JetBlue CEO Delivers Kossoff Business Leadership Lecture

David Neeleman, founder, chairman, and CEO of innovative JetBlue Airways, spoke to a capacity crowd on Mar. 7 at the Second Annual Burton Kossoff Business Leadership Lecture, presented by Mrs. Phyllis L. Kossoff and Baruch’s Executives On Campus Program.

As an executive at Southwest Airlines, Neeleman found that his efforts to “shake up the organization” resulted in his being asked to leave. But that turned out to be “the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said, because it opened the way for a series of exciting entrepreneurial career moves: before launching JetBlue in February 2000, Neeleman had helped launch the Canadian low-fare carrier WestJet and developed Open Skies, a ticketless reservation and check-in system.

Discussing the state of the airline industry, Neeleman conceded that the industry is “highly sensitive to fuel costs” and that this poses challenges to staying profitable. To cut costs, he proposed finding “the right mix” of flight scheduling and route planning to fill more seats per plane. Characteristically positive, he concluded, “It’s a lot of fun running a company, even in bad times, when you treat people well.”

Referring to JetBlue’s successful response to a landing gear incident in Los Angeles last summer, an audience member thanked Neeleman: “My husband was on that flight, a week-and-a-half before we were married,” she said, adding that “the crew was wonderful.” Neeleman noted that the crew gave passengers the choice of whether or not to watch TV—and news coverage—on the plane. “It was important to give them that choice,” he said.

—Tom Fugalli