JetBlue Airlines 2005 Annual Report Download - page 17

Our customer commitment is also demonstrated by our reliable operational performance. For the
year ended December 31, 2005, based on our data compared to the other major U.S. airlines:
• our completion factor of 99.2%was higher than any of the other major U.S. airlines, which
had an average completion factor of 98.2%, according to the DOT. We are committed to
operating flights whenever possible and not canceling; however, this philosophy, along with
operating at the three most congested and delay-prone airports in the U.S. (Newark,
LaGuardia and JFK), has affected our on-time performance, which at 71.4%was lower than
all but one major U.S. airline;
• our incidence of delayed, mishandled or lost bags of 4.06 per 1,000 customers was the lowest
as compared to other major U.S. airlines, which had an average of 6.24 delayed, mishandled
or lost bags per 1,000 customers, according to the DOT; and
• our rate of customer complaints to the DOT per 100,000 passengers of 0.29 was the second
lowest as compared to the other major U.S. airlines, which had an average of 0.95 complaints,
according to the DOT.
Safety and Security
We are dedicated to ensuring the safety and security of our customers and employees. We have
taken numerous measures, voluntarily and as required by regulatory authorities, to increase both the
safety and security of our operations.
Our ongoing focus on safety relies on hiring the best people, training them to proper standards,
and providing them with most advanced tools and equipment. Safety in the workplace targets five
areas of our operation: flight operations, maintenance, inflight, dispatch and customer service. Further,
we emphasize both occupational and environmental safety across our network. In 2005, we introduced
enhanced physical abilities testing for those workgroups at greatest risk of ergonomic injuries. These
programs have resulted in significant year-over-year decreases in lost-work injuries due to muscle
strains. We continue to expand our participation in voluntary assessment programs in collaboration
with the FAA, including Aviation Safety Action Programs and Flight Operational Quality Assurance
data gathering. These voluntary programs are the result of FAA-sponsored initiatives to raise safety
performance through awareness of safety trends in the workplace. We also equip our entire fleet with
the Emergency Vision Assurance system, or EVAS, which provides our flight crews with the ability to
see critical flight instruments should the cockpit fill with smoke.
The Aviation and Transportation Security Act, or the Aviation Security Act, was enacted in
November 2001 and federalized substantially all aspects of civil aviation security and required, among
other things, the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, or the TSA, to oversee all
aviation security, and the implementation of certain security measures by airlines and airports, such as
the requirement that all passenger bags be screened for explosives. Funding for airline and airport
security under the law is primarily provided by a $2.50 per enplanement ticket tax, with authority
granted to the TSA to impose additional fees on the air carriers if necessary to cover additional
federal aviation security costs. Since 2002, the TSA has imposed an Aviation Security Infrastructure
Fee on all airlines to assist in the cost of providing aviation security. The fees assessed are based on
airlines’ actual 2000 security costs The TSA has announced that this fee structure will remain in place
until further notice. A revision in the fee structure assessed by the TSA could result in increased costs
for us.
We have voluntarily implemented additional security measures, including the installation of four
cabin security cameras on each aircraft with a live video feed to the cockpit crew. In addition to these
voluntary measures, we have complied fully with all new FAA and TSA security requirements, and
will continue to abide by all future security enhancement requirements.
Marketing and Distribution
Our primary marketing strategy is to attract new customers by widely communicating our value
proposition that low fares and quality air travel need not be mutually exclusive. We market our
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