Shoestring Marketing: JetBlue went from take-off to high flier through service

Alf Nucifora is an Atlanta-based marketing consultant.

In an insightful interview with Gareth Jones, vice president of corporate communications at JetBlue, I got the inside scoop on why the airline has done so well to date and shows no sign of losing its edge. Here's what he had to say.

Question: Where did the name JetBlue come from?

Answer: The airline industry is poorly branded in this country. When you think of American or United, what's their brand image? Mostly, just big. So, taking a leaf from Europe, we were looking for a brand that really meant something but also countered the perceived stigma of flying a low-fare carrier. If you think back to the 90s, no one ever talked about a low-fare airline by name. If you bought a cheap ticket on Tower or Kiwi or ValuJet, you probably said "I got a really cheap ticket to Florida." You didn't say, "Hey, guess what? I'm flying Cheapo Air!" because it was one of those situations where you gave up a bunch of benefits to get that cheap ticket, whether it was on-time performance, service or product quality. We set out to change that by really focusing on what the product and the brand would mean to people. We differentiated the product above and beyond price.

There are very few low-fare, start-up carriers that have been successful. There are understandable reasons why they fail. They start out with insufficient capital. Ultimately, it's a very competitive industry, and if you build your business plan on the premise that flying from X to Y costs $1,000 and we're going to do it for $200, it's a short-lived strategy because the incumbent carriers who fly from X to Y lower their fares to match yours. At the end of the day, if customers see that they can either fly a big, incumbent, well-known carrier with loads of planes and frequent flyer miles, or this lesser-known new guy, at the same price, then why fly the new guy? So, taking that lesson to the extreme, we said, "OK, how do we differentiate our product and our brand so that when the big guys match our fares (as they did from day one), people will still choose JetBlue?" The product part was easy. We started out with a lot of capital invested in new planes better seats, in-flight TV generated a lot of excitement. But, the brand differentiation was just as important. We said, "People hate airlines. They're right on the list with lawyers, the post office, telephone companies it's one of the 10 most hated industries. How do we solve that?" And, we just listened to what people wanted. Be nice, be flexible, be on time and be comfortable. That's the heart of it. Be surprising. Try new things. But overall, be what the rest aren't.

Q: Give me the defining culture of the organization

A: "Bringing humanity back to the airline industry." It initially seemed grandiose and a bit ambitious. But, bringing humanity back is the ultimate strategy. It's friendliness, flexibility and caring. So, you look at a $25 change fee vs. $100, someone who will let you stand-by on any flight that day, it's humanity. That's been our guiding mantra. It's not just about TVs and who's got the newest planes and the biggest engines. It's also about who can look after you better.

Q: If I'm a customer and I'm getting on a JetBlue flight for the first time, what's the difference?

A: Someone looks you in the eye. How many times have you gotten on a plane and the flight attendants are standing in the back and nobody cares? We have pilots and flight attendants at the front of the plane who say, "Hi. Welcome. Can I help you find your seat?" Our flight attendants actually put people's luggage in the overheads. At the airport, our procedures are flexible and customer-focused. If we can bend a rule to make the experience better, we'll do it. When you're on-board, it's an interaction. For example, we've banished the food trolleys. The flight attendant will take ordersit's not just "Coke. Next!" And the snacks are unlimited; take what you like. We have snack baskets with five or six different items. Take two or three.

Q: If I tell you to go out tomorrow and find 3,000 new employees, who would you steal from? Not necessarily an airline.

A: It's preferred that every new hire have some level of customer service experience. We get people from all walks those just out of college mothers returning to work. Ironically, a surprising chunk of our flight attendants are ex-firefighters and police officers. It's targeted selection hiring in search of candidates who went beyond the call and did something extraordinary for a customer. If you can't think of the last time you did something nice for someone that wasn't expected, you probably won't be hired here.