be awarded: $9,990. Odds of winning depend upon the number of eligible entries received each Entry Period.  Void where prohibited. See Official Rules for complete details and entry instructions. Sponsor: JetBlue Airways, 27-01 Queens Plaza North, NY 11101. All rights reserved.

JetBlue received the highest numerical score among five low cost carriers  in the proprietary J.D. Power 2005-2014 North America Airline Satisfaction Studies^SM (among all carriers in 2005). 2014 study based on responses from 11,370 passengers who flew on major North American airlines between March 2013-March 2014.  Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed in April 2013-March 2014. Your experiences may vary.  Visit jdpower.com

Last week, JetBlue partnered with Autism Speaks and Pacific Child and Family Associates on to host more than 300 people for a Blue Horizons for Autism airport rehearsal event at Burbank Bob Hope Airport.

Blue Horizons for Autism provides families and individuals affected by autism with the opportunity to navigate the air travel experience in a realistic, relaxed environment, surrounded by other families in the autism community.  Air travel can be challenging for individuals affected by autism due to symptoms associated with the disorder, including hypersensitivity to large crowds, loud noises and communication difficulties. As a result, many families do not fly due to the fear of the response it could elicit from their children with autism, and subsequently fellow travelers and airline crewmembers.

Blue Horizons for Autism events simulate the entire process associated with traveling by plane. The families begin their day by checking-in at the airport’s ticket counter. Families then proceed through security screening, and wait at a designated gate for the arrival of their flight. Upon boarding the plane, JetBlue crewmembers lead the families through pre-takeoff procedures. To simulate the in air experience, the plane taxies and pulls into another gate to disembark.

In addition to providing the families with an opportunity to experience air travel, Blue Horizons for Autism also educates airport and airline crewmembers about autism and how to best meet the needs of this growing community of one in 88. JetBlue is working with Autism Speaks to roll out additional Blue Horizons for Autism events throughout its 85-city network. Plans are underway for the second annual event at New York’s JFK Airport in September as well as the first international event in Santiago, Dominican Republic later this fall.

In conjunction with Blue Horizons for Autism, Autism Speaks developed Adventures in Autism: A Guide to the Airport Experience to help prepare individuals with autism in advance of their trips.

Last week we released our sixth annual Responsibility Report, highlighting the progress we’ve made in 2013 in the environmental and social responsibility arenas. From initiatives like onboard recycling, to investing in our crewmembers and the communities in which we live in.

Read highlights of the report below or read the complete report here.

Climate Change and Decreasing Environmental Impact

• Climate change: JetBlue is communicating transparently about climate change. We work every day to reduce our environmental impact and are fully committed to meeting the International Air Transport Association (IATA) targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. These include joining an industry pledge to cut carbon emissions 50 percent by 2050, relative to 2005 levels. (Want to learn more? Our CEO Dave Barger was recently speaking about it.)
• Partnering to protect oceans: No one benefits when oceans and beaches are polluted. JetBlue teamed up with The Ocean Foundation to explore a novel approach to ocean health in the Caribbean. Destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean make up one-third of our route network, and the health and appearance of these destinations have a direct impact on our revenue. With The Ocean Foundation’s help, JetBlue is showing the economic value of clean beaches by directly tying the importance of nature to the airline’s main economic measure – revenue per available seat mile (RASM). (Want to help? Take our survey!)
• Composting: In most terminals valuable food scraps are sent to landfills, where their nutritional value is lost and they emit GHGs during decomposition. JetBlue decided to do something different. At JFK’s T5, we began a partnership to compost food waste.  Through our composting partnership, we send nearly 300 pounds of material each day (55 tons annually) to a composting facility where it is turned into fertilizer and nutrient-rich soil for farms.

Governance and Transparency

• Conflict materials: JetBlue purchases minerals to make the TVs on the aircraft. These TVs would not work without critical minerals to transmit signals and images. These minerals can only be sourced through mining in specific locations and not all mining and sourcing is created equal. Some minerals including, but not limited to, tungsten, tantalum, tin and gold, come from mines that engage in horrific and widespread human atrocities. We do not intend to fund these mines through its supply-chain and have started a deep audit of its supply-chain connected to their TVs and its LiveTV subsidiary that manufactures them.

Investing in its People

• Marriage equality: JetBlue treats all crewmembers equally. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) made this difficult. For some crewmembers, this meant their partners could not be recognized as “spouses” by federal law, and couldn’t receive federal marriage benefits. Last year, JetBlue signed an amicus brief together with 278 employers and organizations, in the case of United States vs Windsor, who was challenging the Act’s constitutionality.

Investing in the Community

• Volunteerism: JetBlue’s Community Connection program ties corporate giving with crewmembers’ passions. Through this program, crewmembers log the hours they volunteer with nonprofits and for every 25 hours, JetBlue donates a travel certificate for the charity of their choice. In total, 1,040 crewmembers volunteered 69,635 hours of their own time in 2013.
• STEM/Aviation Education: JetBlue took its support for STEM education to the next level in 2013. By creating the JetBlue Foundation, the airline will put aviation on the map as a top career choice for students. The Foundation is company-sponsored, but independent from JetBlue. In 2013, the Foundation awarded $25,000 grants to three aviation-focused high school and college programs.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) today announced a number of organizational changes as part of a proactive, company-wide organizational realignment designed to enhance operational performance, customer experience and create an overall more efficient airline that is better positioned for the future.

By creating a new, more streamlined reporting structure and new functional ownership for much of JetBlue’s senior leadership, the organizational changes, which will be fully implemented in the coming weeks, are designed to improve prioritization, execution and discipline across departments and ensure that the airline is more efficient and better aligned to execute and support its overall strategy.

“Positive change is in JetBlue’s DNA. We are constantly evaluating what we can do to improve this airline for our customers, our shareholders, and our crewmembers, and this effort helps us do precisely that,” said Dave Barger, CEO JetBlue.

“At the end of the day, this is about building an organization that will help our crewmembers execute better every day and allow us to build on our position as an independent and disruptive force in the industry,” said Robin Hayes, President.

As part of the organizational restructure, the following senior leaders will now have expanded functions or new roles at JetBlue:

• Joanna Geraghty has been named Executive Vice President, Customer Experience supporting JetBlue’s 12,000 Crewmembers in Inflight, Airports and Customer Support teams, reporting to Robin Hayes. Ms. Geraghty joined JetBlue Airways in March 2005 as Director, Litigation and Regulatory Counsel moving into the Vice President, Associate General Counsel role in 2006. Most recently, Ms. Geraghty was JetBlue’s Executive Vice President, Chief People Officer leading JetBlue’s human resources functions.

• Jeff Martin, Senior Vice President, Operations, has taken on an expanded role to include leadership of the airline’s System Operations Center in addition to his current leadership of Flight Operations and Technical Operations. Mr. Martin, who will be reporting to Robin Hayes, joined JetBlue in April of 2012 after 22 years of service at Southwest Airlines.

• Scott Laurence has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Airline Planning, reporting toRobin Hayes. Mr. Laurence joined the airline in April 2008 as Director, Route Planning, and since 2009 has held the role of Vice President, Network Planning & Industry Partnerships. To ensure greater integration of day-of and long-term planning functions, the following teams will report to Mr. Laurence: Network & Operations Planning, International, Charter Operations, Continuous Improvement, and Industry Partnerships.

• Marty St. George has been named Senior Vice President, Commercial. Mr. St. George joined the airline in July 2006 and held several roles including: Vice President, Planning, and most recently, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Commercial Strategy. In his expanded role, Mr. St. George will oversee Customer Analytics and Sales & Revenue Management in addition to his current leadership of Brand & Advertising, Digital Commerce, Loyalty, and Product Development and continue reporting to Robin Hayes.

• Warren Christie has been promoted to Senior Vice President Regulatory & Training, reporting to Robin Hayes. Mr. Christie joined the airline in March 2003 and has served in various roles including Vice President, JetBlue University, the airline’s award-winning training department. Most recently, Mr. Christie has held the Vice President, Operations Planning & Training role since 2012. The following teams will report to Mr. Christie: Safety, Security and JetBlue University.

• Mike Elliott has been promoted to Senior Vice President, People, reporting to Dave Barger. Mr. Elliott joined the airline in October 2010 as Vice President, Crew Relations where he has worked tirelessly to ensure high engagement of Crewmembers and the company’s Values Committees. The following teams will report to Mr. Elliott: Compensation & Benefits, Crew Relations, Labor and Talent Management.

• David Clark has been promoted to Vice President, Network Planning and will have responsibility for JetBlue’s flight schedule, network optimization and flight profitability. Mr. Clark, who will be reporting to Scott Laurence, joined the airline in May 2009 as Director, Route Planning and is one of the architects of JetBlue’s successful expansion in Bostonand Latin America. He has served as Director, Schedule Planning since October 2011.

• Tracy Lawlor has been promoted to Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis. Reporting to Mark Powers, Chief Financial Officer, she will be responsible for short- and long-term forecasting and capital allocation. Ms. Lawlor joined the airline in July 2001 and has held the Director, Financial Planning & Analysis role since 2006.

• In addition to the above organizational changes, Glenn Cusano, JetBlue’s former Vice President of Financial Planning & Analysis will be moving to the role of Vice President, Operational Planning & Analysis reporting to Scott Laurence. In this role, Mr. Cusano will work to identify operational efficiencies and manage workforce planning needs throughout the operation.