Jetblue's Strategy

* What is JetBlue's strategy for success in the marketplace? Does the company rely primarily on a customer intimacy, operational excellence, or product leadership customer value proposition? What evidence supports your conclusion?

There is a statement in the section that says there strategy for success is providing high-quality customer service at low fares. This sounds as if their focus is on the customer. After this statement their focus is on increasing the frequency of their existing rout and connecting to new cities. So I would have to say that their strategy is product leadership. I would also like to add that they focus on operational excellence. The evidence behind this is their ability to contain their operating cost; they have the highest completion factor, the highest on-time performance and the lowest incidence of mishandled bags amongst all major US airlines (SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, 2004).

* What business risks does JetBlue face that may threaten the company's ability to satisfy stockholder expectations? What are some examples of control activities that the company could use to reduce these risks? (Hint: Focus on pages 17-23 of the 10-K/A.)

Some of the problems that JetBlue could face are failing to successfully implement their growth strategy. This could harm their business because they would have to use resources in order to find new gates in major cities. This would also require hiring new staff in a timely manner. They must obtain approvals as well. If they began expanding and not able to operate, this would result in a loss of funds. The cost of maintenance will increase due to aged fleets. Another risk is being able to maintain qualified staff at a reasonable pay rate. This could affect the culture of the company. JetBlue must purchase aircraft that meets the specifications and performance standards. Other things that could affect the company is a fluctuating operations, failure in technology, lack of credit, limited number of suppliers, losing important people that are in top management, and financial issues associated with accidents, airline restructurings and high fuel costs.

* How can the concept of unit-level activities be applies to an airline? More specifically, what are two examples of unit-level activities for JetBlue? What steps has JetBlue taken to manage these unit-level activities more efficiently?

Unit level costing are performed each time a unit is produced (Noreen, Brewer, & Garrison, 2011). This could mean booking fees through reservation agents. There is also a 20% total fare charged to a customer. What JetBlue has done to manage these unit-level activities more efficiently is by providing incentives to be productive, having agents work from home and using advanced technology to make sure they never over book.

* How can the concept of batch-level activities be applied to an airline? What are two examples of batch-level activities