JetBlue Airlines 2008 Annual Report Download - page 15

We currently provide service to 52 destinations in 19 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and five countries in
the Caribbean and Latin America. We have begun service to the following new destinations since
December 31, 2007, as set forth in the following table:
Destination Service Commenced
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic January 2008
St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles January 2008
Bogotá, Colombia January 2009
We plan to commence service from Orlando, FL to San Jose, Costa Rica in March 2009, service from
New York to Montego Bay, Jamaica in May 2009, and service from New York and Boston to Los Angeles,
CA in June 2009. In considering new markets, we focus on those that have high average fares. In this process,
we analyze publicly available data from the DOT showing the historical number of passengers, capacity and
average fares over time. Using this data, combined with our knowledge and experience about how comparable
markets have reacted in the past when prices were increased or decreased, we forecast the level of demand in
a particular market expected to result from the introduction of our service and lower prices, as well as the
anticipated response of existing airlines in that market.
We discontinued service to the following destinations since December 31, 2007, as set forth in the
following table:
Destination Service Discontinued
Nashville, TN January 2008
Columbus, OH January 2008
Tucson, AZ May 2008
Ontario, CA September 2008
We are the leading carrier in number of flights flown per day between the New York metropolitan area
and Florida.
Marketing and Distribution
Our marketing objectives are to attract new customers to our brand and give our current customers
reasons to come back to us again and again. Our key value proposition and marketing message is that
competitive fares and quality air travel need not be mutually exclusive. Our competitive fares, high quality
product and outstanding customer service create the overall JetBlue Experience that we believe is unique in
the domestic airline industry.
We market our services through advertising and promotions in newspapers, magazines, television, radio,
through the internet, outdoor billboards, and through targeted public relations and promotions. We engage in
large multi-market programs, as well as many local events and sponsorships, and mobile marketing programs.
Our targeted public and community relations efforts promote brand awareness and complement our strong
word-of-mouth channel.
Our primary distribution channel is through our website, www.jetblue.com, our lowest cost channel that is
also designed to ensure our customers have as pleasant an experience booking their travel as they do in the air.
The percentage of our total sales booked on our website averaged 77% for the year ended December 31, 2008.
In 2008, our bookings through global distribution systems, or GDSs and online travel agencies, or OTAs,
became our second largest distribution channel, accounting for 13% of our sales. We booked the remaining
10% of our 2008 sales through our 800-JETBLUE channel, staffed by our home-sourced reservations agents.
Our re-entry into GDSs in 2007 has supported our growth in the corporate market, as business customers are
more likely to book through a GDS, and while the cost of sales through this channel is higher than through
our website, the average fare purchased via this channel is at least 17% higher, justifying the increased
distribution costs. As a result, we now participate in all four major GDSs and four major OTAs. We continue
to evaluate opportunities to broaden our distribution channels based on a profitable cost yield ratio. Our
distribution mix creates significant cost savings and enables us to build loyalty through increased customer
interaction.
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