Scott Laurence, senior vice president for airline planning, JetBlue Airways, says business and pleasure can mix.
How would you describe your network strategy?
JetBlue’s network is built around six strong focus cities – we don’t use the word “hub” because we primarily carry local traffic. In fact, about 90% of our traffic is point-to-point – it’s simpler operationally and more convenient for travellers. Our focus cities are in large population centres and each one attracts a slightly different mix of leisure and business traffic. For instance, in Boston, where we are the largest airline, we offer a robust business market schedule on top of numerous leisure routes. In slotconstrained New York, our network is primarily leisure focused. Our other focus cities are Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Florida; Long Beach, California; Orlando, Florida; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Each looks a little different. In each of these key markets we aim to have not just a network that’s relevant to local customers, but prime airport real estate – the “corner lots” if you will – such as JFK Terminal 5.
Are there any cities/countries of particular interest to you in 2015?
Right now we’re focused on acquiring slots in Mexico City so we can begin service to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. This is an important market, especially from our South Florida focus city. We see Fort Lauderdale-Mexico City as a key part of our broader expansion at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL) into more Latin and Caribbean destinations. Over the next few years, we plan to ramp up our service at FLL to over 100 departures per day from 75 departures today.
What is the extent of your international ambitions?
JetBlue is already a heavily international airline. In fact, one-third of our capacity is deployed offshore. That number will only continue to climb. Today, we have more service to the Caribbean region than any other US airline, we’re the largest airline in the Dominican Republic, we serve three cities in Colombia, and our route system now stretches as far south as Lima, Peru.
Customers in international markets have been so responsive to our brand, our product and our pricing that our success could create opportunities in the future for larger aircraft or long-haul intercontinental flying.
What do you look for in a new destination?
Our decisions are largely data driven. We look for markets where incumbent carriers are charging high fares, providing poor service, or both. These kinds of markets offer an opening for JetBlue to come in and stimulate traffic with lower fares and better service, adding to our sustainable, profitable network.
Tell us about the work that needs to be done before that first flight to a new destination?
While it is data that leads us in the direction of potential markets, we ultimately choose to land in destinations that embrace JetBlue wholeheartedly and understand we’re different from the other guys. Once we know we’ll have the backing of the airport and local community and are confident we can succeed, we announce our intentions and embark on a robust internal process to operationalise our plans so our outstanding crew members can serve our customers well.
How closely do you work with the fleet planning team?
At JetBlue, we don’t work in silos. Our network planning team is part of a broader enterprise-wide planning organisation that includes finance, treasury, and operating functions. It’s critical that all of these groups collaborate to ensure our analytical output is, in fact, operable.
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