Flying High: How JetBlue Founder and CEO David Neeleman Beats the Competition... Even in the World's Most Turbulent Industry

Rating:
Summary: Some redeeming qualities
Review: Flying High reads more like an authorized biography than a work of edgy journalism. Mr. Neeleman appears to have very few faults. He rarely experiences failure, has no sense of greed, and is motivated almost exclusively by the betterment of mankind. I'm a little suspicious that the marketing department at JetBlue may have helped just a bit with this book.

My suspicions aside, the book does have redeeming qualities. First, Mr. Neeleman has been undeniably successful at launching airlines -- an impressive feat. I find it particularly impressive since he is not an airline industry veteran. Second, Mr. Neeleman has built a culture at JetBlue based on a well-defined set of core values. These values are obvious to anyone who has flown this young airline. The chapter on JetBlue's values, "Preserving the Culture," is the best part of the book. Third, Mr. Neeleman relies on technology to stay ahead of the aging airline industry. The book isn't about technology per se, but it makes a pretty good case for aggressive uses of IT. Finally, Flying High is a quick read. A round-trip from JFK to Oakland should give you plenty of time to get through it.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Look at a Fascinating Company
Review: I have been a huge fan of JetBlue since taking my first flight more than a year ago. I was really looking forward to reading this book, and definitetly wasn't disappointed. It was a great read from start to finish. The first part of the book talks about the airline's CEO David Neeleman, including the many business successes he had before JetBlue. It then talks about how JetBlue was started, down to how the name for the airline came up almost by accident just prior to a news conference to announce it. Even though I have read all kinds of articles on JetBlue, this book had a lot of new material I had never heard before, and the stories about Neeleman's early business ventures were really fascinating. I highly recommend this book both for big JetBlue fans like me, and anyone looking for a behind the scenes look at how to build a great company.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Look at a Fascinating Company
Review: I have been a huge fan of JetBlue since taking my first flight more than a year ago. I was really looking forward to reading this book, and definitetly wasn't disappointed. It was a great read from start to finish. The first part of the book talks about the airline's CEO David Neeleman, including the many business successes he had before JetBlue. It then talks about how JetBlue was started, down to how the name for the airline came up almost by accident just prior to a news conference to announce it. Even though I have read all kinds of articles on JetBlue, this book had a lot of new material I had never heard before, and the stories about Neeleman's early business ventures were really fascinating. I highly recommend this book both for big JetBlue fans like me, and anyone looking for a behind the scenes look at how to build a great company.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: I was so excited to see this book featured in a recent issue of "Fortune" magazine, which called it an "excellent" read. JetBlue is my favorite airline, and I was happy to see a book had been written about it. This book does a great job of laying out Neeleman's business approach, which he began developing as a young man. I really enjoyed the insider look at how JetBlue was formed. This is truly an inspirational story that even non-JetBlue fans will enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: I was so excited to see this book featured in a recent issue of "Fortune" magazine, which called it an "excellent" read. JetBlue is my favorite airline, and I was happy to see a book had been written about it. This book does a great job of laying out Neeleman's business approach, which he began developing as a young man. I really enjoyed the insider look at how JetBlue was formed. This is truly an inspirational story that even non-JetBlue fans will enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: James Wynbrandt has penned a well-researched, colorful account of the life and guiding principles of commercial aviation pioneer David Neeleman. The book is written in a clear, straightforward style, and offers insights into what made discount carrier JetBlue an unlikely success. The book appears, however, to reflect Neeleman's artful capacity for generating positive publicity for himself. While this is not exactly a hagiography, once you have read it, you may well envision a halo floating above Neeleman's portrait on the book's jacket. Then again, as Muhammad Ali once said, "If you can do it, it ain't braggin'." Certainly, Neeleman's accomplishments rocked the commercial aviation industry, encouraging the major carriers to launch value-based alternatives such as Ted and Song. We recommend this book to professionals seeking useful ideas to help their businesses gain altitude.

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating look into one of the most admired companies
Review: This fast moving, well written book provides a detailed insight into the success of JetBlue and its famed CEO. More than just the operating details of the airline, this book explores its very foundation in the life and personality of JetBlue's CEO. You come away from it thinking of all the ways you can improve your own business, and with a strong appreciation of your customers. Flying High is well written and holds your attention from start to finish. This is definitely a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Attitude Is Altitude
Review: This really isn't a biography of David Neeleman (pronounced "Neel-Mun"). Rather, Wyndbrant carefully integrates relevant information from both Neeleman's life and his career to explain JetBlue's success to date. Neeleman would be the first to point out that, in the airline industry (de-regulated since October 28, 1978), it is a fool's errand to predict which airlines today are totally secure and which are doomed. All airlines have problems which vary only in nature and degree. However, JetBlue is probably in better shape than most others are even as Neeleman explains that how it can become better while becoming larger "is the question that we're wrestling with at JetBlue, and I think it's something that we focus on a lot." He adds, "I believe we are going to be able to...have a thriving, prosperous company, that we're setting the standard in what we're doing in customer service, and that we'll continue to grow in the future."

Of special interest to me is what Wyndbrant reveals about the major influences on Neeleman's life and career, notably his membership in the Church of Latter Day Saints, his career successes (e.g. leadership of WestJet and then Morris Air) as well as career failures (e.g. bankruptcy and liquidation of The Hawaii Express and being fired by Southwest Airlines), the impact of having A.D.D., and his efforts to plan, obtain financing for, and then launch JetBlue.

With regard to JetBlue's business model, it clearly indicates what Neeleman learned during his associations with the three airlines (WestJet, Morris, and Southwest Airlines). According to Wyndbrant, as JetBlue was about to be launched at John F. Kennedy International Airport in February of 2000,

"Neeleman promised New Yorkers -- and the world -- a new kind of economy travel aboard planes with wider, all-leather seats, extra leg room, preassigned seats, and more overhead storage space than other carriers delivered. Moreover, all of this would be provided at a price that was up to 65 percent less than the competition. Furthermore, there would be no requirement for staying at destinations over a Saturday night to qualify for the lowest fare, as the major carriers mandated. Even the price of walk-up tickets would be below standard fares many airlines charged for flights of a similar distance. On the ground, JetBlue would offer quick, computerized, touch-screen check-in. Perhaps most notable of all, in the air, passengers would be able to watch 24 channels of live TV displayed on individual monitors mounted in every seatback. JetBlue would be the first airline in the world to make this entertainment amenity available to all its passengers."

This is almost precisely the same business model which enabled JetBlue to attract its senior management team as well as to obtain about $130-million in initial financing. It also explains how JetBlue was able to differentiate itself from various competitors. With all due respect to JetBlue's business plan, leadership, and capital, however, Neeleman insists that JetBlue's crewmembers (NOT "employees" nor even "associates") have established -- and will continue to sustain -- the airline's single most decisive competitive advantage. On this point, he and Southwest Airlines' Herb Kelleher are in total agreement as I shall explain in greater detail later. Wyndbrant devotes substantial attention in this book to how JetBlue recruits, interviews, and evaluates prospective crewmembers. He then explains how they are trained.

There is so much of value in this book which is directly relevant to decision-makers in almost any other organization, regardless of size or nature. Obviously, Neeleman is an uncommonly intelligent, ambitious, talented, principled, and caring CEO. However, the success achieved by JetBlue thus far is the result of teamwork under his leadership. For me, the key point in this book is illustrated by what is certainly not unique to JetBlue: the process by which a visionary can attract and then galvanize so many different but compatible people with comparable skills, decency, and experience to help launch what became a crusade, in this instance (in Neeleman's words) "to bring humanity back to air travel."

Wyndbrant focuses on so many revealing, indeed defining moments in his book. I now conclude this brief commentary with one of them. Kelleher once told Neeleman, "I don't care about my shareholders." Neeleman was shocked. What did he mean? Was Kelleher really serious? "Because I just take care of my employees. I know if I take care of my employees, they'll take care of my customers, and my customers will take care of my shareholders." Long before Neeleman went to work for Southwest Airlines, Kelleher once observed "You can get the same airplane. You can get the same ticket counters.  You can get the same computers. But the hardest thing for a competitor to match is your culture and the spirit of your people and their focus on customer service because that isn't something you can do overnight and it isn't something you can do without a great deal of attention every day in a thousand different ways. That is why I say that our employees are our competitive protection."

What lies ahead for these two uncommonly successful airlines? Since my crystal ball imploded more than 20 years ago, I stopped making predictions. Let's await further developments...and probably not have to wait long.

Rating:
Summary: The JetBlue Story
Review: Very readable and highly entertaining. I haven't even flown on JetBlue, but was curious about the company's history because everyone seems to be talking about it. I was pleased to find that the book offered a combination of JetBlue's history and the CEO's own journey in the business. I really like his way of doing business and how he treats his employees and customers. Hopefully other company executives will read this and apply some of JetBlue's practices as well.

Rating:
Summary: The JetBlue Story
Review: Very readable and highly entertaining. I haven't even flown on JetBlue, but was curious about the company's history because everyone seems to be talking about it. I was pleased to find that the book offered a combination of JetBlue's history and the CEO's own journey in the business. I really like his way of doing business and how he treats his employees and customers. Hopefully other company executives will read this and apply some of JetBlue's practices as well.