"JetBlue CEO keeps focused on future to help airline soar"

Sunday, March 13, 2005

JetBlue CEO keeps focused on future to help airline soar 
By Dennis Lythgoe
The Deseret (UT) Morning News


The people who work for David Neeleman, chief executive officer of JetBlue,
routinely joke about the fact that their boss has attention deficit disorder
(ADD).

"Yes, I have it," Neeleman said by phone from his New York office. "I have
to keep myself organized. Other people have to keep my schedule. But I don't
take medication for it - mainly because I was in my early 30s when it was
diagnosed, and I was already successful.

"I don't begrudge anyone who does take medication for it, but I just don't
want to be dependent on anything really."

That means Neeleman runs the risk of getting bored - especially in long
meetings. So if he does get bored, he just walks out of a meeting, does some
other things, and then wanders back. On the other hand, he can sit for hours
in JetBlue budget meetings "because I'm very interested in JetBlue. Getting
bored is a conditioned thing."

Neeleman suddenly paused after this comment and muttered to himself as he
cast his eye over some press releases that had just been placed on his desk.
Then he was back - with no explanation or apology.

He acknowledged that a new book has just been published about JetBlue,
titled "Blue Streak," written by Barbara Peterson, a New York journalist who
has written for the New York Times and a number of popular magazines. But
Neeleman hasn't read the book. "I would find it boring. I don't like reading
articles about myself, either. But I want the company to succeed. If
spotlighting the CEO helps do that, I'm willing to do it. But I don't thrive
on it."

As far as Peterson is concerned, Neeleman knows she is a good writer because
"a lot of people have told me the book is accurate. Of course, she only
writes about one aspect of the company. There are a lot of other things
going on. The book is heavy on PR and light on the operations side."

Five years ago, Neeleman was an unknown entrepreneur who had worked for
Morris Travel and Southwest Airlines and wanted to start his own company. He
had a lot of experience on airplanes as a child because his father was
employed in Brazil.

He thought he could create an airline that would make people who fly love
the process. So he uprooted his wife and nine children and moved from Utah
to New York City.

Even though the past five years have been difficult for the airline
industry, JetBlue has thrived under his leadership. Even today, Neeleman
said, "We're doing relatively better than everyone else. We have the lowest
costs in the industry and the best product.

"We'd like to be making more money right now, but with low fares and high
fuel costs, we just have to live with it. It's all about staying power.
We're in a good position to take advantage of a difficult situation. We have
had 16 consecutive quarters of profitability."

Neeleman said he thinks customers should feel appreciated "so we explain,
apologize and compensate - all the things you should do for anyone."

In fact, it is a fairly well-known fact that Neeleman acts as a flight
attendant on at least one JetBlue flight a week so he can mix with the
customers and get their ideas. He turns into "snack boy," and he enjoys it,
"even though there's a lot of repetition in it."

Neeleman believes in his own ability to pick good people. "I think I'm a
good judge of character. I have the ability to look at situations and see
what needs to be done, and I have a certain amount of gut reaction and
creativity. I see all the opportunities, but I try not to overdo it. The
importance of leadership is setting the tone."

He agrees that the name JetBlue was a most fortunate choice because it
caught on quickly with the public. But he says he was not the guy who
dreamed it up. "I'm not good with names, but when I hear a name I can tell
if it is good. When I heard the words 'JetBlue' after months of searching, I
said, 'Let's do it.' "

Neeleman is determined to make both his "crew" and his "customers" happy
enough that they enjoy the process and feel committed to the company. He
eschews the terms "employees" and "passengers"; even the people with whom
JetBlue deals are called "business partners," not "vendors."

He also has strong feelings about unions. "I'm not sure unions have the best
interests of people at heart. They have other constituents, dues and their
own financial structure to worry about. I think unions are still important
today in some companies, but I don't want to be the CEO where the unions are
part of it. I would consider it a failure of our management. It's worked for
five years without unions."

Neeleman, a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, tries hard to balance his executive commitments with his large
family, spending at least one evening a week and every weekend at home. "We
just got back from a ski vacation in Utah. We spend time regularly with
scripture study and family prayer, although we're not perfect.

"I spent two years as a young man as an LDS missionary in Brazil, and I
loved the people there. You can't do that kind of work without it having an
indelible effect on your life. It makes you a different person. It's given
me a love for people, an understanding and tolerance that suits me well as a
CEO."

Neeleman said his next step at JetBlue is to start flying the E-190, a
100-seater airplane, into cities with "devastating economics," beginning in
October. "We will step up our growth and add some new planes. There will be
better comfort than with the 50-seaters."

Attached Photo:

David Neeleman and JetBlue are subject of a new book.

neeleman.jpg