JetBlue verses FedEx?

[BluDevAv8r]

Albie,

I'm crushed. Where's my email with your decision?! Hrmph....no Archer ride for you! lol......Congratulations man. Whatever it is, its the right decision for you...couldn't have gone wrong either way.

-Neal

 

[profile]

Dgs,

What you missed in your analysis is the one common thread in all of this. You note that FedEx used to be "really fun", and that even SWA no longer is there. Newsflash! Companies are more fun to work for when they're small and new! As they grow the relationship changes. Much of the "discontent" at FedEx is just that in recent years the company has grown to the point that it is no longer "fun" (actually, most of us still have a lot of fun at the job!), but those that remember what it was like even 10 years ago feel that we've lost something. True, but we've also grown to over 4000 pilots from under 1000 in the late 80s.

Southwest? Same story, but a few years behind us on the curve.

Jetblue? Brand new, still riding high in that new company feel. 20 years from now the company will probably feel a lot different (assuming it's still around, most probably it will be absorbed into some other company by then).

 

[Kjet]

Morris Air

One thing that might be worth looking into was why did Neeleman sell Morris Air to SWA a few years back. Why did he not develop that into a jetBlue?

I know the owner Mrs. Morris had become ill but I don't know if that was a reason for selling out to SWA and not just allowing Neeleman to buy and/or grow the company. Maybe somewould could shed some light on this, and perhaps answer whether selling the company could be in Jetblues future. It could be a reason to Fedex vs jetBluing.

 

[dgs]

Risk Takers

As I thought about my comment about jetBlue wanting people who are willing to take a risk, I realized that some people may misunderstand. I wanted to make sure my point was crystal clear. I'm sure jetBlue doesn't want any cowboys in the cockpit or people who are willing to "take the risk" to press approach minimums. What I mean is people who are willing to try new things--like their considerable use of computer technology. Those who aren't willing to try new things because "they've never done it that way before" probably won't enjoy the level of change inherent in a new, growing, and thriving company like jetBlue.

Profile -- I agree with you in general that newer companies are more exciting. It might be an interesting exercise to think about why. Is it the new people working for a dream? Is is management with a vision and a dynamic leadership style? Is it just the excitement of working for a new company and the personal stake people feel in making it a success? How do companies lose that excitement? Why do people become disillusioned? Is it a function of the size of the airline, or the length of time it has been in business? Does leadership, management, or labor get stale? Are unions destined to help or hurt the relationship with management in their struggles for better pay and benefits? It is probably not any one thing, but a combination of things that cause companies to lose their initial spark. There are tons of books aimed at managers of companies who are facing exactly these same problems, and I'm sure we could spend a long time philosophizing over the matter.

The fact is that the companies are different and will meet different needs for each individual. The key to happiness is finding the company that matches your personal goals. I only have 18 years left to fly before I hit the magic 60, so I'm hoping that the excitement will not fade before I depart the fix. -- dgs

 

[dgs]

Morris Air & jB buyout

I think there were probably at least 20 million reasons ($) that persuaded Neelman to sell Morris Air. That kind of financial security at 35 would be difficult to turn down. I also expect it was more than just the money, but I don't have any other insight into the decision.

I have considered the consequences of IPO and eventual buyout of jetBlue. One thing that makes me sleep better at night is knowing that the JFK slots are non-transferable--meaning that if another company bought jetBlue, they would lose their JFK operations. I sometimes think of jetBlue in the puffer fish analogy. It may be a tasty morsel, but if another company tries to eat it, it may kill them. I think that was a pretty ingenious move by Neelman to prevent a hostile takeover.

 

[Marko Ramius]

Dgs,

The non-transferability of the slots in JFK means nothing. None of the major airlines are really interested in a domestic hub in JFK. JFK is essentially an O & D international, and transcon airport for most airlines. Most of the majors focus on bringing domestic passengers into EWR & LGA unless the perimeter rule prohibits it. One of the B6's advantages is that so far it has shielded itself from direct competition by using JFK and LGB. None of the other airlines are going to reduce operations in LGA, EWR, LAX, etc to compete directly with B6 on a large scale, which helps them. If one of the other majors were to buy B6, they would likely just take their capacity out of inventory, raise fares, and reallocate the aircraft to other markets. Since the slots aren't transferable, they wouldn't have to worry about them going to a competitor, and even then they would still own the hard assets like the gates to block off new entrants. When the rumours were going around that UAL was going to make an offer for JetBlue, the plan was to basically move the capacity and planes to IAD.

 

[SpeedBird]

Last year when I attended my new-hire training in Miami, David Neeleman stopped by to visit our group. He fielded several questions from our class. Of course, someone asked if he would sell the airline, like Morris Air. I thought his answer was revealing when he said that for him jetBlue represented a "legacy opportunity" that he never had with Morris Air.

His answer, along with some of his other insights and comments gave me the impression that he was sincere and truthful in his statements to our group. Since then, I've never had a reason to change my mind about him and his motives. However, with that said, he is also a very smart businessman, and if the right set of conditions were present, he would sell the airline. This based purely on sound business reasons, if nothing else.

My guess is that when jetBlue goes public, it will control the amount of float on the secondary market. In other words, the airline will probably hold at least 50% of the authorized shares in reserve, and not allow them to be traded publicly. This would be an easy way to circumvent a potential hostile takeover.

 

[profile]

No great mystery. When companies start out it's a team effort, with employees going above and beyond to make it work. Small enough so the senior management can take the time to thank people on an individual basis or do other things to keep things close and personal. As the company grows and becomes established, management is not in the trenches as much (if at all) and the employees come to expect some "payback" for the previous hard work. From then on it gets less friendly.

 

[backflip]

My uncle was the VP of Flight Ops at Morris Air prior to Neeleman selling out to SWA. He worked very closely with Neeleman and they remain friends to this day. When I asked my uncle what his thoughts were about JetBlue and the possibility of Neeleman selling out in the future he believes that it won't happen. He said that Neeleman has told him on several occasions that selling Morris Air was a mistake. Neeleman appears to be the real deal on JetBlue. My uncle believes that jetBlue will be around a long time. When you look at thier financial backing and their tremendous start, with Sept 11 not even really phasing them, I'd have to agree with my uncle that jetBlue is here to stay (for the long term).

 

[dgs]

jetBlue here to stay

backflip -- Thanks for the inside view. That's really great news. From my perspective I'm glad Neelman made a fresh start with jetBlue because it gives him the opportunity to do it even better than Morris Air could ever have been. I know he and a few close friends spent several years thinking up EXACTLY what they wanted to do with jetBlue while he was waiting for his non-competition agreement with SWA to expire. I'm sure that kind of vision and strategic planning will be critical to the success of jetBlue. -- dgs