20120925 - Case Study - JetBlue Airways: A New Beginning

Case Study - JetBlue Airways: A New Beginning - 2 PDUs

Learning Objective:

This case can be used to study ways of implementing change in organizations, with emphasis on empowering large groups of employees to work on complex, cross-functional problems. It also illustrates the importance of leadership in inspiring and empowering employees. Finally the JetBlue company culture was an important factor in empowering employees working on the project. A legancy of IROP Integrity was a renewal of the company's earlier, entrepreneurial culture.

Mr. Ian Ng, Founder & Director, Fairworth Associates Pte Ltd, is a recognized expert in corporate risk management, project management, crisis management & business continuity, IT Governance & audit, productivity and business improvement, with over 18 years' experience. He is currently a lead trainer in PMP Certification and MS Project courses for ConnaissancesHut Training & Consulting Pvt Ltd in Singapore & South-East-Asia. He is also an associate trainer with Civil Service Collage of Brunei Darussalem. In addition, he is a BCM Technical Expert to AJA Registrars.

He was previously the dept head with Jurong Port and responsible for driving all business process improvements & strategic projects. Prior to that appointment, he was the Head of IT Audit team with Singapore Press Holding. He was also a regional corporate auditor with Rabobank and a local bank.

JetBlue Airways grew rapidly from its founding in 2000, focusing on providing low-cost service to previously underserved cities, while giving passengers a high-quality experience, ("bringing humanity back to air travel"). An ice storm at JFK airport on February 14, 2007 caused 1,195 flights to be cancelled over a six day period, and stranded several planes on the taxiway for many hours. JetBlue, previously viewed as one of the best airlines (if not the best) for customer service, took extensive criticism from the public, press, and Congress. In addition, the disruptions caused by the storm cost the company over $41 million. The 2007 storm highlighted deficiencies in JetBlue's operational infrastructure. Some top-down changes were made, but disruptions caused by thunderstorms in summer 2008 demonstrated that the airline's ability to deal with irrefular operations (IROPs) was woefully inadequate. The company instituted a program (IROP Integrity) that utilized the talents of more than 200 employees, from all levels, and all parts of the airline, to address these problems.  This was done through process mapping, root cause analysis, and cross-discipline coopoeration working on 100 projects to improve both technology and processes. In February 2010, an ice storm far worse than the 2007 event again disrupted operations at JFK. This time, the airline had to cancel far fewer flights, which were mostly done before passengers arrived at the airport, operations the next day, and the cost was a small fraction of the cost of the 2007 disruption. This case describes the IROP Integrity project-its origins, the role of executive sponsors, project leadership and organization, and the processes used to identify and carry out improvement projects. It also describes the legacy of IROP Integrity on the JetBlue organization and culture.