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DAVID NEELEMAN: Chief executive of JetBlue Airways.
By STEVE HUETTEL, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 17, 2003
Q. In three years, JetBlue has become a huge player in the New York-Florida air travel market. Do you expect that growth to continue, and will it include nonstop flights from Tampa to anywhere else?
We've yet to find the bottom of that market, particularly in South Florida. It's taken a little longer to grow Tampa, but there are a lot of business travelers there. I never would in a million years have thought that we'd be peaking at 42 (Florida) flights a day by this point.
Next year, it could be 42, 46, 50. We'll adjust capacity to meet the demand. We know (Delta Air Lines' new offshoot) Song is increasing capacity as they switch from 737s to 757s. We're looking at other markets out of Tampa. But there's not a good time frame when that'll happen.
Q. The top 10 airlines lost more than $11-billion last year, and US Airways and United are trying to emerge from bankruptcy. How many big airlines do you think might disappear in an industry shakeout?
I try not to think about other airlines. If we continue to have the best employees, that's the key to having the best product and keeping our customers. The future success of JetBlue is internal.
Q. Speaking of employees, what do you look for in hiring? Do you like hiring people that have worked at other airlines, and how many applicants do you get for each one hired?
We obviously have positions, like pilots and mechanics, where you need people with experience. But we try to hire people with positive attitudes, people who treat people well. They all have to chip in and get the job done.
It's hard to give an exact number of applicants to hires, but it's around one in 40.