For a few tense hours on September 21, the fate of JetBlue Airways hung on flight 292. The nose landing-gear of the Airbus 320 jet was stuck sideways. The plane, carrying 146 people, circled Los Angeles to burn off fuel and then came down safely with its landing-gear still askew.
The experience made David Barger, the airline's president and chief operating officer, realize how fragile his company, or any firm, is. "We have worked so hard to develop this brand, and you can almost lose it in a minute," he said during a leadership lecture earlier this month at Wharton.
A crash could have unraveled one of the most successful airline startups in recent memory. Five-and-a-half-year-old JetBlue, based at New York's Kennedy Airport, has taken off. Wall Street likes its string of profits. Customers enjoy its amenities, including leather seats with more leg room than most other planes, and satellite television at no extra charge. Indeed, JetBlue last year earned $47.5 million on sales of $1.3 billion. Its stock more than doubled in the two years after it went public in 2002 (although since then it has retreated, partly because of concerns about rising fuel prices).
Chances are, none of that would have mattered had flight 292 crashed and passengers died. Since the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration has ordered special inspections of Airbus jets. JetBlue's own inspections turned up no additional problems in its 92 Airbuses, Barger said.
The Los Angeles mishap marred what has been a sterling start for JetBlue. Many competitors continue to chalk up losses caused first by September 11, 2001, and now high fuel prices. JetBlue has grown steadily. "We have carried about 40 million customers and are in the process of taking delivery of a new aircraft about every 10 days," Barger pointed out. "Between now and 2012, we have commitments on 433 airplanes, whether that's firm commitments or options.
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