{"id":385,"date":"2015-11-29T17:12:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-29T22:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/from-back-to-front-how-jetblue-airways-has-maintained-its-low-price-leader-position-through-optimizing-its-operations\/"},"modified":"2015-12-03T16:34:37","modified_gmt":"2015-12-03T21:34:37","slug":"from-back-to-front-how-jetblue-airways-has-maintained-its-low-price-leader-position-through-optimizing-its-operations","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/from-back-to-front-how-jetblue-airways-has-maintained-its-low-price-leader-position-through-optimizing-its-operations\/","title":{"rendered":"From Back to Front: How JetBlue Airways has maintained its low price leader position through optimizing its operations"},"content":{"rendered":"

At last, your group is called to board the plane. You approach the gate agent and head down the jetbridge, which you find h\"plane\"alf-filled with passengers. You must stand and wait, for the third or fourth time that day, before finally entering the plane\u2019s cabin. You slowly move down the blocked aisles behind passengers who are fighting for overhead bin space and trying to maneuver into their seats. After many minutes or hours spent navigating the airport, passing through security, waiting to board, and jostling through the jetbridge and aisle, you collapse into your seat near the back of the plane, relieved to finally be on your way.<\/p>\n

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Boarding a plane can be a painful process, but on my Thanksgiving flight back to Boston, I had a different experience. I flew with the airline, JetBlue, which uses a back-to-front boarding process, meaning the back of the plane boards first, followed by the front rows, preventing the usually clogged and inefficient scenario described above. My entire boarding process took less than 5 minutes. This is just one way in which JetBlue optimizes its operations in order to fulfill its business purpose.<\/p>\n

\"map\"Business Model<\/strong>: JetBlue strives to create a positive flying experience for its customers while maintaining low fares. JetBlue has been able to differentiate itself since its inception: offering low fares, serving less-competitive airports, and selectively removing \u201cperks\u201d that are often undervalued by customers at other airlines. By striving for internal cost-efficiencies, JetBlue is able to maintain its cost leader position for many of the airports it serves.<\/p>\n

JetBlue also differentiates itself from other airlines by the company\u2019s adherence to its five values: safety, caring, integrity, fun, and passion. These values are communicated to the public through its humorous \u201cAir on the Side of Humanity\u201d advertising campaign which essentially compares the treatment of pigeons to how other airlines treat their customers. These values are also apparent through the JetBlue experience: friendly employees, in-flight entertainment, and multiple free snack options.<\/p>\n

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Operations Model<\/strong>: In addition to the back-to-front boarding policy, JetBlue optimizes other aspects of its operations to lower their costs, enabling them to continue to offer the lowest fares while providing a great flying experience. Since many of JetBlue\u2019s operational costs, including fuel prices, are out of its control, the company has managed to find other ways to enhance its operational model:<\/p>\n