JetBlue founder takes low-fare airline to new heights
(CNN) -- While most of the airline industry wrestled with turbulent times after the September 11 terrorist attacks, CEO David Neeleman navigated JetBlue into one of the most remarkable success stories in modern American aviation.
In less than four years, Neeleman has transformed JetBlue from a start-up airline with two planes and one route to a low-fare powerhouse with more than 57 planes servicing 24 cities. In 2003, while several established carriers staggered under huge losses, JetBlue earned more than $100 million.
Based at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, JetBlue is known for live satellite television, leather seats and one-class service.
"A lot of airlines, by creating a first-class cabin, squash everyone else in the back," Neeleman explained. "So 12 people are happy ... and the rest of the people are miserable. We don't think that's the way to run an airline."
In an annual survey of air travelers by researchers at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Wichita State University, JetBlue had the highest quality rating of any airline in the United States.
To help maintain that quality of service, Neeleman, 43, flies on at least one flight a week during which he works with the crew to pick up garbage and vacuum the cabins, among other duties.
"I do it every week regardless if there is a camera there or not," Neeleman said. "And I do if for a couple of reasons -- number one, to stay in touch and listen to what our customers are saying.
"The other reason I do it is because I want our crew members to appreciate what they are doing, and I am not above doing their job and hanging out with them."
The son of a foreign correspondent for a wire service, Neeleman was born in Brazil and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. In his youth, he worked at his grandfather's grocery store, where he said he learned the value of good customer service.
Later, he returned to Brazil as a Mormon missionary, administering aid to the poor in favellas, or poverty-stricken shack communities of Brazil's cities.
"I would not be the CEO of JetBlue if I had not had that experience," he said. "JetBlue today is, hopefully, a better company because it has a better leader. Because it has a leader that really cares about people. And I learned about that when I was in the favellas as a 19-year-old boy."
A college dropout, Neeleman entered the business world selling time-shares in condominiums. That led to several successful ventures in the travel industry, including a stint at Southwest Airlines, the pioneer of the current low-fare carrier business.
In 1999 Neeleman created JetBlue, and the company quickly took off as he implemented some unorthodox executive ideas.
Neeleman calls all employees "crew members" and has instituted a no-layoff policy. JetBlue's reservations agents are based out of their homes, where they are better able to combine work and family -- and save the company money on office space.
A father of nine children, Neeleman said he still gets a thrill out of his job and going to work every day.
"If I don't love coming to work, then I'm not going to be effective. I want people to love what they do," he said. "One of my biggest goals with JetBlue is that ... I want people to wake up in the morning and say, 'I get to go to work today, I love my job, I'm respected. People care about me there.'"
