Forty million people fly JetBlue every year, but somehow the moments that get the most attention are those in which, say, a passenger takes off their shoes and uses the seatback table as a footrest, CEO Joanna Geraghty said to a laughing room during the Semafor World Economy summit in Washington, D.C. Thursday.
But that does a disservice to the vast majority of “wonderful moments,” Geraghty said. “Airline travel is all about humanity and people coming together in a shared experience.”
For JetBlue, humanity is part of the mission, and it remains the airline’s ethos some 26 years later, even as its debt has raised speculation about the future of the airline.
“JetBlue was founded with the mission of bringing humanity back to air travel,” Geraghty said. “And over the years we discussed whether that mission still holds true, coming out of COVID, and in this world that is just so different than 1999, 2000 when JetBlue first started. I think that mission holds true now more than ever.”
Among all this disruption — whether it's a government shutdown causing long airport lines, COVID, or AI — passengers still appreciate the human connection.
“Volatility is frankly the new normal,” Geraghty said. “AI is going to eventually be the equivalent of electricity. I think humanity has become the new luxury.”
Pressed on what she meant, Geraghty said JetBlue is able to differentiate its experience with its people.
“We’ve long said that competitors could match the leather seats, the TVs, the Wi-Fi,” Geraghty said. “And indeed they have. But what they haven’t matched is our people. And I truly believe that JetBlue has the best people because we hire people that actually like customers.”
One of the attributes JetBlue looks for when hiring crew members is volunteerism, which Geraghty says is “a proxy for customer service.” The carrier hires many former first responders and firefighters — people who have a proven track record of their dedication to service.
The airline’s response to the government shutdown-caused long airport lines was one such example. As TSA operated without pay and staffing shortages led to airport lines stretching for hours at New York's JFK airport, JetBlue airport workers and corporate staff showed up to help direct passengers, and even Geraghty passed out water bottles to those in line.
“I saw some of the best humanity two weeks ago,” Geraghty said. “No one blamed the airline for it.”
The airline also celebrates its crew members through a survey program in which customers’ compliments of staff are shared with them.
“The compliments we get are almost entirely about our crew,” Geraghty said. “When you think about flying, those flights you actually remember it’s usually the in-flight crew member.”
JetBlue suppresses negative comments that come in to instead focus on positive reinforcement.
“At the end of the day, it all starts with taking care of your crew member, if you take care of them, they take care of the customer experience,” Geraghty said.
