Jetblue starts SFO service

[lowecur]

Do you guys/gals think Singapore airlines would want to partner with JetBlue? I'm not trashing Jetblue but I think Singapore is famous for offering a certain level of service. I don't think a low cost carrier fits that bill. I know UAL, AMR, DAL have cranky employees, etc but they offer lay-flat first class seats and first class meals. Would blue chips cut it for someone who just paid $8000 to fly to LAX and needs to connect to JFK? I doub it.

Yeah, I do. Singapore owns 49% of Virgin Atlantic and is code sharing with them. If Virgin Atlantic does a deal with Jetblue, it's possible Singapore may be right behind. It's also possible Jetblue could form strategic alliances with other Asian carriers if they are going to operate from both SFO and LAX. Jetblue doesn't present the international threat that the legacy's do, so a transition for strategic alliance would be more viable.

Don't discount the fact that Jetblue will go to a 2 class airline at some point. Martin St. George, the Vice President of Planning is a proponent and previous creator of Premium Plus service at UAL.

imp:​

 

[Dizel8]

Do you guys/gals think Singapore airlines would want to partner with JetBlue? I'm not trashing Jetblue but I think Singapore is famous for offering a certain level of service. I don't think a low cost carrier fits that bill.

Singapore, IIRC, is a member of the Star Alliance, hence UAL would be the obvious partner.

As for the Singapore passengers, well, I would imagine 20 in first, something like 44 in biz and the rest in coach. You know, those coach passengers just might like jetblue!

 

[Dizel8]

Thanks for the help.

Can you confirm

1) did he start westjet?

2) did he sell westjet?


8vATE.....what do you know about westjet?

He was a consultant for Westjet with an invested interest!

Want more info, here is their website: www.westjet.com. A litlle snippet for you:
WestJet was founded in 1996 by Clive Beddoe, Mark Hill, Tim Morgan and Donald Bell, four Calgary entrepreneurs who saw an opportunity to provide low-fare air travel across western Canada. Through researching other successful airlines in North America - and in particular low-cost carriers from throughout the continent - the team followed the primary examples of Southwest Airlines and Morris Air and determined that a similar concept could be successful in Western Canada.

 

[skiandsurf]

He was a consultant for Westjet with an invested interest!

According to this other website, he was a co-founder.

http://center.spoke.com/info/pjVfNh/DavidNeeleman

 

[BLUE BAYOU]

David Neeleman had a no-compete clause written into the sale of Morris Air for I think 5 years. In that time period, he helped develop a reservations system that made him $20 million, worked at SWA for a brief period and then helped found Westjet. All the while, he was working on his new "baby", Jetblue. I only refer to that because in talks I've had with him, you get the impression that he's with this airline for a long time. He truly lives and breathes this airline and since Morris, has had a love for the airline business. His goal: to make a respectable 400-jet airline that brings "humanity" back to air travel. An actual quote from a long-time BOS-PBI passenger today, "I've always flown Delta before you guys, but now I only fly Jetblue, you guys are the best!!!" Passengers like that keep the drive in people like Neeleman.

 

[8vATE]

Thanks for the help.
Can you confirm
1) did he start westjet?

2) did he sell westjet?
8vATE.....what do you know about westjet?

See previous posts or read "Flying High" or "Blue Streak"...
More info about Neeleman and some others....

Neeleman has a history of being innovative and putting together great teams of people.
He has been a part of several successful ventures.

Is it inconceiveable that he could leave JetBlue?
No.

Has he ever sold any of his JetBlue stock?
No.

Has his management team?
Yes.

When the JetBlue management team structured the IPO, did they sign themselves up for millions of shares of stock options?
No.

Does Neeleman/Barger make exorbinant yearly salaries?
No... They make approximately $250,000 a year which Neeleman donates to the employee catastrophe fund.

Are they saints... are they perfect...?
No..

But I tend to give these guys the benefit of the doubt and be realistic that they are trying to run a sustainable business while trying to do the "right" thing.

The airline business is not for the faint of heart.

 

[lowecur]

Singapore, IIRC, is a member of the Star Alliance, hence UAL would be the obvious partner.

So is US Airways, but I don't believe either code share with them, or would be future candidates.

Singapore may not be interested in any kind of alliance with Jetblue, but the SFO announcement has to raise the question. Attach that to what is going on at LAX with DL, and it sure lends itself to a possibility. We know Jetblue plans to announce some kind of an international partnership, so it will be interesting to see what unfolds in the next few months.

imp:​

 

[Dizel8]

According to this other website, he was a co-founder.

http://center.spoke.com/info/pjVfNh/DavidNeeleman

No point in arguing, you may well be right, however, this is what westjet. com says: "WestJet was founded in 1996 by Clive Beddoe, Mark Hill, Tim Morgan and Donald Bell, four Calgary entrepreneurs who saw an opportunity to provide low-fare air travel across western Canada."

I know Neeleman was involved, but how deep the involvement was, I guess you would have to ask him or them.

 

[oldxfr8dog]

See previous posts or read "Flying High" or "Blue Streak"...
More info about Neeleman and some others....

Neeleman has a history of being innovative and putting together great teams of people.
He has been a part of several successful ventures.

Is it inconceiveable that he could leave JetBlue?
No.

Has he ever sold any of his JetBlue stock? Yes he has, but not very much.
No.

Has his management team?
Yes.

When the JetBlue management team structured the IPO, did they sign themselves up for millions of shares of stock options? No, they got millions of stock GRANTS. Much better.
No.

Does Neeleman/Barger make exorbinant yearly salaries?
No... They make approximately $250,000 a year which Neeleman donates to the employee catastrophe fund. Not saying he doesn't earn it, but Barger has taken many millions by cashing in GRANTS. They're not working for fun.

Are they saints... are they perfect...?
No, of course not! Only PILOTS are perfect!

But I tend to give these guys the benefit of the doubt and be realistic that they are trying to run a sustainable business while trying to do the "right" thing. I think their "right thing" is keeping costs lower than anyone else's.

The airline business is not for the faint of heart.

And I think it's possible that DN could leave. He was REALLY pissed that the 320 pilots wanted a raise.

 

[AKAAB]

Removing a row and reducing the FA requirement by 25% is only one step in many to differentiate the product down the road. Once the row is removed, another row or two can be painlessly removed and a small business class installed without having to deal with upset flight attendants at the same time. The new product then plays into the international codeshare.

At the same time, LAX and SFO fill the gaps in service that JB needs to cover to make the codeshare work on both coasts. 51 cities and a cross continent connection look pretty good to the Asian and European operators.

For some reason, a lot of us seem to think ahead only one step at at time, but they are making some serious strategic decisions that build upon each other to reach the goal of being a feeder for Virgin Atlantic and Singapore.