Synopses & Reviews
"While Flying High tells the tale of JetBluefrom how it was founded to the way in which it operates todaythis book is the story of David Neeleman. Throughout this fascinating journey, youll discover the management techniques Neeleman has developed and used over the years, which most observers credit for JetBlues unparalleled accomplishments. While he applies these rules to running JetBlue, they are truly applicable to every business in every industry."
From the Introduction
JetBlue is the most impressive airline startup in history and an amazing success story. Its consistent record of profitability has made the carrier shine in an industry thats full of red ink.
Behind it all stands David NeelemanJetBlues young, brash, bold, and uncompromising founder and CEO.
Flying High traces Neelemans spectacular journey from soft-spoken Mormon missionary to the top of the American airline industry. Full of insightful details and interviews with Neelemans friends, associates, and prominent figures in both business and aviation, Flying High offers an up-close look at how he built a successful companyand changed an entire industryby breaking the rules and taking good care of his customers. Among other things, youll discover how Neeleman:
- Learned the travel business from the ground up, then used that knowledge to build his first successful airlineMorris Air
- Sold Morris to Southwest Airlines at age thirty-three, for a $25 million personal profitand then promptly talked himself out of a job with the company
- Created the technology behind e-ticketing
- Launched a low-fare carrier in Canada, before starting what eventually became known as JetBlue
- Steered JetBlue through the aftermath of 9/11, leading the way with dramatic actions that both improved security and ensured the airlines survival
- Forever changed the flying experience for passengers by introducing such innovations as live in-flight television and unparalleled customer service
- Turned JetBlue into a household name through clever marketing and public relations campaigns
Review
As veteran airlines writer James Wynbrandt shows in his excellent new book, Flying High, it took JetBlue's hyperkinetic free spirit David Neeleman to extend the revolution started by Southwest's Herb Kelleher into a heady new frontier—by putting the discounters in a nose-to-nose rivalry with the major carriers. A devout Mormon with nine children, Neeleman, from Salt Lake City, learned about customer service as a kid on a milk crate in his grandfather's convenience store. When customers demanded a product his granddad didn't have, young David would bolt out the back door to Safeway to buy it. After a stint as a missionary in Brazil, Neeleman—a college dropout with ADD—started a travel agency, a charter airline to Hawaii, and a low-cost carrier called Morris Air, which he sold to Southwest. After just five months, Kelleher fired Neeleman, who'd barge into meetings and loudly lecture Southwest's proud managers on where their airline was screwing up.
By the time he founded JetBlue in 1999, Neeleman had already pioneered many of the boldest innovations in aviation, including e-ticketing, automatic ticket machines, and at-home reservation staffs. Backed by farsighted investors, among them George Soros, JetBlue busted the biggest myth in airlines by proving that a low-cost carrier can also beat the majors on service. While Wynbrandt clearly idolizes Neeleman as a curious blend of saint and gladiator, his idol does deserve our gratitude. It took this hyperactive dreamer to put a fresh face on a tired industry, to show at long last that customers, not old-line carriers, are charting the future of commercial aviation. (Fortune, June 28, 2004)
Synopsis
Flying High traces the incredible career of the founder and chairman of JetBlue, David Neeleman, from his teenage ventures and beginnings in the travel industry., to his short stint at Southwest Airlines and the ultimate launch of JetBlue. In a series of interviews with Neeleman's friends, associates, and high-ranking officials in both business and aviation, this books tells the store of Neeleman and explores the rules of success he both lives and builds his companies by.
Synopsis
Praise for Flying High"If you want to know what it takes to develop a great business—not just an airline—Flying High is a must-read. James Wynbrandt does an excellent job of bringing JetBlue founder David Neeleman's amazing personal journey and business innovativeness to life in an interesting and exciting manner."
—Dave Sclair, Publisher Emeritus, General Aviation News
"James Wynbrandt adeptly captures the elements that have made David Neeleman and his remarkable airline, JetBlue, a huge success. Flying High is a tribute to Neeleman's true depth. By developing a visionary business model and the right communications strategy, he was able to pilot JetBlue to profitability with finesse. It's a must-read for people in any business seeking success."
—Howard J. Rubenstein, President, Rubenstein Associates, Inc.
"In Flying High, James Wynbrandt tells the completely beguiling story of how a former Mormon missionary with attention deficit disorder and a history of both bankruptcy and getting fired from a high-profile job created one of the great airline successes of our time. What is David Neeleman's secret at JetBlue? It's a new concept called understanding what your customers really need. Neeleman's fanatical attention to customer satisfaction, employee relations, and technology make for such a fascinating read. I raced through the book in one sitting."
—Rinker Buck, Aviation journalist and author, Flight of Passage: A Memoir
Synopsis
A look at the fascinating life and career of the founder of JetBlue, one of the few airlines that has managed to profit in a tumultuous industry, includes interviews with top business and aviation officials that reveal a firsthand look at the formula for success.
About the Author
David Neeleman is much more than one of today’s most accomplished aviation executives. Throughout an incredible career that began with selling Hawaiian timeshare vacation packages as a college student and ultimately led to the creation of JetBlue, Neeleman has demonstrated an uncanny ability to identify and fill unmet needs by building niche businesses. Flying High is a straightforward, illuminating account of David Neeleman’s life and the principles by which he has created his highly profitable travel empire–rules that can be applied to virtually any business in almost every industry.
James Wynbrandt is a New York—based author and award-winning aviation and business reporter. He is a regular contributor to numerous high-profile aviation publications, including Smithsonian Air and Space, Plane & Pilot, General Aviation News, Avionics News, and Pilot Journal. A licensed pilot, Wynbrandt has been following JetBlue since the company’s founding. His articles on business and aviation have also appeared in The New York Times, Forbes, Management Review, Computer and Electronics Marketing, Flying, and Aspen Magazine, among others.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
CHAPTER 1 The Journey Begins 7
CHAPTER 2 Have I Got a Deal for You 23
CHAPTER 3 Morris Air Spreads Its Wings 39
CHAPTER 4 Off to Southwest 55
CHAPTER 5 Opening Up New Skies 73
CHAPTER 6 A Different Kind of Airline 85
CHAPTER 7 Preparing for Departure 103
CHAPTER 8 JetBlue Takes Flight 121
CHAPTER 9 Making Air Travel Entertaining 139
CHAPTER 10 Keeping Customers Happy 151
CHAPTER 11 The Technology Advantage 163
CHAPTER 12 Getting the Word Out in Style 177
CHAPTER 13 Dealing with Disaster 193
CHAPTER 14 Preserving the Culture 213
CHAPTER 15 Looking to the Future 225
CHAPTER 16 David Neeleman’s Rules for Succeeding in Any Business 243
JetBlue Timeline 255
Acknowledgments 263
Notes 265
Index 289