Description
Book SynopsisFlying High traces the incredible career of the founder and chairman of JetBlue, David Neeleman, from his teenage ventures and beginnings in the travel industry., to his short stint at Southwest Airlines and the ultimate launch of JetBlue. In a series of interviews with Neeleman''s friends, associates, and high-ranking officials in both business and aviation, this books tells the store of Neeleman and explores the rules of success he both lives and builds his companies by.
Trade ReviewAs veteran airlines writer James Wynbrandt shows in his excellent new book, Flying High, it took JetBlue's hyperkinetic free spirit David Neeleman to extend the revolution started by Southwest's Herb Kelleher into a heady new frontier—by putting the discounters in a nose-to-nose rivalry with the major carriers. A devout Mormon with nine children, Neeleman, from Salt Lake City, learned about customer service as a kid on a milk crate in his grandfather's convenience store. When customers demanded a product his granddad didn't have, young David would bolt out the back door to Safeway to buy it. After a stint as a missionary in Brazil, Neeleman—a college dropout with ADD—started a travel agency, a charter airline to Hawaii, and a low-cost carrier called Morris Air, which he sold to Southwest. After just five months, Kelleher fired Neeleman, who'd barge into meetings and loudly lecture Southwest's proud managers on where their airline was screwing up.
By the time he founded JetBlue in 1999, Neeleman had already pioneered many of the boldest innovations in aviation, including e-ticketing, automatic ticket machines, and at-home reservation staffs. Backed by farsighted investors, among them George Soros, JetBlue busted the biggest myth in airlines by proving that a low-cost carrier can also beat the majors on service. While Wynbrandt clearly idolizes Neeleman as a curious blend of saint and gladiator, his idol does deserve our gratitude. It took this hyperactive dreamer to put a fresh face on a tired industry, to show at long last that customers, not old-line carriers, are charting the future of commercial aviation. (
Fortune, June 28, 2004)
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1
CHAPTER 1 The Journey Begins 7
CHAPTER 2 Have I Got a Deal for You 23
CHAPTER 3 Morris Air Spreads Its Wings 39
CHAPTER 4 Off to Southwest 55
CHAPTER 5 Opening Up New Skies 73
CHAPTER 6 A Different Kind of Airline 85
CHAPTER 7 Preparing for Departure 103
CHAPTER 8 JetBlue Takes Flight 121
CHAPTER 9 Making Air Travel Entertaining 139
CHAPTER 10 Keeping Customers Happy 151
CHAPTER 11 The Technology Advantage 163
CHAPTER 12 Getting the Word Out in Style 177
CHAPTER 13 Dealing with Disaster 193
CHAPTER 14 Preserving the Culture 213
CHAPTER 15 Looking to the Future 225
CHAPTER 16 David Neeleman’s Rules for Succeeding in Any Business 243
JetBlue Timeline 255
Acknowledgments 263
Notes 265
Index 289
