trying to back off from being excessively nice, to just giving really good service,"

[G4G5]

trying to back off from being excessively nice, to just giving really good service,"

JetBlue CFO: Goal Is Return To Profitability
By ANN KEETON
May 10, 2006 3:14 p.m.

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRESCHICAGO -- To increase revenue, JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) is "trying to back off from being excessively nice, to just giving really good service," John Owen, chief financial officer, said Wednesday.
Speaking at a Bear Stearns Global Transportation conference, which was broadcast over the Internet, Owen said the low-cost airline's main goal is to return to profitability, following two quarters of financial losses, which it blamed on high fuel prices. "We're going back and reassessing everything we've ever done," Owen said. That includes a move to stop waiving too many $25 ticket-change fees. It's permissible, he said, for JetBlue employees to ask customers if they are willing to pay a little more for what they get, although service levels won't decline.
Owen said JetBlue plans to add some amenities to generate more revenue on its flights, such as a better-quality wine than is usually offered on airlines.
Initiatives to add revenue and cut costs should improve 2006 results by $70 million, Owen said.
Plans to improve revenue management include cutting the frequency of some flights, and eliminating the cheapest tickets. A focus on medium-priced tickets would likely cut load factors - the number of filled seats per plane. That, in turn, would save on fuel cost by lowering the weight of the aircraft.
JetBlue has also cut management costs by eliminating or reassigning some jobs. Owen said unnecessary perks for employees, even Blackberries, will have to go. "We're eliminating 50% of the mobile electronic devices in the company," Owen said.
"We've made some very significant adjustments" to cope with fuel costs that have tripled since 2000, Owen said. "If that's not enough, we'll do more."

 

[radarlove]

I remember the stories about "free pizza for everybody" when there were weather delays in JFK--it even made the news, with people wondering why all the airlines can't treat their customers that way.

Well, because you end up giving away your profit to your customers. You're loved, but you don't make any money. Airlines aren't charities.

I think it's pretty funny they're taking away 50% of the Blackberries. I wonder who gets to keep theirs?

 

[HighSpeedClimb]

"We've made some very significant adjustments" to cope with fuel costs that have tripled since 2000, Owen said. "If that's not enough, we'll do more."

Next up....Flight crew cuts Welcome to our world

 

[ferlo]

Next up....Flight crew cuts Welcome to our world

No Kidding, what's this "We" sh*t, they mean to say " the flight crews will pay for it".

 

[calfo]

A focus on medium-priced tickets would likely cut load factors - the number of filled seats per plane. That, in turn, would save on fuel cost by lowering the weight of the aircraft.

I laughed out loud at this... I'll bet the bean counters think they'll make millions if the planes were empty.

 

[coogebeachhotel]

I laughed out loud at this... I'll bet the bean counters think they'll make millions if the planes were empty.

Ok so I guess they should give away seats so that the plane is full that will make millions

 

[Saabslime]

Owen said JetBlue plans to add some amenities to generate more revenue on its flights, such as a better-quality wine than is usually offered on airlines.

Sounds like they're starting to grasp at straws to me.

 

[Dizel8]

Well, who knows what will happen, but I think it is better than what some airlines have done.

Free Pizza is not the problem, heck, you can feed an entire airplane for a hundred bucks or so, depending on where you are.

The bigger problem was things free standby on earlier flight, people bought a cheaper ticket on a later flight, but showed up early, purposely to get on the earlier flight. Or refunding non refundable tickets, because the customer found a cheaper flight on another carrier.

Compared to a lot of businesses, jetblue bent over backwards for the customer, maybe a bit too far and clearly that was/is reflected on the bottom line.

 

[Dizel8]

Sounds like they're starting to grasp at straws to me.

Hey now, it might be better than the grape swill LCC serves!

 

[clickclickboom]

refunds

Well, who knows what will happen, but I think it is better than what some airlines have done.

Free Pizza is not the problem, heck, you can feed an entire airplane for a hundred bucks or so, depending on where you are.

The bigger problem was things free standby on earlier flight, people bought a cheaper ticket on a later flight, but showed up early, purposely to get on the earlier flight. Or refunding non refundable tickets, because the customer found a cheaper flight on another carrier.

Compared to a lot of businesses, jetblue bent over backwards for the customer, maybe a bit too far and clearly that was/is reflected on the bottom line.

Jetblue was refunding nearly $80,000 a day in tickets for various reasons.. Typical scenario: Family emergency miss a flight or traffic on the van wyck call up jb and out of the kindness of their heart jb would refund or reassign the tickets.. I have heard the limit was now going to be $30,000 per day.. still pretty generous for a company that sells non refundable tickets..

In addition as stated above people were going online buying the $89 ticket and showing up for the flight that had the $249 ticket and flying stby for free.. The $25 change fee will account for literally ten of thousands of additional revenue per day..

The company is smart and everyone works as a team that is why small adjustments can make a hige difference in their bottom line..

 

[FlyPig]

Taking away Blackberries

If they're taking away blackberries and reducing management, I know a certain useless sh!tbag ACP for newhires that needs careful consideration!

 

[Gofish]

Donald Burr and People's Express.

History repeats itself.

 

[labbats]

It's sad to see a company that went too far in trying to help people is going to have to change that to compete.

Unfortunately I think it's just a matter of time before they ask the individual pilots to take a paycut after their 5 year contracts are up or hit the road.

 

[SpeedBird]

Donald Burr and People's Express.

History repeats itself.

Wow, what insight!

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of dung that keeps getting recycled on this board by the numberless legions of ignorant indivduals like yourself. Next time try to use some original thinking, combined with honest research to provide an opinion worth reading. :smash:

 

[Lake Alice]

Donald Burr and People's Express.

History repeats itself.

Another idiot repeating a conversation about "facts" overheard in a crew room.

Junior, when you truly know what happened, have factual information and can quote those facts then come back to the board with something other that idle ramblings of lost or never had knowledge.

You must be related to 32!

 

[32LT10]

lake Alice,

What happened at PEX? They were the darlings, based at EWR and packed it up after an overly optimistic growth plan. They came, they made some noise and they went......straight to Frank Lorenzo.

Standing by for the clarification. I am sure in your vast experience (4000 hours as stated) you know exactly what happened back then. Heck I am still carrying the same flight bag from when PEX was in service.

 

[Lake Alice]

If you are still carrying the same bag all that proves is that you are as ignorant now as you were then. As for your experience vs mine, history is based on fact and not your distorted perception of reality.

Try looking back at routes, types of aircraft, reservation systems, management styles, supporting management personell, etc...

But then again, you know everything.

Moron!!!!

 

[Bringupthebird]

If you're losing money because fares ar too low, you can't expect a full airplane to pay the bills. Raising fares a little will lower load factor in the short term, but it will bounce back as customers adjust. They have established themselves as a pretty good value even at a few dollars more. I think the E-190 strategy was to use these airplanes to skim some lucrative markets (AUS, for instance) The problem is that their competitors now have labor costs that let them compete on price.

 

[MD80DRVR]

The good news is that our loads continue to be extremely high. I can't remember the last time I flew a flight with less than a 80% LF. I was also on a flight just a few weeks ago where we bought pizza for the entire plane due to a mechanical delay. Captains still have the authority to do this whenever they see fit. It's pretty easy to make folks happy with pizza and TV.

 

[SpeedBird]

Quote from 32LT10:

"Standing by for the clarification. I am sure in your vast experience (4000 hours as stated) you know exactly what happened back then."

Well now...how predictable. Mr. skygod with his insurmountable and lofty 14,000 hours of flying time is going to look down his pompous nose at the mere mortals "beneath" him with anything less as imbeciles who are not worthy to be in the same room with him.

I have a question for you Mr. Skygod...when did you stop putting your pants on one leg at a time?

WTFAY to question Lake Alice's position with regard to the similarities, or the lack thereof, between JBLU and PEX. Why should someone's total flying hours make a difference as to their knowledge of the issue? The history of PEX and its downfall is well documented and one that certainly Lake Alice or anyone else didn't have to live through in order to have a good command of the facts (you're living proof that it didn't help your understanding of what happened).

Your post doesn't do anything for your cause except to show once again that the 10% rule is alive and well.

 

[elag777]

If they're taking away blackberries and reducing management, I know a certain useless sh!tbag ACP for newhires that needs careful consideration!

You must be an "ex" IA person that was shot down huh? or one of those stupid people disguised as normal people that think they will have to do a carpet dance in the ACP's office for an unstable approach!

 

[Big Slick]

Lake Alice,

Hard Landing Excerpt:

Of all these low-cost carriers, People Express was, in early 1985, the greatest threat by far. But People Express was also perhaps the most vulnerable. Barbara Amster of the American pricing department considered People Express “the guys with the Southwest Airlines philosophy but without the brains of Southwest.” More aptly, perhaps, Don Burr and People Express had all the great ideas of Herb Kelleher and Southwest Airlines, but lacked their discipline. Either way, People Express had to die. As Crandall’s planning chief, Don Carty, would one day proudly explain, “We devised the fare structure that put them out of business.”

American had out – People Expressed People Express. Because he had no computer systems and no yield management, Don Burr would have to offer every seat on any given flight at the price Bob Crandall was offering on a fraction of his.

Within minutes of American’s announcement, all airline stocks plunged; investors braced themselves for the bloodiest fare war ever.

To Don Burr it was as if a bull’s eye had been painted over his likeness.

“This is it!” he cried, slamming the newspaper down on the desk of one of his marketing executives. “This is a shot across our bow! If we don’t invent a way to deal with this, we’re history! We’re going to be dead meat!”

And - whump! – just like that, the losses mounted at People Express. Twenty million dollars in a matter of weeks, a tide of red ink such as People Express had never experienced. The panic worsened.

Worst of all, Burr was dying at the thought that the mystique shrouding Peoples Express was now evaporating. The red ink forced him to withhold profit sharing. The stock price was plunging. Soon there were union organizers at his doorstep. Burr imagined his employees turning on him, the pilots in particular. He heard them referring to the precepts as “Kool-Aid,” – the poison spiked beverage that the demonic cult leader Jim Jones had used to conduct a mass suicide a few years earlier in the jungles of Guyana. Burr imagined his pilots in their cockpits asking one another, “Have you had your Kool-Aid today?”

 

[j41driver]

...just a matter of time before they ask the individual pilots to take a paycut...

They have to ask??

 

[regionaltard]

They have to ask??

Is it really asking if they already know what the answer has to be?

 

[brainhurts]

How much did United lose last quarter? Now thats a well run ship. I get people all the time stop me and tell me how much they love JetBlue's product. I think it is in a different league than People's. I may be wrong, but if this company sinks, it will be with dignity. It is definately not a "running scared" attitude at B6. Just jumpseating home off line tonight I was wondering how this particular (un named) airline stays in business with the poor customer service and lack of leadership. Make all the comparisons you want with Peoples--I just do not think they are fair. Also, ALPA can kiss my A$$ and HARD LANDINGS is a well written piece of union propaganda swill.

 

[AAflyer]

How much did United lose last quarter? Now thats a well run ship. I get people all the time stop me and tell me how much they love JetBlue's product. I think it is in a different league than People's. I may be wrong, but if this company sinks, it will be with dignity. It is definately not a "running scared" attitude at B6. Just jumpseating home off line tonight I was wondering how this particular (un named) airline stays in business with the poor customer service and lack of leadership. Make all the comparisons you want with Peoples--I just do not think they are fair. Also, ALPA can kiss my A$$ and HARD LANDINGS is a well written piece of union propaganda swill.

I think you meant to say Flying the Line is a union rag. Hard Landing was not written for any union.

AA

 

[Bavarian Chef]

lake Alice,

What happened at PEX? They were the darlings, based at EWR and packed it up after an overly optimistic growth plan. They came, they made some noise and they went......straight to Frank Lorenzo.

Standing by for the clarification. I am sure in your vast experience (4000 hours as stated) you know exactly what happened back then. Heck I am still carrying the same flight bag from when PEX was in service.

Give me a break. How much of that 14K plus is on the autopilot? What, you fly to 10,000 feet and then again from 1,000 feet? That must be GOBS of stick time. Leave Alice alone.

 

[brainhurts]

I think you meant to say Flying the Line is a union rag. Hard Landing was not written for any union.

AA

Doh. (Grandpa Simpson kicked in)

 

[AA717driver]

I still have my flight bag from when PEX was alive. Does that make me ignorant?

Reading about an event and being there are two vastly different things. If someone was at PEX during the slide to its purchase by Lorenzo, could they please comment on this discussion?

In 32LT's defense (which is rare for me... ) if he didn't work at PEX, he was probably somewhere watching on the sidelines. That's a better vantage than reading about it.

That's like someone who was in high school in the early 90's trying to tell me what happened at PanAm at the end because they "read the book".

Hopefully, we can hear from someone at PEX who might be able to relate events there to things at JB now and put this issue to rest.TC

P.S.--Bavarian Chef--Your comments belittling 32LT's flight time are inappropriate. You sound like a member of a management negotiating team. Remember: If you're flying an A320 then ALL your flight time is on autopilot...

 

[bluejuice787]

I still have my flight bag from when PEX was alive. Does that make me ignorant?

Reading about an event and being there are two vastly different things. If someone was at PEX during the slide to its purchase by Lorenzo, could they please comment on this discussion?

In 32LT's defense (which is rare for me... ) if he didn't work at PEX, he was probably somewhere watching on the sidelines. That's a better vantage than reading about it.

That's like someone who was in high school in the early 90's trying to tell me what happened at PanAm at the end because they "read the book".

Hopefully, we can hear from someone at PEX who might be able to relate events there to things at JB now and put this issue to rest.TC

P.S.--Bavarian Chef--Your comments belittling 32LT's flight time are inappropriate. You sound like a member of a management negotiating team. Remember: If you're flying an A320 then ALL your flight time is on autopilot...

I was young when PEX was flying, however, I have attempted to research some of the reasons why they failed. Also, I can see why it is easy draw superficial comparisons between JB and PEX...

PEX had rappid growth/ JB has rappid growth.

PEX had revenue issues/ JB has revenue issues.

PEX was hyped by the media/ JB is hyped by the media.

Beyond that there is very little similar with the exception of flying aircraft.

Did you know that at Peoples express the flight attendants were charged with collecting fares? Did you know that millions of those dollars went missing and is presumed to have been taken by the employees. There was little or no accounting system for the very stream of monies that was the lifeline of the company. There was no modeling of yield and certainly no computer usage to help determine best fare.

JB on the other hand has top managers (some are just now being acquired) to predict and utilize high yield markets. We are in the process of tweaking our model on a daily basis to capture these markets. Our costs, while rising modestly, are the lowest in the business.

Did you know that PEX wanted to fly international so bad that they acquired 747 classics very early on before they had a solid domestic custome base? It does not take too many trips across the country, not to mention the pond, with low yield to spell disaster.

JB on the other hand broke everyones hearts by acquiring E190's. They are the most fuel efficient, segment perfect a/c on the market today.

Unlike PEX, JB has had the advantage of 911, 19 major airlines (of which 40+% were or are in BK protection), internet fares, oh, and fuel.

Oh and wait, one last thing that separates us...we are still here.

Juice