A Passenger’s View of JetBlue’s IT-Driven Strategy

To buy a ticket, you call JetBlue’s toll-free reservations number, where you’re connected to a reservations agent working from home on a voice over IP line, or you can log on to JetBlue’s website?both money savers for the air carrier.

When you check in at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 6, a voice emanating from a large, flat-panel LCD tells you window 17 is open. You check in and hand over your bags in about 45 seconds, noting that the man behind the counter is not furiously typing for five minutes just to find you an aisle seat over the wing.

After being screened at security, you find another large computer screen at the center of the round terminal, where a Windows-based program tracks all of this airline’s flights and weather conditions on a map in real-time. Onboard the new Airbus A320, you note the pilot in his “paperless cockpit” typing away on a laptop to adjust the flight plan for current weather conditions. A small TV screen also resides in the cockpit; it’s connected to hidden cameras so that pilots can keep an eye on activity in the cabin for security purposes.

You settle into your leather seat. A voice comes over the PA system. “Hi, my name is David Neeleman. I’m the CEO,” says the tall, gray-haired man at the front of the cabin, who makes this trek once a week. “We fly 10 flights a day to Fort Lauderdale, and we hope if you like your flight today you’ll tell your friends.”

Three hours later, you land at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and find your suitcase waiting for you at baggage claim?instead of the other way around?thanks to an electronic bag-tagging system.