Jetblue Airways Corporation: Getting over the 'Blues'?

Author: Naga Damaraju, Ph.D.

Publication: Strategic Management: Text and Cases. (2021) Dess, G.G., McNamara, G., Eisner, A.B., and Lee, S.H. (10th edition), McGraw Hill.

Publication Date: January 2021

Abstract:
JetBlue had been established with the goal of being a leading low-fare passenger airline that offered customers a differentiated product and high-quality customer service on point-to-point routes. The mission of the company, according to founder David Neeleman, was “to bring humanity back to air travel.” For several years in a row, JetBlue had enjoyed low fuel prices that had helped increase the company’s earnings, but the company experienced technical issues that caused booking problems and resulted in delays, as well as bad publicity. JetBlue had been facing challenges that included rising fuel prices, troubling technical disruptions, and declining quality of the flying experience. As of 2019, while JetBlue’s core mission to Inspire Humanity and its differentiated model of serving underserved customers remains unchanged,” there was a substantial tradeoff between travel experience and profit margins . Would JetBlue be able to hold onto its core mission and still be able to make its stakeholders happy? Investors wondered if JetBlue really had a strong and clear strategic position and coherent business model to support it. This case helps evaluate these growth dilemmas and challenges.