JetBlue Airways

Teaching Note

Synopsis:

JetBlue is a low-cost domestic airline in the United States following a rather interesting

combination of ‘low-cost and differentiation’ as its strategy. From its inception in 1998,

the airline grew to become the 11th largest player in the airline industry in a short span of

6 years. It had been the only other airline apart from Southwest airlines, to have been

profitable during the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on World Trade Center,

and at a time when the entire airline industry was experiencing losses.

The core of JetBlue’s strategy was low-cost achieved through a smaller and more

productive workforce; automated processes; better use of technology; use of brand new

single model planes that reduced maintenance costs and training costs at the same time.

However, moving into the growth phase, JetBlue was contemplating the introduction of a

new model of planes, i.e., EMBRAER, that are smaller than the A320s that they were

using. These planes were to be utilized for penetrating mid-size cities and also during

off-peak times on existing routes. This had potential implications for its low-cost

strategy. Also, the success of JetBlue invited the attention of its competitors. New

discount carriers such as ‘Song’ were being launched that closely imitated JetBlue’s

differentiated product offering. This posed questions to the viability of both the bases of

JetBlue’s competitive advantage. Added to this, was the prospect that JetBlue would

come head-to-head with other ‘major airlines’ and ‘discount carriers’ in its quest for

expansion into different geographic markets.

Case Objectives and Use

In terms of its content, writing style and length, the case should be relatively easy for any

undergraduate or graduate student to read and understand. The case is written in a style

that overviews the situation but intentionally avoids guiding students through any

analytical framework or specific application question. In so doing, it provides the

instructor with the latitude to adjust class discussion and thereby accommodate the

abilities of a wide-range of students. Specifically, the instructor can invite students to

reason through a situation where uncertainty exists and speculation may be required.

This case can be used as either Industry analysis case (chapter 2) or Business Level

Strategy Case (chapter 5) or both.

As an industry analysis case, the case provides a very good start to discuss the external

environment, i.e., the general environment including the legal factors such as the

deregulation of the airline industry, the economic factors, the technological factors, etc.,

and how they affect the airline industry. It then offers the opportunity to conduct an

internal analysis of the firm using the value chain approach or the resource-based view of

the firm, followed by a detailed financial analysis of the firm to complete the various

components of internal analysis.

As a business-level strategy case, this case is very well suited to discuss the Porter’s

generic strategies, the advantages and disadvantages of those strategies and to discuss the

merits and demerits of a combination strategy. Students could also be encouraged to

relate their understanding of the sources of competitive advantage that they identified

using the internal analysis of the firm as a part of this discussion.

As an extension, the instructor has the latitude to discuss the prospects and problems that

JetBlue would encounter in future in its growth endeavor. This could involve a

discussion on the various avenues of growth, the feasibility of the avenues, possible

competitor reaction and how the company could cope with it.

Teaching Plan:

The instructor may choose to assign the case to groups of 4-5 students to discuss and

present on this topic. The discussion questions and answers thereof provide a broad

overview for the discussion in class. The instructors, however, can engage in their own

analysis to guide the discussion.

As Strategic Analysis Case

Discussion questions:

1.Analyze the industry environment of JetBlue.

To answer this question, the instructor can choose to steer the discussion toward the

factors in the general environment, and then toward the competitive environment.

In the general environment of domestic airline industry, the discussion can address the

political/legal, technological, economic and other factors. Under the legal factors, the

deregulation of the airline industry in 1978 provided an opportunity to several players to

enter the market. It allowed new market segments such as that of the low cost, point-to-

point services to emerge. It thus changed the industry landscape. Also, the bankruptcy

laws have a significant role to play as they allow even non-profitable operators to

continue in the industry when they are protected. The emergence of Internet technology

and other technological breakthroughs have had an impact on the way the airlines

conduct their businesses. For example, Internet reduced the dependence on ticketing

agents. Most of the low-fare airlines sell tickets through their websites. Customer

service is being extended by personnel working from their homes’. All these have made

it possible to reduce the costs of operations making it favorable for the low-cost airlines

to operate. Also, with the Internet, customers now search and compare prices of air

tickets much more easily than earlier and this accentuates the price competition.

The airline industry is susceptible to upturns and downturns with the trends in the

economy. A growing economy and booming business mean greater demand for air

travel, and a slow-down in the economy means reduced demand, consequent unutilized

capacity and intensified competition. The availability of venture capital, and other capital

sources have an impact on the number of new entrants into the industry. Interest rate

fluctuations have an impact on the cost of operations for companies that have high levels

of debt.

The airline industry is also highly susceptible to the extreme events such as the

September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. These create fears in the minds

of customers toward air travel and have a severe adverse impact on the industry. It also

means increased security concerns, delayed flights, reduced turnaround times, and all

these have an impact on airline profitability. Also, wars with other nations and increases

in fuel prices have a strong impact on profitability.

These are only some pointers, and the instructor can choose to elaborate, extend the

issues or make a more detailed analysis.

In order to deal with the analysis of the competitive environment, the instructor might

find it useful to use the Porter five-force framework. A brief analysis is presented below.

Threat of new entrants: The extent of threat due to new entrants is determined by how

high or low are the barriers to entry into an industry. In the airline industry, deregulation

and availability of alternate sources of funding reduced the barriers to entry.

Economies of scale did not work out well for the players in the airline industry. The hub-

and-spoke model developed by the major players, led to more of diseconomies of scale

than economies. However, the large investments already made by the major airlines, and

their established networks do pose a significant threat to new entrants unless they counter

it with highly efficient operations.

Product differentiation. Airlines try to create strong brand identification and customer

loyalty by using the frequent flyer programs. When there is strong brand identification, it

forces the new entrants to spend heavily on weaning away customers from the existing

players, thus discouraging their entry. However, in the airline industry the brand

identification has not proved to be so strong as to prevent people from switching to other

airlines. Some low-cost players are trying to achieve some product differentiation (e.g.,

JetBlue providing more legroom, directTV at each seat, etc., Southwest emphasizing

commitment to customer service). However, these are not very strong barriers to entry as

the other entrants are imitating them rather pretty easily.

Switching costs. There are virtually no switching costs for customers. The frequent flier

programs attempt to create switching costs. However, when the customers are presented

with low-cost options, there is nothing strong enough that could prevent them from

switching to other airlines.

Thus, the airline industry faces a high threat of new entrants particularly in the low-cost

segment. The barriers can be heightened only when they have very closely tied and

ultra-efficient operating routines that competitors find it difficult to copy or imitate.

Bargaining power of suppliers is high when there are few suppliers in the industry,

there are no easy substitutes to supplier’s products, when the buyer industry is not an

important customer of the supplier group, the supplier’s product is an important input to

the buyer’s business, the supplier products are differentiated or built up switching costs,

the supplier group poses a credible threat of forward integration. There are the only two

major suppliers i.e., Boeing and Airbus, to the industry and when the airline trains its

pilots on either Boeing or Airbus, switching costs get built in terms of pilots’ training in

the event the airline decides to change the supplier. Thus the supplier does enjoy

considerable bargaining power. However, there is no credible threat of forward

integration by the suppliers such as Boeing or Airbus.

Bargaining power of buyers is low to moderate as the buyers are not concentrated.

While the buyer does not have any switching costs, and there are several choices

available, they still lack concentration. Internet impacted in increasing the buyer

bargaining power because the buyers can compare the prices more easily and in view of

no switching costs, they could choose whichever airline offers a low price. Thus, the

buyers may be able to influence the airlines to reduce their prices over time. Another

important point to note is that with the recession in the economy, business travelers were

becoming more price sensitive. There is no threat of backward integration from the

buyers.

Threat from substitutes is high when the distances traveled are shorter. In such cases,

the customer can choose to travel by land, by car/bus/rail as they might prove to be

cheaper alternatives. However, for longer distances and for more hurried customers, the

airlines do not face significant threat from substitute modes of travel.

The intensity of rivalry among existing competitors in the airline industry is very high.

There are numerous competitors, and in times of low or moderate industry growth, the

competition gets fiercer as each one tries to nab customers from the other in order to keep

their capacity utilizations at acceptable levels. The exit barriers are high because it is

difficult to dispose off grounded planes’ as there would be few buyers. Also, due to the

bankruptcy laws, even the loss-making companies might still be around for a long time

thus intensifying competition. So, it is easier to get into the industry but might be

difficult to get out1.

2. Analyze the internal environment of JetBlue.

The instructor can make use of Porter’s Value Chain analysis and also introduce the

students to analysis from a resource-based perspective. The limitations of SWOT

analysis in directing attention to the bases of competitive advantage, and the merits of the

other two approaches can be driven-home with such an analysis.

A sample analysis is presented below.

Value chain activity How does JetBlue create value for the customer?

Primary:

1 http://www.geocities.com/lgol27/AnalyzeIndustries.htm

Inbound logistics Web-based booking instead of booking through ticketing agents gives greater control on managing seat sales. Customers won’t get bumped.

Operations Paperless cockpit, no meals served, no paper tickets--all reduce time and costs. Single aircraft type keeps training costs low and manpower utilization high.

Outbound logistics New A320s are larger and more fuel-efficient. Less congested airports help quicker and on-time flight departures.

Marketing and Sales Web-based ticketing as a distribution channel. Market segment properly identified i.e., business travelers flying point-to-point. Effective pricing.

Service Constant communication with customer to keep them informed of changes or inconveniences. Customers are refunded sometimes when there are inconveniences. CEO travels regularly to get customer feedback first-hand. Investments in training for service orientation.

Secondary: Procurement Well-conceived aircraft procurement plan to support growth.

Technology development.

Investments in technology from the beginning of the airline. Process initiatives such as automated baggage handling, web-based ticketing, paperless cockpit etc.,

Human resource management

Non-unionized workforce, reward systems such as stock-option plans, profit sharing, innovative recruitment policies and culture promoting camaraderie…employees called ‘crewmembers’.

General Administration Top management with expertise in airline business, ability to coordinate and integrate activities across the value system, and highly visible to inculcate organizational culture, reputation and values.

The instructor can take the discussion further to identify and discuss the interrelationships

among the various activities in the Value-chain.

A sample analysis is also presented below using the resource-based approach. There can

be great divergence in how various groups would mark these resources as valuable, rare,

inimitable and non-substitutable. The instructor will probably be able to engage the

students in debate and encourage discussion as to whether or not the individual value

chain activities can lead to advantages that are sustainable. The instructor may also pose

questions about how the interrelationships among such activities would be the source of

sustainable competitive advantage. That would help drive home the idea of ‘unique

bundles of activities/resources’ as the basis of sustainable competitive advantage much

more strongly.

Resource/Activity Is it Valuable? Is it rare? Are there few substitutes?

Is it difficult to imitate?

Inbound logistics Yes Yes Yes NoOperations Yes Yes Yes YesOutbound logistics Yes Yes Yes NoMarketing and sales

Yes No No No

Service Yes No Yes NoProcurement Yes No Yes NoTechnology development

Yes Yes Yes No

Human resource management

Yes No Yes No

General adiminstration

Yes No No No

In case of JetBlue, it is too early to say whether its resources are inimitable. This is

because there is not much of path dependency or causal ambiguity and social complexity

developed at this point in time that could make the resources inimitable. As can be

noticed, its efficient low-cost operations can lead to a sustainable competitive advantage

in future. However, the low-cost operations themselves are interrelated to other activities

such as technology development, better human resource management etc. Therefore,

JetBlue should be able to develop an interlocking system of mutually reinforcing

competencies that would make it simultaneously valuable, rare, inimitable and non-

substitutable, thereby providing a competitive advantage.

The instructor may choose to complement these analyses with a detailed analysis of the

financial statements of the company. To draw meaningful conclusions, the analysis can

be longitudinally for JetBlue to identify the changes in the various ratios and margins or

alternatively, the student could be encouraged to collect information related to other

competing airlines and do a comparative financial statement analysis.

3. Discuss the bases of JetBlue’s competitive advantage, and the merits and demerits of

both the components. Are combination strategies better? Is JetBlue’s competitive

advantage sustainable?

The two bases of JetBlue’s competitive advantage are ‘cost leadership’ and

‘differentiation’.

JetBlue achieves cost leadership by attaining efficient operations. New planes minimize

maintenance and fuel costs, larger planes ensure more revenue per flight, longer hauls on

an average as compared to other point-to-point services keep planes longer in air. No-

meals served helps quicker turnarounds and reduce costs. Reservation agents working

from home reduce need for physical infrastructure, and thereby reduce overhead costs.

Firms pursuing low-cost strategy generally get trapped in focusing on too few of value

chain activities, or lack parity on differentiation with competitors. The low-cost

advantage also gets eroded when the competitive pricing information becomes available

more easily. The strategy can be imitated too easily.

The other component of JetBlue’s strategy is differentiation. Differentiation is achieved

through a strong brand image, the various features such as DirectTV at each seat, more

legroom etc.,

The problem with differentiation strategy is that differentiating features could be easily

imitated. Firms may also get entrapped in too much differentiation, which customers may

not value.

Firms employing combination strategies would have a much stronger strategy to

outperform rivals. They can achieve superior performance by successfully integrating

low-cost operations with differentiation, thereby avoiding the pitfalls of either of the

strategies.

JetBlue employed a combination of these two strategies and that gives it a distinctive

competitive advantage. It combined low-cost services with a differentiated offering.

The company invested in technology for efficient operations right from its inception and,

therefore, is able to provide high quality services at low-cost. Going forward, the extent

to which JetBlue can maintain this integration of ‘low-cost’ and ‘differentiation’ will

determine whether its competitive advantage is sustainable. The mutually reinforcing

components of JetBlue’s strategy can be shown as in the figure on next page. Any

change in one of the components has an impact on all interconnected activities. That is

the prime reason why there are doubts being raised over JetBlue’s idea of serving mid-

sized markets, and also departing from its single aircraft business model.

JetBlue’s activity system2

2

? modeled after Southwest’s activity system as in M. E. Porter. 1996. What is Strategy? Harvard Business Review, November-December, pp.60-79. Also according to this article, the darker circles indicate the higher-order strategic themes. These are implemented through the clusters of tightly linked activities which are in the lighter circles.

Limited but differentiated service

Lean, productive workforce

Very low ticket prices

Reliable departures

High aircraft utilization

Short and long-haul between large metropolitan cities from secondary airports

No meals

Single aircraft type A320 and brand new aircrafts

Limited use of travel agents

Web-based and automatic ticketing

Pre-assigned seating, Direct TV etc.,

No baggage transfer

No connections with other airlines

Quick gate turnarounds

Effective reward system

Non-unionized workforce

Reservation agents operate from home

4. How will the new Embraer Jets impact the firm’s strategy? How should they handle it?

While is it not clear yet how the firm will handle the new smaller jets they offer both

opportunities and possible operational problems.

The smaller Embraer jets could be used to service mid-sized cities such as Columbus and

San Antonio, that can be more economically by them than the 156-seat A320. These

planes are also more cost-effective and comfortable than the smaller 50-and 70- seat jets

flown by regional carriers. The company could also use them to service highly seasonal

routes. During peak season, JetBlue can fly the larger A320s and during off-season, it

could switch to smaller Embraers3. Thus, addition of Embraers could give flexibility in

operations.

However, the addition of Embraer jets could add to the complexity of JetBlue’s

operations. One of the foundations of JetBlue’s low-cost strategy was that it had a single-

model airplane fleet that helped in reducing the pilot training costs, maintenance costs

and made scheduling simple. With the addition of Embraers, these could get

complicated. This also has implications for labor relations because it would mean lower

pay for pilots flying the smaller planes, a situation with which they may not be satisfied.

3 E. Souder, JetBlue Plans Carribean Services Expansion. DowJones Business News. March2, 2004.http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/040302/1232000698_2.html

Additional question

1. What are the salient aspects of JetBlue’s culture?

JetBlue’s culture is built around the five key values of safety, caring, integrity, fun and

passion. The chief executive reinforces those values by being closely involved in the

operations. He travels regularly on his flights and distributes snacks to his customers.

This action sets an example to his employees on the importance of customer service. The

company invests in training its employees on safety procedures. There is also an

extensive orientation program in which new employees are told about the value of

customer service as well as the need to be productive and committed to keep costs as low

as possible. Employees are called ‘crewmembers’ and that reinforces the non-

hierarchical and informal culture at the company. They are offered flexible work hours,

and attractive compensation plans to keep them motivated. The friendly and motivating

work environment offsets some of the monetary component of pay and thus helps in

reducing costs. The culture thus supports the strategy of the company.