cover image BLUE STREAK: Inside JetBlue, the Upstart That Rocked an Industry

BLUE STREAK: Inside JetBlue, the Upstart That Rocked an Industry

Barbara S. Peterson, . . Portfolio, $24.95 (288pp) ISBN 978-1-59184-058-9

This compact and cogent study of JetBlue is also a biography of its founder, David Neeleman. Neeleman had experience with local airlines and Southwestern, as well as contact with Virgin Atlantic's buccaneering Richard Branson, when he decided in the late '90s to found his own discount airline, now the most successful low-cost carrier since Southwestern. JetBlue has had its ups and downs—9/11 was handled extremely well; on the other hand, a major breach of security put passenger data into the hands of government security investigators. The carrier has also been subjected to major and, the author says, not overly scrupulous competitive tactics from its leading rival, Delta. On the business side, Peterson, Condé Nast Traveler contributing editor, focuses on how ossified the traditional major carriers had become and how thoroughly they had tended to reduce their passengers (whom JetBlue calls "customers") into servants of existing regulations, rather than make regulations and procedures serve the customers. The book is also full of contextual snapshots, including the sad state of New York's JFK airport, which JetBlue is trying to make a significant domestic hub again. While not quite hagiographic, the book lauds Peterson for working hard to implement a more congenial solution to air travel's dilemmas; many readers will agree and relish the details. Agent, Joni Evans at William Morris. (Nov. 22)