Blue Streak: Inside jetBlue, the Upstart that Rocked an Industry (Paperback)

by Barbara Peterson (Author) "At around 6:30 on the evening of November 17, 2000, David Neeleman headed down the concourse at Salt Lake City Airport to await an incoming..." (more)
Key Phrases: jetblue flight, big airlines, new airline, New York, David Neeleman, Salt Lake (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
The definitive, behind-the-scenes story of the most innovative airline in America

A few years ago, an unknown entrepreneur named David Neeleman uprooted his wife and nine kids from Utah to New York, dreaming of a bold new company that would make jaded travelers fall in love with flying again. Barbara S. Peterson has been reporting on JetBlue since the "Jet who?" days when few outsiders believed in the company. Drawing on exclusive interviews with more than seventy-five insiders, from mechanics on the tarmac to the CEO, she weaves together a dynamic story of how JetBlue has blended outstanding customer service, inspirational leadership, savvy marketing, and disciplined financial management to come out on top.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Trade (February 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591841119
• ISBN-13: 978-1591841111
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #686,065 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wild Blue Yonder, March 15, 2005

By	sfarmer76 "sfarmer76" (Savannah, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Streak: Inside jetBlue, the Upstart that Rocked an Industry (Hardcover)

Blue Streak: Inside jetBlue, the Upstart That Rocked an Industry, $24.95 US, written by Barbara S. Peterson, is about the history of United States airliners, but more specifically a single company - jetBlue - the most successful discount airline in history.

Barbara C. Peterson does an admirable job of profiling David Neeleman, the somewhat unconventional CEO of jetBlue. We get his family history, tidbits about his upbringing in Brazil and Utah, and some personal anecdotes about both his early attention deficit disorder and his unabashed missionary work. Peterson then drags out the fact that Neeleman was a third year dropout from the University of Utah and had two children before he ever tasted one iota of financial success. But being a college drop-out hasn't hampered Neeleman, who simply followed his hearts desire and found a way to soar.

Neeleman had a natural gift for numbers, and proved to be excellent at sales. In 1982, he started tracking the potential of the airline industry after delving into a long article that he found in the Wall Street Journal. Eventually Neeleman would back into his opportunity, but only after operating a successful packaged tour business that suddenly imploded in late 1983 when Hawaii Express declared bankruptcy, and took his growing agency down in the process. Unable to refund a substantial number of deposits, Neeleman's first startup was forced into bankruptcy.

From the ashes of that debacle, he formed Morris Air after working under travel agency CEO June Morris. By the late 80's, June was the first female CEO in aviation history, and Morris Air - under Neeleman's watch - was a successful airline. At least on paper. The fledgling enterprise existed as a public charter out of Salt Lake, where Morris leased all planes and crews, but they faced competitive disadvantages. Money handling rules were strict, they couldn't accept credit card payments, and they had to keep all funds in segregated escrow accounts. Their advertising also failed to mention their charter status. This drew the ire of both regulators in Washington D.C. and Alaska Airlines, whose home turf Morris was squeezing.

Needleman dodged controversy, and with the aid of Tom Kelly, the hamstrung charter received certification to fly as a fully scheduled airline anywhere in the USA. However, less than a year later, Neeleman was stunned when the airline he built from scratch was sold out from under him - to Herb Kelleher's Southwest.

What Neeleman thought of as an opportunity to join forces with Southwest, devolved into a disaster as the two boardroom tribes clashed and were at each others throats. Kelleher fired David and Neeleman retreated to Salt Lake with his growing family (and $25M) during the Summer of 1994. Neeleman faced a quandary at this point, for Kelleher had tricked David into signing a five year No Compete when Southwest absorbed Morris.

To get around this legal straightjacket, he incorporated a small company named Open Skies, which sold electronic ticketing and reservations software that he'd developed while nurturing Morris. (Neeleman later sold this to HP, and became their best client.) Eager to soar again, Neeleman joined a group of Calgary investors that wanted to challenge Air Canada. David thought it was the best revenge. He got to launch another startup, and was well North of Kelleher's legal reach. The new airline christened WestJet launched in 1996. Neeleman felt alive again, but he was only biding his time.

When the No Compete expired, David worked the phones and started talking up investors. He'd assembled a "Dream Team" in his mind. He'd meld executives from Kelleher's Southwest and Branson's Virgin into a cohesive whole. Southwest because he had something to prove to Kelleher, and Virgin because they had a very strong name brand. Neeleman had that familiar startup itch, and he had to scratch it. He'd been formulating his plan while he sat on the sidelines those five years, and he was ready to shake everything up. And thus jetBlue was hatched.

I really enjoyed this one Barbara, a great read!



The Book:
Blue Streak: Inside jetBlue, the Upstart That Rocked an Industry,
Portfolio Hardcover 2005
(Portfolio, a business imprint of Penguin)

Pages:
233 Pages
262 Pages including the epilogue and endnotes.

Rating:
4 Stars

Chapter Titles:
01. Flying Home
02. Love Field
03. The Virgins
04. Building Blue
05. Paper Airline
06. Air Born
07. 9/11
08. Blue Envy
09. jetblue u
10. welcome to my world


If You Like Blue Streak You Might Enjoy:
Flying High
No Frills
Ryanair
Flying Off Course
Simpli-Flying

Visit the Official Websites:
www.penguin.com

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A look at David Neeleman, jetBlue CEO, and his airline, February 11, 2005

By	Warren Goldstein (Minneapolis, Minnesota United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Blue Streak: Inside jetBlue, the Upstart that Rocked an Industry (Hardcover)

When I bought this book, I was skeptical at first on how much I would like it. Well, it turns out I absolutely loved it.

I picked this up because I have an interest in aviation, and had a desire to learn about jetBlue. This book looks at David Neeleman, the CEO of jetBlue, and how he came to make a successful upstart airline, that as the title states, "Rocked an Industry."

From his past experience in the aviation field, to every little nook & cranny of detail on how he founded jetBlue, this book has it all. This is a very interesting read as jetBlue isn't the average airline, it's an airline designed to be customer friendly.

If you have ever wondered how jetBlue became a success, or how the airline came to be, this is the right book to pick up.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jet Blue Soars!, January 12, 2006

By	Alan L. Chase "Al Chase" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Blue Streak: Inside jetBlue, the Upstart that Rocked an Industry (Hardcover)

A Review of Blue Streak - Inside JetBlue, the Upstart That Rocked an Industry by Barbara S. Peterson

I knew that JetBlue was something special from the feedback I was hearing from friends and family members who had flown them. I began to understand how the upstart airline had achieved that success when I had a chance to meet the Founder, David Neeleman last year when he spoke at Harvard Business School. As I heard him speak, and then later when I had a chance to engage with him one-on-one, I sensed beneath the smooth and polished executive exterior a personal warmth and passion that embodies the vision of JetBlue - to build a low cost airline that delivers superior service and treats its customers and employees alike as persons of worth.

Neeleman loves to tell the story of an encounter with a Delta flight attendant who accosted him and accused him of: "stealing all the nice passengers." His retort: "No, they are the smart passenger; they know we'll treat them fair and give them a fair deal."

Barbara Peterson tells the story of the gestation and birth of JetBlue from the inside out. An experienced travel writer, she involved herself in the lives of the JetBlue leaders and immersed herself in the JetBlue experience to try to explain to herself and her readers why so many individuals have "drunk the blue Kool-aid"!

One of the most gripping stories that encapsulates much of what makes JetBlue unique in the airline industry is the story of how JetBlue employees at New York's Kennedy Airport responded to the unfolding events on 9/11/2001.

"Doreen Lawrence, head of in-flight, was driving west on the Grand Central Parkway when the news came over the radio. She was heading toward Connecticut with Brian Manubay, an in-flight manager. . . They were halfway across the Whitestone Bridge to the Bronx when they realized they had to get to JFK fast. . . They got to the airport ten minutes later, just before all access to the airfield was closed off. The found Terminal Six packed with passengers, many of whom were not holding tickets on JetBlue flights but, rather, had been expelled from other terminals. Most airlines had shut the doors to their terminals so after the attacks on the advice of the Prot authority, which was acting prudently - who knew if other attackers were still at large? Several strandees told Manubay that a rumor had circulated at the airport that "if you go to JetBlue, they'll help you."

. . . An hour later, the Port Authority told JetBlue it, too, had to evacuate its terminal. Lawrence and Manubay made an announcement: All present, no matter whose customer they were, could go with them to a nearby airport motel, where they could stay until they had someplace else to go. For the next three days, the JetBlue pair slept on cots in the ballroom of a nearby Best Western, with hundreds of displaced fliers; no one, it seemed, could get out.

Lawrence had not needed to check with her superiors to approve this act of charity; early in the day Neeleman and Barger [Dave Barger, JetBlue President] had told anyone from the field who called in that they should just follow their conscience and no questions would ever be raised about the expense.

There were lighter moments as well. Al Spain [JetBlue's Chief Pilot], who was in Toronto at a meeting of airline safety directors the morning of the eleventh, had gotten back to New York by renting a car and driving nonstop for twenty hours. When he arrived in Queens, he'd gone to the airport to lend a hand. There were so many diverse passengers under JetBlue's wing at that point, he recalled, that they finally secured space in a motel some miles away for a tour group that was due to fly back to Europe on Delta as soon as service was restored. Their luggage was back at the airport, and so that they could have a change of clothes, Lawrence handed out JetBlue T-shirts to everyone. "So imagine how Delta feels when they see this huge group show up in JetBlue T-shirts because we - not they - took care of their passengers," Spain recalled (pages 143,144)

That is the kind of customer service that earns lifelong loyalty. I cannot wait to fasten my seat belt and taste the JetBlue experience.