JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Technology Ventures, the airline's venture capital arm, aims to use technology to improve customer service. These efforts are an attempt to differentiate the company in a market that is usually driven by pricing. Some of the new innovations include testing ways to more efficiently predict weather surrounding an airport to redirect flights in a more timely manner, as well as personalizing travel by having in-flight entertainment clock when a passenger left off in a movie. Further initiatives look into automating check-in, bag drop and boarding via biometrics, such as facial recognition.
Reminiscing about how the airline became involved in the venture, head of JetBlue Technology Ventures, Bonny Simi said: "How is air travel going to be disrupted? How might we participate in that?" I was working as head of JetBlue talent at the time, and honestly startups are more about the "who"rather than the "what," so I was asked to take on the initiative to build out the corporate venture arm here in Silicon Valley. It's been a fabulous experience. We get to see thousands of startups. We've seen 5,500 startups overall, and we've invested in 25."
Some of JetBlue's existing technology is also immensely useful. For instance, flight attendants have in-flight tablets that can cross-check transfer flights, delays for people in transit etc. and offer such passengers free beverages or food as a way to temper their experience.
Moreover, existing softwares can allow crew members to identify and give perks such as more leg room to passengers who have something wrong with their seat, or those who are frequent fliers.
Speaking on the topic of some of the recent investments JetBlue has made, Simi says: "Where we believe massive disruption is about to happen, and what we're participating in as investors, is in regional travel-think a thousand miles or less, short haul. On roads, there's already congestion because of the ridesharing apps. People are going to want to move away from that and not go through large congestion into large airports. So go one foot up in the air. We're thinking about electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (or flying taxis). We've invested in a company called Joby, which is really leading in that space, where it takes off like a helicopter, and then flies like an airplane and lands again, and it's very efficient because it's electric. I see that happening in less than five years."
It would be unsurprising to see local, smaller airlines revert to this model of disruption soon, especially if JetBlue turns out to be successful. The investment arm can serve as a cash generator for the airline arm, which can then continue to lower its price point for higher quality experiences.
