I’ve thrown a few punches at Virgin America lately and their seeming cowardice when it comes to flying the markets they said they would fly.  Over the past few weeks, each time I’ve done so, I’ve realized that, in many respects, the same applies to jetBlue. 

David Neeleman has been gone for nearly 3 years and I see an airline that is kind of stagnate.  I’ll grant that times have been hard for the past 2 years but it’s notable that the airlines who’ve seen profits even in those times are the ones who have grown, not contracted.  They are the ones who had some vision to risk some new routes, not contract and play it safe. 

jetBlue, as an airline, has always impressed me with their courage and their vision.  They started in markets where there was more than adequate service and they made a difference not just because they were an LCC charging the lowest fair but because they developed an immediate and exceptional reputation for how they treated their customers.  Their amentities were innovative but it was how jetBlue valued you as a customer that won people over.

But where is that risk and vision and, frankly, customer treatment today?  The Cranky Flier recently had a post on their new food offerings.  You can read that HERE.   It really is illustrative of just exactly how jetBlue has evolved in the past 3 years.  They aren’t competing, they’re now simply matching what other airlines have to offer and holding on to what they have instead of growing themselves into markets where they genuinely have something to offer.

If an airline has the courage to get started in the New York City area and compete on some of the most important routes out of that area (and other major metro areas) and succeed, shouldn’t we see that as a successful model for the future?  jetBlue appears to now be sidestepping any opportunities to compete and instead defend their marketshare.

A partnership with American Airlines is a visionary step?  Really? 

I think it hardly surprises us that the stock price of jetBlue isn’t reflecting its former glory anymore.

How about coming down to DFW airport, setting up shop in Terminal E and going head to head with AA and Southwest.  If you can win in New York, you can win here. 

Instead, I read about “possible” nerd routes between Austin and San Jose.  C’mon jetBlue, you’re on the East Coast and the West Coast and down in the Caribbean.  Is it really possible that you’re afraid to enter into markets like Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, DFW or Houston?  And by enter, I don’t mean a couple of flights to your hub cities.  You have one of the best service products around (although it has been eroded some) and it’s time to find new focus cities and quite ignoring the middle US hub cities.  You can play there if you have some vision and courage.

One thing I’ll say about Southwest over the past 2 years is that they haven’t been afraid to explore opportunities.  Even as they slowed their growth, they still sought out opportunities and took on some risk to make things happen.  I’m not advocating that any airline bet the farm on anything.  I am, however, advocating that LCC’s like jetBlue and VirginAmerica really aren’t engaging where they can play and compete and I wonder what’s holding them back these days. 

I speculate often about that and I do wonder if it isn’t the CEO’s of those two companies.  Both Dave Barger and David Cush have long and significant histories at legacy airlines.  Continental and American Airlines respectively.   It can be very hard to break habits you learn at that kind of airline.  They’re both much more suited to a Chief Operating Officer role than a CEO role in my opinion and the boards of directors at both airlines could stand to start looking for someone who isn’t tied to “that’s how we do it in this business”.  A new David Neeleman or Herb Kelleher is what leads those airlines to the next level.  They’re out there, you just have to find them.

Sean Menke might just be available, it is certainly worth calling him.

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