Skift Take
United President Scott Kirby likes to say that if an airline is not first in market share in a market, it's as good as being last. JetBlue executives likely don't agree. They generally argue that JetBlue, America's sixth-largest carrier, is big enough to compete with more established competitors.
JetBlue Airways executives like to talk about how they're building a "challenger brand," marketing speak for an company that is neither market leader nor a niche brand, but still helps set the tone for how an industry evolves.
For many undersized companies, this can be a sound strategy, as challengers can lead through their investments in technology and other innovations.
But among airlines, success is often defined by size. The biggest carriers, such American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, can fly their customers nearly everywhere they want to go, directly or through partners.
JetBlue can't — it's only big in a handful of cities on the East Coast — and as a result, it sometimes struggles to win corporate accounts and other lucrative business. JetBlue had sought to acquire Virgin America as a quick way to increase its scale and West Coast schedule, but Alaska Airlines outbid it.
On Tuesday, JetBlue held an investor day in New York, and executives assured analysts the airline can succeed with a measured growth plan focusing on three cities where it already has enough scale to compete — Boston, New York and Fort Lauderdale. JetBlue's leaders also vowed to take cabin segmentation more seriously, invest in ancillary products, reduce costs, and leverage new technologies.
Wall Street didn't reward executives on Tuesday for their candor: The airline's stock fell six cents to $18.93.
For the year, JetBlue stock is off 11 percent. Over the past three years, it has fallen roughly 29 percent.
Here are some takeaways from this year's investor day.
Why Grow?
Analysts often question why airline executives d
