JetBlue Airlines 2003 Annual Report Download - page 2

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During the year, we moved forward on several training initiatives for our crewmembers. We
announced plans for a new campus in Orlando, Florida for our training department, known as JetBlue
University. The campus will house our Colleges of Flight, Inflight and Technical Operations, with
construction having begun in 2004.
In addition, JetBlue University launched Principles of Leadership (POL), our in-house leadership
development curriculum. POL 101 educated over 700 of JetBlue’s leaders, including captains, and POL
201 will be required training for all leaders in 2004. Not surprisingly, our airline promotes an ethic of
leadership in all that we do based on the following five leadership principles: Treat Your People Right,
Communicate with Your Team, Inspire Greatness in Others, Encourage Initiative & Innovation and Do
the Right Thing.
Our culture is clearly vital to our success in taking care of our customers. As we continue to grow,
we will only sharpen our focus on strengthening the company culture, as we work to keep the feel of
our airline small. We are determined to get better as we get bigger.
Following our focus on people and performance, our prosperity metrics were also quite impressive
in the context of another very challenging year in the U.S. aviation industry. During 2003, we achieved
net income of $103.9 million and enjoyed the highest operating margin of all major U.S. airlines at
16.9%. Further, our fourth quarter in 2003 was our twelfth consecutive quarter of profitability,
including eight straight quarters of double-digit operating margins.
We maintained our constant vigilance on costs as we reported an industry leading cost per
available seat mile of 6.08 cents. This performance, of course, was attained with a relentless focus on
our number one value, Safety, and with a deep respect for the well-being of our customers and
crewmembers. Our crewmembers received nearly $31 million in profit sharing retirement distributions
in 2003 as our profit sharing formula of 15% of pre-tax earnings was distributed to those who delivered
‘‘The JetBlue experience’’ over the year.
In 2003 we opened two new locations—San Diego and Atlanta. As the industry landscape changed
during the year, we made the difficult decision to close Atlanta. This was decided with our stockholders
in mind as we hold firm to our commitment as stewards of your money to maximize returns on your
investments.
We have already opened two new locations in 2004—Boston and Sacramento. In addition, we have
announced plans to open San Jose, CA; Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; New York’s LaGuardia Airport and
our first international service—Santiago and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (subject to receipt of
government operating authority). As has always been our strategy, we will continue to add flights
between existing cities as ‘‘connecting the dots’’ remains one of the most cost effective means to add
capacity.
We added 16 new Airbus A320 aircraft to the fleet in 2003 and announced an additional order for
65 new Airbus A320 aircraft with options for an additional 50. JetBlue once again took a leadership
position by announcing a firm order for 100 new EMBRAER E190 jets and options for 100 additional
aircraft. Our airline will be the world-wide launch customer for the new 100-seat E190 jet in 2005 and
we are already hard at work planning for its seamless integration later in 2005.
The E190 jet will allow us to open smaller markets that are in need of price stimulation and will
be a marvelous addition to our current fleet as we schedule aircraft to better meet the travel needs of
our customers. This new aircraft will offer the same spacious feel and onboard products of our Airbus
fleet, including our LiveTV system, which will remain a key attribute of our product offering.
As we look forward to the expansion of our fleet, we are carefully investing in the infrastructure
necessary to support future growth. During 2003, we began construction of a new aircraft maintenance
hangar and technical support facility at JFK. Additionally, we continue to work with our partners at the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey toward the construction of a new terminal at JFK airport
to serve as our future home in New York City.