Assignment 1

Engineering Management
Riphah School of Business & Management
Summer 2022

Abdul Rauf 42701

Topic Case study of JetBlue Airways

Submitted to:
Miss Hina Bhatti
 INTRODUCTION
JetBlue is a major American low-cost airline that provides air transport services to Passengers. It’s
headquartered in Forest Hills, New York. It is the sixth largest in the United States by passengers carried. Mostly
operates in the US, the Caribbean, & Latin America. JetBlue's mission is to inspire humanity - both in the air and
on the ground. We are committed to giving back in meaningful ways in the communities we serve and to inspire
others to do the same. The case describes the reasons for the success of JetBlue, a three-year-old, low-cost
airline, operating in the USA. JetBlue was set up by David Neeleman, who earlier founded a very successful
discount airline called Morris Air in Utah. He also helped found West Jet, another discount airline in Canada.
Neeleman set up JetBlue in 2000 and modeled it on the lines of the most well known of discounters- Southwest
Airlines. JetBlue adopted a strategy for effective cost control by identifying and eliminating all unnecessary
expenses and concentrating on providing high quality services to its passengers. Towards this end, it adopted a
number of innovative measures on the planes such as: not serving food, point-to-point flights, and quick
turnarounds. It also made effective use of advertising to position itself as a fun airline. JetBlue's innovative
operational model helped it succeed at a time when the major players of the airline industry were crumbling.

Challenges and objectives

Challenges faced by JetBlue:

 Disruption communications were not automated or tailored to meet customers’ needs and ease their
journeys

 Customers who missed a connecting flight when travelling on a multi-leg journey with JetBlue and a
partner airline faced challenges making adjustments to their itineraries
  Travelers flying to/from Cuba required specific documents, resulting in pain points at the airport

 To rsolve the challenges it faced, JetBlue opted to set the following objectives:

 Overhaul the notification experience to generate an increase in Net Promoter Score

 Streamline the process for rebooking and issuing a new itinerary to customers who miss a connecting
flight

 Working to provide customers travelling to Cuba with the required documents prior to departure

The solution
JetBlue has worked with 15below for a number of years, building a notifications strategy designed to
ensure the customer is put first throughout their journey. Keeping customers informed from booking to
travel day and beyond was key to this objective, so JetBlue and 15below worked together to devise an
automated system guaranteed to ensure the timely provision of relevant details, advice and offers.
15below supported JetBlue in delivering optimum customer service in the following ways: Automating
timely communications to relay news of changes to the flight itinerary, provide options and follow-up if
the customer did not respond Communicating relevant details including terminal changes, baggage
reminders, special services, peak travel reminders, gate information and more to make navigating the
airport as stress-free as possible. Offering apologies to customers affected by a delay or cancellation
and a credit towards future travel.

The results
JetBlue has seen improvements in customer experience scores and satisfaction levels.

The objectives have been met in the following ways:

Positive, proactive communications during disruption periods were found to result in a rise in customer
satisfaction. JetBlue’s Net Promoter Score increased by more than 100 points to +29.8 due to
improved communications through email and crew member announcements at the airport

A new communications team was set up in the airline’s Customer Experience Operations Centre. It
sends all disruption notifications through the 15below platform so that customers have relevant
information – including terminal details, baggage allowances and special services – on hand and do
not need to queue to speak to a call centre operator or member of ground staff

New templates created with 15below allow voice notifications to be sent to customers who have
missed a connection directing them to specific crew members at their support centres who are
specifically trained to assist

An automated email notification was devised for customers travelling to Cuba allowing them to fill in
documents prior to departure

An apology email with attached credit was created and sent to disrupted customers before they land
at their destination

Embedding the Importance of Customer Focus Into the Fabric of the

Organization
The process of sharing the vision and strategy with crewmembers and inviting them to participate in
creating it was a critical part of the puzzle, but how it was done and the signals that were sent in doing
it were equally crucial. Taking action to ensure that a customer focus was embedded into the fabric of
the organization was paramount, but it had to be done in a way that balanced the tension between
service and operational performance. Specifically, the pendulum could not swing so far toward service
that the organization de-emphasized the operational performance that had led to its prior success.

While competitors typically approach the service issue by sending employees through training
programs on how to be nice with the hope that it will change behavior in the long-term, JetBlue
realized that its crewmebers already knew how to do that. Training would address gaps such as
conflict resolution, team dynamics, and interpersonal skills, but the deeper challenge would be to
inspire people to use their discretionary energy—to want to exhibit those behaviors on a daily basis—
and ensure they had the right tools and a work environment that would support and reward them for
delivering magnificent service. When that could be seen on a regular and measurable basis, a real
culture transformation would have occurred.

Business Strategy
• Aggressive Growth
• One Plane Bought Every Five Weeks
• Low Cost Carrier Approach
• Customer Oriented
 • Customized Flying
• Luxurious And Comfortable With Reasonable Fare
• Mission: Safety, Caring, Passion , Fun

Changing a Culture: Getting the Ball Rolling

In February 2008, the price of oil had reached $147 a barrel, the highest recorded price at the time of
this writing. Oil had slowly become the number one or two line-item cost for all airlines and, at $147
per barrel, forced new decisions that had implications throughout the organization. For some airlines,
it meant going out of business (SkyBus). For others, it meant mergers (America West and US
Airways), and for others still, it meant bankruptcy (United, Delta). For JetBlue, it meant making the
tough decision to start charging for amenities that had previously been included in the ticket price.
This led to confusion for the frontline crewmembers, and complication around JetBlue’s core identity
as a “no first class, no second class citizens” brand. JetBlue realized that, in order to maintain its
brand position in spite of the decision to charge for amenities, it had to carefully manage the tension
between the business needs and the service imperative. On a macro level, the organization had to
shift its mindset, but the only way to make that happen was team-by-team and crewmember-by-
crewmember. Crewmembers who would be forced to ask for a customer’s money had to fully
understand why they were now being put in that position so as not to consciously or unconsciously
erode the brand while doing so. In order to shift the organization’s mindset, a cross-functional team of
internal operational subject matter experts and an experienced team from gothamCulture in large-
scale culture change embarked on a journey to plan the transition from loss to profit, and from service
laggard back to service leader.

CASE STUDY QUESTIONS

Give examples of needs, wants, and demands that JetBlue customers demonstrate,
differentiating these three concepts.
• Need: Food and Security
• Wants: Coeffee Juices and Snacks
• Demand: Legroom & Flatter Recline Position, Leather Sittings
What are the implications of each for JetBlue’s practices?
Jetblue meets customers physical needs by providing unlimited snacks and beverages during
their flights, they even meet their social needs by providing such great customer service that
their customers can feel at home, and they even meet their individual needs by providing free
wi-fi in the terminals and providing free sending and receiving of emails while on board. The
implications of meeting these needs is that Jetblue is truly dedicated to satisfying the customer
and meeting all their needs to the best of their abilities, not just some partially.

Describe in detail all of the facets of Jetblue’s product. What is being exchanged in a
Jetblue transaction?
Jetblue’s product is an all inclusive customer service experience that meets all of their
customers’ needs and surpasses their expectations. The product they are given begins with the
customer service they receive when booking the ticket, which is distinguished by its low price
and continues when they arrive at the terminal.
Which of the five marketing management concepts best applies to Jetblue?
The Marketing Concept is the marketing management concept that best applies to Jetblue
because it is focused on knowing and delivering the needs and wants of the target market and
delivering those needs and wants with superior customer satisfaction, which is actually included
in their customers wants for an airline experience; comfort and a pleasant trip, rather than a
miserable time with hunger pains in an uncomfortable seat with no leg-room.
What value does JetBlue create for its customers?
People can’t stop talking about the experience because they have to express their surprise,
especially given the “value “price. They are so used to airline travel being poor, late, or
comfortable these days that cases where a company seems to care and provide good service
seem noteworthy. Satisfaction itself is unexpected. In ten short years, JetBlue has proven that an
airline can deliver low fares, excellent service, and steady profits. It has shown that even in the
airline business, a powerful brand can be built. Few other airlines have been able to write this
story.
Is Jetblue likely to continue in being successful in building customer relationships? Why or
why not?
Yes, because as long as it continues to meet customer wants and needs with superior customer
service and keeps its prices low, its customers will continue to find value in its product/service,
meaning they will be dedicated customers and even advocates for Jetblue, which in turn comes
to the company in the form of value from its customers that turns into profits for the company.