JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is an American low-cost airline. It is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. It also maintains corporate offices in Utah and Florida.[2][1]
IATA
August 1998[1]
(as NewAir)
February 11, 2000[1]
YENA176J
- JetBlue Travel Products
- JetBlue Ventures
Brewster Building, Long Island City, New York, United States
- Joanna Geraghty (CEO)
- Marty St. George (President)
- Peter Boneparth (Chair)
US$−230 million (2023)[1]
US$−310 million (2023)[1]
US$13.85 billion (2023)[1]
US$3.337 billion (2023)[1]
24,000+ (2023)[1]
JetBlue operates over 1,000 flights daily and serves 100 domestic and international network destinations in the Americas and Europe.[3][4] The airline operates out of six hubs, with its primary being New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. JetBlue has codeshare agreements with member airlines of Oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance, however having no affiliation to the alliances.
History[edit]
1998–2000 founding[edit]
JetBlue was incorporated in Delaware in August 1998[1] with its headquarters in Forest Hills, Queens. David Neeleman founded the company in August 1999, under the name "NewAir".[5] JetBlue started by following Southwest's approach of offering low-cost travel, but sought to distinguish itself by its amenities, such as in-flight entertainment, TV at every seat, and Sirius XM satellite radio. JetBlue sought to primarily use the Airbus A320 family to ease maintenance, a similar approach Southwest takes with the Boeing 737.
In September 1999, the airline was awarded 75 initial take-off/landing slots at John F. Kennedy International Airport and received its USDOT CPCN authorization in February 2000. It commenced operations on February 11, 2000, with services to Buffalo and Fort Lauderdale.[6]
JetBlue's founders had set out to call the airline "Taxi" and therefore have a yellow livery to associate the airline with New York. The idea was dropped after threats from investor JP Morgan to pull its share ($40 million of the total $128 million) of the airline's initial funding unless the name was changed.[7]
2000s[edit]
JetBlue was one of only a few U.S. airlines that made a profit during the sharp downturn in airline travel following the September 11 attacks.[8] The company's planned initial public offering was put on hold due to the attacks and subsequent downturn. The IPO took place in April 2002.[9]
The airline sector responded to JetBlue and Southwest's market presence by starting mini-rival carriers: Delta Air Lines started Song, and United Airlines launched another rival called Ted. Song has since been disbanded and was reabsorbed by Delta Air Lines and Ted reabsorbed by United.[10]
Media related to JetBlue Airways at Wikimedia Commons