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JetBlue Rides Out the Turbulence

February 22, 2007

“My philosophy is go big or go home. Up until now (CEO David) Neeleman has been that big guy. He’s not in the transportation business; he’s in the experience business. He had an opportunity here to really go big by offering free travel with very dramatic compensation. From a PR perspective, Neeleman has been perfect,” said Lewis of Digital Pulp. His agency handled crisis management duties last May when Bausch & Lomb recalled contact lens cleaning solution after the Center for Disease Controls determined its ReNu with MoistureLoc was linked to fungal eye infections in 109 patients.

JetBlue is deftly using the immediate and interactive tools of the Web to get its apology out there after Neeleman appeared on TV networks and major publications saying he was “mortified and humiliated” by his airline’s lack of performance. In the video apology on Jetblue.com, a buttoned-down Neeleman promises “the events that transpired last week ... will never happen again.”

Full Article (printed in two publications):
http://www.adweek.com/aw/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003548857
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/leisuretrav/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003548857