JetBlue Airlines 2015 Annual Report Download - page 11

PART I
JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORPORATION-2015Annual Report
ITEM 1Business
07
March 2015. In December 2015, we released an enhanced suite of
mobile applications aimed at bringing even more convenience to our
customers. With the latest update, customers have even more control
over their JetBlue Experience with the ability to select and change
seat assignments after check in, purchase Even More™ Space seats
or other ancillary services, and use their phone’s camera feature to
input credit card and passport information.
• Fleet – In 2015, we converted six of the 10 Airbus A321 deliveries
scheduled for 2016 to our Mint™ cabin configuration. During the fourth
quarter, we bought out the leases on six Airbus A320 aircraft. In 2015,
we took delivery of 12 Airbus A321 aircraft, two of which were equipped
with our Mint™ cabin layout.
• Network – We continued to expand and grow in our high-value geography.
In 2015, we expanded our network with six new BlueCities, bringing
our total as of the end of December 2015 to 93 BlueCities, and added
several connect-the-dot routes. With the success of our Mint™ service
between New York and California, we launched new routes to the
Caribbean in the fall of 2015 and expect to begin Mint™ service from
Boston in March 2016.
• TrueBlue
®
and partnerships – We expanded our portfolio of commercial
airline partnerships throughout 2015 and announced code-sharing
agreements with Icelandair, Royal Air Maroc, Silver Airways and Seaborne
Airlines.
•Customer Service – JetBlue and our Crewmembers were recognized
in 2015 for industry leading customer service.
– J.D. Power and Associates recognized JetBlue and our Crewmembers
for the 11
th
consecutive year as the “Highest in Airline Customer
Satisfaction among Low-Cost Carriers.” Our score climbed to 801
on a 1,000-point scale, making us the first airline to ever surpass 800
points within the segment.
– We also received the top score on the American Customer Satisfaction
Index (ACSI) among airlines. Our score of 81 is 10 points above the
average for the airline industry. Additionally, we received 7 out of
7stars for safety, and 5 out of 5 stars for our product offering from
Airline Ratings.
• Our Crewmembers – During 2015, our Crewmembers recognized
JetBlue as one of “America’s “Best Places to Work” by Forbes. JetBlue
ranked #19 through a survey that asked individuals how likely they would
be to recommend their employer to someone else.
JetBlue Experience
We offer our customers a distinctive flying experience which we refer to as
the “JetBlue Experience.” We believe we deliver award winning service that
focuses on the customer experience from booking their itinerary to arrival at
their final destination. Typically, our customers are neither high-traffic business
travelers nor ultra-price sensitive travelers. Rather, we believe we are the carrier
of choice for the majority of travelers who have been underserved by other
airlines as we offer a differentiated product and award winning customer service.
Differentiated Product and Culture
Delivering the JetBlue Experience to our customers through our differentiated
product and culture is core to our mission to inspire humanity. We look to
attract new customers to our brand and provide current customers reasons
to come back by continuing to innovate and evolve the JetBlue Experience.
We believe we can adapt to the changing needs of our customers and a
key element of our success is the belief that competitive fares and quality
air travel need not be mutually exclusive.
Our award winning service begins from the moment our customers purchase
a ticket through one of our distribution channels such as www.jetblue.com,
our mobile applications or our reservations centers. In the second quarter
of 2015, we launched our new pricing model, Fare Options. Customers
can now purchase tickets at one of three branded fares: Blue, Blue Plus,
and Blue Flex. Each fare includes different offerings such as free checked
bags, reduced change fees, and additional TrueBlue
®
points, with all fares
including our core offering of free in-flight entertainment, free brand name
snacks and free non-alcoholic beverages. Customers can choose to “buy
up” to an option with additional offerings. These fares allow customers to
select the products or services they need or value when they travel; without
having to pay for the things they do not need or value.
Upon arrival at the airport, our customers are welcomed by our dedicated
Crewmembers and can choose to purchase one or more of our ancillary
options such as Even More™ Speed, allowing them to enjoy an expedited
security experience in most domestic JetBlue locations. Customers who
select our Blue Flex option or purchase a Mint™ seat receive Even More™
Speed as part of their fare. We additionally have mobile applications for
both Apple and Android devices which have robust features including real-
time flight information updates and mobile check-in for certain routes. Our
applications are designed to enhance our customers’ travel experience
and are in keeping with the JetBlue Experience.
Once onboard our aircraft, customers enjoy seats in a comfortable layout
with the most legroom in the main cabin of all U.S. airlines, based on
average fleet-wide seat pitch. Our Even More™ Space seats are available
for purchase across our fleet, giving customers the opportunity to enjoy
additional legroom. Customers on certain transcontinental or Caribbean
flights have the option to purchase our premium service, Mint™, which
has 16 fully lie-flat seats, including four suites with privacy doors.
Our in-flight entertainment system onboard our Airbus A320 and Embraer
E190 aircraft includes 36 channels of free DIRECTV®, 100 channels of
free SiriusXM
®
satellite radio and premium movie channel offerings from
JetBlue Features®. Customers on our Airbus A321 aircraft have access
to 100 channels of DIRECTV
®
, 100+ channels of SiriusXM
®
radio and
premium movie channel offerings from JetBlue Features®. Our Mint™
customers enjoy 15-inch flat screen televisions to experience our in-flight
entertainment offerings. In December 2013, we began to retrofit our Airbus
fleet with Fly-Fi™, a broadband product, with connectivity that we believe
is significantly faster than airlines featuring KU-band satellites and older
ground to air technology. Our entire Airbus fleet is equipped with Fly-Fi™
and we are in the process of retrofitting our entire Embraer E190fleet. Our
first flight of our first Fly-Fi™ enabled Embraer E190 operated in October
2015. In November 2014, we announced the introduction of Fly-Fi™ Hub,
a content portal where customers can access a wide range of movies,
television shows and additional content from their own personal devices.
In 2015, Amazon, MLB.tv and Vice were added to our list of existing
partners which include Coursera, FOX, HarperCollins Publishers, National
Geographic, Rouxbe and Time Inc. We expect to add additional content
from partner providers during 2016.
All customers may enjoy an assortment of free and unlimited brand name
snacks and non-alcoholic beverages, and have the option to purchase
additional products such as blankets, pillows, headphones, premium
beverages and premium food selections. Our Mint™ customers have
access to an assortment of complimentary food, beverages and products
including a small-plates menu, artisanal snacks, alcoholic beverages, a
blanket, pillows and headphones.
Our Airbus A321 aircraft in a single cabin layout have 190 seats and
those with our Mint™ offering have 159 seats. Our Airbus A320 aircraft
have 150 seats while our Embraer E190 aircraft have 100 seats. At our
Investor Day in November 2014, we announced a cabin restyling program
across our fleet that will enable an improved customer experience while
freeing up valuable onboard space. Starting in the second half of 2016,
we intend to introduce Airbus’ new innovative galley and lavatory module