Blue Streak: Inside jetBlue, the Upstart that Rocked an Industry - Hardcover

Peterson, Barbara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1591840589 ISBN 13: 9781591840589

Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover, 2004

Synopsis

Describes the evolution of JetBlue from an upstart underdog into a revolutionary company that has transformed the aviation business, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the company's unusual corporate culture, its leadership and management principles, and innovative approach to business. 50,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

Barbara S. Peterson is a contributing editor at Condé Nast Traveler and the coauthor of Rapid Descent: Deregulation and the Shakeout in the Airlines. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, New York Post, and San Francisco Chronicle; she has also written travel scripts for CNBC and National Public Radio.

Reviews

This compact and cogent study of JetBlue is also a biography of its founder, David Neeleman. Neeleman had experience with local airlines and Southwestern, as well as contact with Virgin Atlantic's buccaneering Richard Branson, when he decided in the late '90s to found his own discount airline, now the most successful low-cost carrier since Southwestern. JetBlue has had its ups and downs—9/11 was handled extremely well; on the other hand, a major breach of security put passenger data into the hands of government security investigators. The carrier has also been subjected to major and, the author says, not overly scrupulous competitive tactics from its leading rival, Delta. On the business side, Peterson, Condé Nast Traveler contributing editor, focuses on how ossified the traditional major carriers had become and how thoroughly they had tended to reduce their passengers (whom JetBlue calls "customers") into servants of existing regulations, rather than make regulations and procedures serve the customers. The book is also full of contextual snapshots, including the sad state of New York's JFK airport, which JetBlue is trying to make a significant domestic hub again. While not quite hagiographic, the book lauds Peterson for working hard to implement a more congenial solution to air travel's dilemmas; many readers will agree and relish the details.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1591840589
• ISBN 13: 9781591840589
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288