Jetblue Case Analysis

JetBlue Case-Analysis

As is the case with any airline industry at the current time, JetBlue has many issues to face. Over the years the airline industry has become a competitive industry that has proven to be difficult to be profitable in. The airline industry as a whole faces problems in areas such as security, cost, weather condition, legal issues, economic factors, and most importantly fuel cost. Each of these factors plays an important role when implementing a strategy for success in the airline industry. When events like 9/11 occur it has a huge impact on airline companies. Because of events like these it is important for the airline industry to keep security high in order to insure customer security. Another major factor currently facing the airline industry is the rising cost in fuel. The rise in cost of fuel combined with the current economic conditions has resulted in poor financial stability not only for the airline industry but also for consumers. The issues facing airline companies has caused many airlines to reevaluate their strategy, JetBlue being no exception.

JetBlue is a fairly new airline compared to some of its main competitors. JetBlue first entered to market using a combination of low cost and differentiation strategy. They heavily emphasized customer satisfaction by providing a comfortable, home like flight environment. They succeeded at this by providing customers with a spacious seating area that includes personal televisions in the back of each seat. Leather seating is used in all of their airlines because it gives the plane a nicer look and is also easier to clean. JetBlue also focuses on remaining low cost. In order to stay low cost they use paperless tickets as well as paperless cockpits. The use of these techniques allows them to keep the planes in the air which keeps cost low and customer satisfaction high. They also did not provide in-flight meals in order to quicken clean up time while on the ground. To start off they used only one type of plane which contributed to the low cost. The use of only one plane was an important cost factor because it allowed for less training and maintenance. JetBlue experience a lot of growth in their beginning stages and seemed to be doing well however, current events along with economic conditions has caused them to reevaluate their strategy and move away from some of the techniques they have been using.

In order to stay competitive, JetBlue made some decisions in which they believed would help them. A few of these decisions include a merger, new planes, and in-flight adjustments. JetBlue's mission in the beginning was to grow on their own and stay away from mergers. However, later they took part in a merger. Being part of the merger allowed them to operate out of the JFK airport. Even though this went against the original mission statement I believe the merger was a positive factor for JetBlue as it allowed them to expand.