Interesting JBLU review...

[SeaSlam]

http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2003/commentary030620wt.htm?source=mppromo

 

[colorado418]

Great Article.

Thanks for the post!!!

 

[skirt]

*****Excerpted from article:

Having studied JetBlue carefully and flown it roughly two dozen times, I'm convinced that it is not only the greatest airline I've ever encountered, but one of the finest businesses in the world. Seriously. Not in the sense that its margins or competitive advantages can rival those of, say, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) or Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), but rather that its strategy, execution, culture, customer service, and success relative to its industry are among the most impressive I've ever seen.

Thus, I think every entrepreneur, businessperson, and investor should study JetBlue carefully because it is a fascinating, illuminating case study in ways that_I will highlight in this and subsequent columns.

*******End of excerpt

I started looking at JB in March (wish it had been sooner) for both an investment and airline career change, for precisely the reasons listed above. I dug very hard into the background of the airline and leadership, and even checked in with a few big name business school professors who HAVE done case studies already on JB. Sure there are naysayers out there, but not a single naysayer amongst those who have really done the research. Those who really know businesses are starting to say the same thing as is quoted above. From a fundamental and technical perspective JB is a good bet, for both an investment and a career.

I put a bunch of faith into the airline May 1, after "sampling the product" that week. I invested a good portion of my 401K in their stock. For reference, it was $27 on May 1 and it is now $40. Sure beats what happened to my United ESOP stock. I would bet on the JB leadership, long before I would bet on the United leadership. In fact, I am willing to bet that in 10 years JB will be thriving and UAL will be a shadow of itself....oh wait a minute, that has already happened!

Skirt

 

[race#53]

Skirt;
Reminds me of when people asked how my Co was doing i would tell them i was making 5 million dollars a day more than UAL.
Your comparison of JB to UAL is about the same.
Ask yourself why JB costs are lower and remember all the startups that are long gone.
No one that got on at UAL was unhappy when they got hired and the ESOP was great for a long time.... things change.
See me in 30 years when JB has the history of UAL or EAL built by employees that lost a lot.

 

[Ty Webb]

Business professors and stock analysts be d@mned- they make their bets with other people's money.

Venture Capitalists, on the other hand, make their bets with their own money.

What they usually say is "Give me a grade "C" idea but with grade "A" people running it, and I'll put money in it".

Jet Blue has grade "A" management. UAL has grade "D" management. Avolar, the failed USAirways merger, etc., etc., etc. These clowns couldn't make money with a frigging printing press straight from the Treasury.

 

[Skank]

Ty,
I though you had departed our humble message board. Welcome back to the struggle.

-JB

 

[dogg]

I have to second the thoughts of others concerning Jet Blue and it's meteoric rise. Not that hey don't have the best mgmt, the best planes etc....... but where will they be after their first ALPA contract has been negotiated and their first AMFA contract has been negotiated and their first AFA contract has been negotiated. That is when they will have the right to be compared to Southwest(one of the most unionized carriers in the business). It sounds like a great place to work now and hopefully it will still be in 15 years when they have matured and the fun and glamour has worn off. But for now it just doesn't pay to put any creedence in what the wall st idiots babble on about. Those guys have never earned an honest dollar or worked an honest day in their miserable New York lives.......The country and the economy would be much healthier if the season for travel industry consultants and wall streeters was as long as fall deer season in Georgia.....

 

[TriStar_drvr]

The author or the article wrote:

flies point-to-point (shunning the hub-and-spoke system used by the major carriers)

I took a look at the JetBlue route map on the website, and if that's a "point to point" route structure, then someone please redefine to me what that term means.

I'm not trying to diss Jetblue, I see a few routes that don't go to JFK, but it sure looks like there's some semblance of a hub at JFK, and the beginnings of one at LGB.

Maybe the author, being a Wall Street type, believes that everyone wants only to go to NYC, and thus JetBlue has the perfect point to point system!

Whatever it is, it's obviously working for them. To you guys that work there, do you know how what percentage of pax are "through passengers" in JFK and LGB?

 

[Blue Dude]

To you guys that work there, do you know how what percentage of pax are "through passengers" in JFK and LGB?

A little over 10%. That's comfortably in point to point territory. JFK and LGB are not run as hubs, where people mostly travel for the purpose of connecting to somewhere else, and schedules are optimized for flight banks. JFK and LGB (and to a smaller extent, IAD, FLL and OAK) are focus cities, where point to point routes converge, since that's where people want to go. There's not much connection going on there.

 

[stillaboo]

it just doesn't pay to put any creedence in what the wall st idiots babble on about. Those guys have never earned an honest dollar or worked an honest day in their miserable New York lives

Interestingly, these 'wall st idiots' are some of JB's core customers. The route map says it all: "JFK to what city, sir?"

-Boo!

 

[Ty Webb]

Ty,
I though you had departed our humble message board. Welcome back to the struggle.

-JB

Like Tony Montana- "I try to get out, but they just keep on pullin' me back in".

 

[EngineOut]

Lemmings...all of the airlines are lemmings. The key for a career hunter is getting in at the bottom of the cliff. I am not totally convinced that JetBlue is not a lemming. All it takes is one "leader" to squeeze every last bit of culture out of the airline for the sake of profit. How nimble is JetBlue's management squad? How will they be able to handle being beaten by the Deltas and AAs during the good times to come? How will they be able to manage the pressure from investors? The "...but, we don't lose money in slim times" is a hard sell.

Unless it can be proven to the stock buying public that some young MBA grad won't come in and go "Hmmmm, we could get more [profit, revenue, savings] if we did..." I won't believe it.

 

[Blue Dude]

Like Tony Montana- "I try to get out, but they just keep on pullin' me back in".

That was Micheal Corleone...

 

[Ty Webb]

OK, then I'm outta here.



Bunch of Fargin' Bastarges and Cork suckers.

 

[G4G5]

http://money.cnn.com/2003/06/12/commentary/bottomline/lashinsky/

 

[Redtails]

In reference to the cnn article: 2005 is still a ways off until the first Emb-190 hits the line. Something can be said, however, that this 100-seat jet is no RJ. Think of the markets being produced today by the Eagles and Pinnacles where they are limited by scope clauses and the likes with their 70 seats. If you bring in a 100-seat jet to compete on those markets and drive down the prices, but still make money with those seats being full, you'll have an advantage that many carriers with scope clauses won't enjoy. Airtran flies 117-seat aircraft and makes money. They are limited with their range with the B-717. This Emb-190 has a 2500nm range, almost coast-coast, the opportunities are countless. Additionally, the Long Beach, CA, airport limits slots to 41 for airline types-- but has no limits on the number of RJs flying into LGB, this will also open up opportunities on the West Coast for JBLU.

 

[trainerjet]

Something can be said, however, that this 100-seat jet is no RJ.

Additionally, the Long Beach, CA, airport limits slots to 41 for airline types-- but has no limits on the number of RJs flying into LGB, this will also open up opportunities on the West Coast for JBLU.

So, which is it? I don't think you can argue in one sentence that it is "no RJ", then turn around and talk of the unlimited slots for "RJs flying into LGB" that will "open up opportunities on the West Coast for JBLU".

 

[dgs]

The EMB-190 is significantly larger than an RJ. With it's larger cabin and larger seats if feels more like a full size airliner. However, the cutoff for slots at LGB is 100 seats. There is no contradiction here. The beauty of this airplane is that it takes the best from both worlds.

 

[G4G5]

I agree this is the next wave of RJ's that will revolutionize the 70-110 seat aircraft. This is going to kick the stuffing out of the CRJ's

I just hope it does what they promise.

 

[Blue Dude]

The EMB-190 is significantly larger than an RJ. With it's larger cabin and larger seats if feels more like a full size airliner. However, the cutoff for slots at LGB is 100 seats. There is no contradiction here. The beauty of this airplane is that it takes the best from both worlds.

I thought the LGB slots were determined by weight, not seats. And the EMB-190 is over the weight limit. Even if the -190 qualified, there are RJ slots at LGB, too, they're just not all in use yet. There's no unlimited growth there, the NIMBY's will see to that.

 

[SpeedBird]

LGB limits for air carriers is 41 slots/day. Air carriers are defined as scheduled part 121/135 operators flying aircraft weighing 75,000 lbs, or greater. "Commuter" carriers can operate 25 flights/day, and are defined the same as air carriers, with the exception that they must use aircraft weighing less than 75,000lbs. The EMB-190 will not meet this weight requirement (approx. 100,000 lbs) and will be classified as an "air carrier" aircraft, thus subject to the 41 slot/day restriction.

Here is the link for more information:

http://www.lgb.org/content/noiseordinance.htm

 

[G4G5]

Skirt
"I don't know the flight pattern into LGB, but if it is anything like the creative flow pattern JB negotiated for JFK, there will be no delays."

Can someone explain this to me?

 

[dgs]

The EMB-190 is significantly larger than an RJ. With it's larger cabin and larger seats if feels more like a full size airliner. However, the cutoff for slots at LGB is 100 seats. There is no contradiction here. The beauty of this airplane is that it takes the best from both worlds.

I may have misunderstood something that our COO said at a meeting with our crewmembers on this topic. I'll go back and review the tape. I still think "The beauty of this airplane is that it takes the best from both worlds." However, I need to research more about how the EMB-190 will fit at LGB.