Skift Take
JetBlue is getting all-grown up. It now has business class service, the airline will soon roll out a new fare structure and its pilots voted to join a union. The challenge is to ensure that the products and service that built JetBlue's reputation don't get lost in the evolution.
Marty St. George was standing in JFK’s Terminal 5 on Tuesday, wearing a black pinstriped suit, his airport credentials dangling on a lanyard with the words “Red Sox” emblazoned on it, and he was talking to a couple of reporters about what’s obviously his pride and joy, the terminal.
St. George, who became JetBlue’s Executive Vice President Commercial and Planning in February, obviously emitted the aura of being “somebody” of import and a JetBlue passenger who was having some issues, instinctively recognized it.
The woman was having a stressful airport moment as she approached the group of four, including airline spokesperson Doug McGraw, the upbeat St. George and the two journalists. But she focused on St. George, the authority figure in the suit.
“Hablas español?” she asked.
“Un poco,” said St. George, a member of JetBlue's leadership team who reports to CEO Robin Hayes.
First Things First
St. George was there to brief the two reporters on a few things but he left us and took off with the somewhat-distressed JetBlue passenger following him when it became clear that his “un poco” Spanish just wasn’t going to be adequate.
Five or 10 minutes later St. George reappeared after having found someone to help out the woman, who ambled behind him at a pace that was a helluva lot slower than Americ
