Why Airlines Need Competition .
Flying Virgin America, Not My Cup of Tea
I recently had to take a business trip from Washington DC to San Francisco. Upon shopping for flights I found that Jet Blue (to Oakland) and Virgin America (to SFO) were the same price. I decided that I would give Virgin America a try since I had heard so much hype about them. Here's my short-form review of the flights:
Pros:
1. Being able to order food when you want, through a touch-screen, is a nice feature. The food was even decent, albeit a bit expensive for airline food.
2. Rows 3, 9 & 10 have an enormous amount of leg room. It will cost you $25 extra to sit there though (see Cons).
3. Planes are new and super clean. The A320 is a nice aircraft and pleasant to fly on.
Cons:
1. The entertainment system, while neat, still needs a lot of work. Movies skipped, 50% of the TV channels showed the can't get the signal message and many of the features of the system (including internet access) aren't yet implemented. Also, the AC outlets in our row didn't work and the flight attendant just shrugged it off with a "We're working on those sorts of things." Also, the TV channel selection left me wanting for the Jet Blue lineup that includes local channels (NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX) which are not included on Virgin.
2. The leg room is paltry. While certainly better than United or American, it doesn't compare with Jet Blue. While this is nice for using the touchscreen (you barely need to reach up), it's no fun for long flights.
3. I found the leather seats, while nice to look at, uncomfortable. For some reason I couldn't get the headrest in to a position that felt good.
4. The arms between the seats only go up about 75% of the way. This stinks for those of us on red eye flights that would like to lie down in our empty row, or for parents with kids, lovebirds, or the obese. Who's design decision was this?
5. I'm assuming in an effort to achieve profitability, the utilization on the Virgin America aircraft is targeted at a very high number. This means that delays spiral throughout the day and many people get stuck. On my return from SFO my redeye was over 4 hours late and the flight on the next gate going to Vegas was over 6 hours late. The amazing thing as that these delays carried in to the next day when my flight arrived in DC and was supposed to have turned around and gone back to SFO over 3 hours earlier. Who knows how late the redeye was going to be that night.
Neutrals:
1. Because of all the hype, I thought I needed to mention the mood lighting. Seriously, does anyone think that pink and purple lighting is going to make their flight better? It was just an oddity as far as I am concerned.
Final Thoughts:
If my option is to fly Virgin America instead of United, American, Northwest, Southwest or their ilk, I probably will. However, I will not choose Virgin America over Jet Blue. Jet Blue is more polished, has much more leg room and the entertainment system just works. Perhaps I'll give them another shot in nine months or a year, when they've had a chance to work out the bugs, if they're still around. ***
----------------------------------------------------------
by Louis D
source: http://gottagadget.blogspot.com/2008/01/flying-virgin-america-not-my-cup-of-tea.html
The keywords of Jet Blue Airlines are Flying Jet Blue, Jet Blue Virgin, Jet Blue America and Jet BlueNot My Cup of Tea.
-======================================
Flying Hotspots?
I was in Boise a few days ago, waiting for my wife to run various errands, and I had my notebook with me. I thought, "What's the chance that I can find a wireless hotspot that isn't encrypted so that I can check my email?" I searched for wireless networks--and I found a couple of them that appeared. They were weak, but I seemed to be able to connect to them--and then they disappeared.
About five miles away, an hour or two later, I tried again--and again, two wireless networks showed up--and then disappeared. A few minutes later--one of them showed back up again--and then disappeared again. And while one of these mysterious wireless networks had what was obviously the Linksys default name, the other had the name "Jet Blue Hot Spot."
Was it possible that I was seeing passenger jets on approach to Boise International? They might be at 10,000 feet or less--which is less than two miles--just barely within the range that I would find possible. This might explain why I would see them, then they disappeared, then reappeared a few minutes later. It might be the same plane, flying in a circle, or multiple Jet Blue planes all configured with the same wireless network name. ***
-------------------------------------------------------------------
by Clayton Cramer
http://www.claytoncramer.com/weblog/2008_01_27_archive.html#6558983542392339215
The keywords of Jet Blue Airlines are Jet Blue Flying, Jet Blue Hotspots and Jet Blue Boise International.
=======================================
Russ Chew, JetBlue President and Former FAA COO, Joins Era's Board of Directors
RESTON, VA--(Marketwire - January 29, 2008) - Era Corporation announced today that Russell Chew has been appointed to the company's Board of Directors. Mr. Chew brings over 20 years of air transportation leadership with a strong focus on strategic planning and operations. Mr. Chew is the current President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of JetBlue Airways, where he leads the airline's strategic direction and operations. Prior to joining JetBlue, Mr. Chew was the COO of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), overseeing the FAA's research and acquisition programs and the U.S. air traffic management system. Mr. Chew also held various leadership positions with American Airlines, including the management of Strategic Operations Planning, which included the evaluation and implementation of new aircraft and ground technologies for airline fleet and operations planning.
"We are honored that Russ has accepted a position on our Board of Directors," said Dave Ellison, Era's President and CEO. "Russ's experience with strategic programs in both government and commercial sectors makes him uniquely positioned to provide valuable insight and guidance in support of Era's growth plans and strategic direction."
Mr. Chew's service to the industry has been substantial. He has served as the chair of the ATC Steering Committee for the Air Transport Association and Flight Operations Committee for the International Air Transport Association. Mr. Chew has spent a great deal of his career focused on new technologies and global air traffic management modernization programs.
"Our industry faces unprecedented growth, challenges and opportunities in the coming years. The value proposition of Jet Blue and the satisfaction of our customers are directly related to the safety and efficiency of the ATM system of today and tomorrow. Next-generation technologies from companies like Era are essential to modernizing the global air transportation system," said Mr. Chew. "I am looking forward to working with Era's leadership team to help accelerate and advance ATM performance around the world through the use of their proven multilateration and ADS-B technologies."
Era has also added some of the industry's best talent to its leadership team in recent days, with Tim Quilter, former Roke Manor Executive, and Dr. Werner Langhans, Austro Control's former Head of Technology, both joining the Era team.***
-----------------------------------------------------------------
by Era Corporation
www.erabeyondradar.com
Era Corporation is a pioneer and leading supplier of next-generation surveillance and flight tracking solutions for the air traffic management, military, security and airport operations markets. With proven multilateration and ADS-B technologies delivering high-performance, high-reliability surveillance solutions, the company has over 100 airport, air traffic management and military customers throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America and Asia. Era's investment in research and development and its track record of product innovation has resulted in a substantial patent portfolio. Era is headquartered in Reston, Virginia with leading product research and development centers of excellence in the U.S. and Czech Republic.
source: http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=815239>
The keywords of Jet Blue Airlines are Jet Blue Russ Chew, JetBlue President and Jet Blue Former FAA COO and Jet Blue Era's Board of Jet Blue Directors.
=================================
The 10 Changes a CEO needs to make to win young consumers
Stephen Covey, author of “the 7 habits of highly effective people” said “The way we see the problem is the problem”.
In the context of marketing to youth this statement reveals many aspects of our industry taken for granted.
How can the marketing of technology truly claim to understand the nature of their consumers when the lens through which they view the consumer is fundamentally distorted? I am referring here to the language we choose to use to describe our marketing challenges.
For example, only drug dealers and the technology industry refer to their consumers as “users“. “Mere semantics” you may say. But, consider for a moment the impact of semantics in our internal company interaction, our “received wisdom” and our own belief systems about our consumers. When we label someone a “user” we also infer a lack of decision making capability - the inference being that they merely “use” the service as opposed to actively exercising choice over the services they consume. Tesco, Nike, Starbucks, Red Bull, Scion, Coke and Jet Blue do not have “users”.
Language shapes strategy. A company may talk up the need for being “customer centric” but as long as it continues to refer to the very customer as “users” in all its internal memos, literature and conference presentations it is merely paying lipservice to idea. The core DNA of the company remains unchanged.
Similarly, language shapes how we view our industry and, importantly, our unique role within that industry. If we talk of a “value chain” as we so often do at industry conferences we imply a serial chain of relationships stretching from the product development across to the “end user”. Note: The END user - the consumer who only features at the “end” of our considerations. “Value chains” represent the legacy of an industrial era that has long been surpassed by the need for a new lens of interpretation. No longer can we simply produce the goods and shunt them along the value chain through the modern era equivalent of warehouses onto the market in the hope that, through lack of real choice and information, the “user” is constrained to purchase.
Toyota and Tesco both know that the mental construct of “chain” is not only irrelevant but also uncompetitive in their industries. GM’s “Value Chain” approach to its suppliers created a lens through which the company viewed the dealers as their customers. Why? Because the chain inferred the most important relationship in the industry was their immediate neighbour in the chain. Both Toyota and Tesco have long implemented an inclusive “value network” approach to their consumers - start with the consumer and build out the supplier ecosystem around adding value to their needs.
Marketing to young consumers requires exercising the discipline to change.
From CEOs to marketing managers, strategic initiatives without the necessary fundamental internal structures conducive to long term change are wasteful and demotivating. When the CEO of a leading mobile operator stands to address the 3GSM crowd in Barcelona claiming a 2 year strategy to “win the hearts of minds of young consumers”, your interest in naturally piqued by the vision. That is until, however, he follows up with a claims that they truly “understand end user needs”… ***
--------------------------------------------------
by Graham Brown
http://www.mobileyouth.org/post/the-10-changes-a-ceo-needs-to-make-to-win-young-consumers-3-change-your-language/
The Keywords of Jet Blue Airlines are The 10 Changes of Jet Blue, CEO Jet Blue and Jet Blue consumers.
I recently had to take a business trip from Washington DC to San Francisco. Upon shopping for flights I found that Jet Blue (to Oakland) and Virgin America (to SFO) were the same price. I decided that I would give Virgin America a try since I had heard so much hype about them. Here's my short-form review of the flights:
Pros:
1. Being able to order food when you want, through a touch-screen, is a nice feature. The food was even decent, albeit a bit expensive for airline food.
2. Rows 3, 9 & 10 have an enormous amount of leg room. It will cost you $25 extra to sit there though (see Cons).
3. Planes are new and super clean. The A320 is a nice aircraft and pleasant to fly on.
Cons:
1. The entertainment system, while neat, still needs a lot of work. Movies skipped, 50% of the TV channels showed the can't get the signal message and many of the features of the system (including internet access) aren't yet implemented. Also, the AC outlets in our row didn't work and the flight attendant just shrugged it off with a "We're working on those sorts of things." Also, the TV channel selection left me wanting for the Jet Blue lineup that includes local channels (NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX) which are not included on Virgin.
2. The leg room is paltry. While certainly better than United or American, it doesn't compare with Jet Blue. While this is nice for using the touchscreen (you barely need to reach up), it's no fun for long flights.
3. I found the leather seats, while nice to look at, uncomfortable. For some reason I couldn't get the headrest in to a position that felt good.
4. The arms between the seats only go up about 75% of the way. This stinks for those of us on red eye flights that would like to lie down in our empty row, or for parents with kids, lovebirds, or the obese. Who's design decision was this?
5. I'm assuming in an effort to achieve profitability, the utilization on the Virgin America aircraft is targeted at a very high number. This means that delays spiral throughout the day and many people get stuck. On my return from SFO my redeye was over 4 hours late and the flight on the next gate going to Vegas was over 6 hours late. The amazing thing as that these delays carried in to the next day when my flight arrived in DC and was supposed to have turned around and gone back to SFO over 3 hours earlier. Who knows how late the redeye was going to be that night.
Neutrals:
1. Because of all the hype, I thought I needed to mention the mood lighting. Seriously, does anyone think that pink and purple lighting is going to make their flight better? It was just an oddity as far as I am concerned.
Final Thoughts:
If my option is to fly Virgin America instead of United, American, Northwest, Southwest or their ilk, I probably will. However, I will not choose Virgin America over Jet Blue. Jet Blue is more polished, has much more leg room and the entertainment system just works. Perhaps I'll give them another shot in nine months or a year, when they've had a chance to work out the bugs, if they're still around. ***
----------------------------------------------------------
by Louis D
source: http://gottagadget.blogspot.com/2008/01/flying-virgin-america-not-my-cup-of-tea.html
The keywords of Jet Blue Airlines are Flying Jet Blue, Jet Blue Virgin, Jet Blue America and Jet BlueNot My Cup of Tea.
-======================================
Flying Hotspots?
I was in Boise a few days ago, waiting for my wife to run various errands, and I had my notebook with me. I thought, "What's the chance that I can find a wireless hotspot that isn't encrypted so that I can check my email?" I searched for wireless networks--and I found a couple of them that appeared. They were weak, but I seemed to be able to connect to them--and then they disappeared.
About five miles away, an hour or two later, I tried again--and again, two wireless networks showed up--and then disappeared. A few minutes later--one of them showed back up again--and then disappeared again. And while one of these mysterious wireless networks had what was obviously the Linksys default name, the other had the name "Jet Blue Hot Spot."
Was it possible that I was seeing passenger jets on approach to Boise International? They might be at 10,000 feet or less--which is less than two miles--just barely within the range that I would find possible. This might explain why I would see them, then they disappeared, then reappeared a few minutes later. It might be the same plane, flying in a circle, or multiple Jet Blue planes all configured with the same wireless network name. ***
-------------------------------------------------------------------
by Clayton Cramer
http://www.claytoncramer.com/weblog/2008_01_27_archive.html#6558983542392339215
The keywords of Jet Blue Airlines are Jet Blue Flying, Jet Blue Hotspots and Jet Blue Boise International.
=======================================
Russ Chew, JetBlue President and Former FAA COO, Joins Era's Board of Directors
RESTON, VA--(Marketwire - January 29, 2008) - Era Corporation announced today that Russell Chew has been appointed to the company's Board of Directors. Mr. Chew brings over 20 years of air transportation leadership with a strong focus on strategic planning and operations. Mr. Chew is the current President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of JetBlue Airways, where he leads the airline's strategic direction and operations. Prior to joining JetBlue, Mr. Chew was the COO of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), overseeing the FAA's research and acquisition programs and the U.S. air traffic management system. Mr. Chew also held various leadership positions with American Airlines, including the management of Strategic Operations Planning, which included the evaluation and implementation of new aircraft and ground technologies for airline fleet and operations planning.
"We are honored that Russ has accepted a position on our Board of Directors," said Dave Ellison, Era's President and CEO. "Russ's experience with strategic programs in both government and commercial sectors makes him uniquely positioned to provide valuable insight and guidance in support of Era's growth plans and strategic direction."
Mr. Chew's service to the industry has been substantial. He has served as the chair of the ATC Steering Committee for the Air Transport Association and Flight Operations Committee for the International Air Transport Association. Mr. Chew has spent a great deal of his career focused on new technologies and global air traffic management modernization programs.
"Our industry faces unprecedented growth, challenges and opportunities in the coming years. The value proposition of Jet Blue and the satisfaction of our customers are directly related to the safety and efficiency of the ATM system of today and tomorrow. Next-generation technologies from companies like Era are essential to modernizing the global air transportation system," said Mr. Chew. "I am looking forward to working with Era's leadership team to help accelerate and advance ATM performance around the world through the use of their proven multilateration and ADS-B technologies."
Era has also added some of the industry's best talent to its leadership team in recent days, with Tim Quilter, former Roke Manor Executive, and Dr. Werner Langhans, Austro Control's former Head of Technology, both joining the Era team.***
-----------------------------------------------------------------
by Era Corporation
www.erabeyondradar.com
Era Corporation is a pioneer and leading supplier of next-generation surveillance and flight tracking solutions for the air traffic management, military, security and airport operations markets. With proven multilateration and ADS-B technologies delivering high-performance, high-reliability surveillance solutions, the company has over 100 airport, air traffic management and military customers throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America and Asia. Era's investment in research and development and its track record of product innovation has resulted in a substantial patent portfolio. Era is headquartered in Reston, Virginia with leading product research and development centers of excellence in the U.S. and Czech Republic.
source: http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=815239>
The keywords of Jet Blue Airlines are Jet Blue Russ Chew, JetBlue President and Jet Blue Former FAA COO and Jet Blue Era's Board of Jet Blue Directors.
=================================
The 10 Changes a CEO needs to make to win young consumers
Stephen Covey, author of “the 7 habits of highly effective people” said “The way we see the problem is the problem”.
In the context of marketing to youth this statement reveals many aspects of our industry taken for granted.
How can the marketing of technology truly claim to understand the nature of their consumers when the lens through which they view the consumer is fundamentally distorted? I am referring here to the language we choose to use to describe our marketing challenges.
For example, only drug dealers and the technology industry refer to their consumers as “users“. “Mere semantics” you may say. But, consider for a moment the impact of semantics in our internal company interaction, our “received wisdom” and our own belief systems about our consumers. When we label someone a “user” we also infer a lack of decision making capability - the inference being that they merely “use” the service as opposed to actively exercising choice over the services they consume. Tesco, Nike, Starbucks, Red Bull, Scion, Coke and Jet Blue do not have “users”.
Language shapes strategy. A company may talk up the need for being “customer centric” but as long as it continues to refer to the very customer as “users” in all its internal memos, literature and conference presentations it is merely paying lipservice to idea. The core DNA of the company remains unchanged.
Similarly, language shapes how we view our industry and, importantly, our unique role within that industry. If we talk of a “value chain” as we so often do at industry conferences we imply a serial chain of relationships stretching from the product development across to the “end user”. Note: The END user - the consumer who only features at the “end” of our considerations. “Value chains” represent the legacy of an industrial era that has long been surpassed by the need for a new lens of interpretation. No longer can we simply produce the goods and shunt them along the value chain through the modern era equivalent of warehouses onto the market in the hope that, through lack of real choice and information, the “user” is constrained to purchase.
Toyota and Tesco both know that the mental construct of “chain” is not only irrelevant but also uncompetitive in their industries. GM’s “Value Chain” approach to its suppliers created a lens through which the company viewed the dealers as their customers. Why? Because the chain inferred the most important relationship in the industry was their immediate neighbour in the chain. Both Toyota and Tesco have long implemented an inclusive “value network” approach to their consumers - start with the consumer and build out the supplier ecosystem around adding value to their needs.
Marketing to young consumers requires exercising the discipline to change.
From CEOs to marketing managers, strategic initiatives without the necessary fundamental internal structures conducive to long term change are wasteful and demotivating. When the CEO of a leading mobile operator stands to address the 3GSM crowd in Barcelona claiming a 2 year strategy to “win the hearts of minds of young consumers”, your interest in naturally piqued by the vision. That is until, however, he follows up with a claims that they truly “understand end user needs”… ***
--------------------------------------------------
by Graham Brown
http://www.mobileyouth.org/post/the-10-changes-a-ceo-needs-to-make-to-win-young-consumers-3-change-your-language/
The Keywords of Jet Blue Airlines are The 10 Changes of Jet Blue, CEO Jet Blue and Jet Blue consumers.
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