How JetBlue Sells CSR

It's not easy to be an airline passenger today. Between TSA molestations, hidden fees that double the cost of a trip and grouchy flight attendants, flying makes walking seem like a pretty good idea for transportation. But Jetblue is turning the lack of service and fair treatment found in other airlines into an opportunity to differentiate their product- a flight that won't traumatize you. Just months after their flight attendant grabbed a beer, issued a global F-You and took the emergency exit - literally and figuratively- JetBlue is marketing their customer service. Is Jetblue's customer service a form of CSR?

This fall, JetBlue opened gates in Boston's Logan airport, and accompanied the move with widespread advertising on the T - Boston's subway system. The banner ads (some pictured here) strongly emphasize the idea that customers are owed a certain level of treatment. The slogans include messaging such as (paraphrased) "More Space Than an Apartment on Beacon Hill" (a neighborhood notorious for tiny, expensive apartments); "Stops are for trains"; "Trays; Knees; Never the Two Shall Meet"; "Not a Tagline; A Promise" and "Someone Has to Stand Up for Tall People". The theme is clear, and summed up by another slogan: "You Above All". Jetblue wants to prove it will treat its customers better than its competitors. Which isn't much of a feat in modern air travel.

In the era of Aeroaviation's "Stand-up seats" and RyanAir diverting a flight to a new destination midair without informing its passengers, air travel has (hopefully) sunk to its lowest point. JetBlue's strategy capitalizes on the degeneration of air travel and turns its customer service, fair treatment of customers and moderately gracious cabin design into a product on its own that adds value. Jetblue is saying hey, have this affordable flight- AND you don't have to suffer for it. Virgin and Southwest has somewhat similar approaches. What we are seeing is a form of CSR. The way the lowest rated airlines treat customers borders on or in fact is unethical. When air travel cuts so many corners that it ends up harming customers - financially, physically (keeping them on the runway for six hours), or actually- via slipshod maintenance practices- it's socially irresponsible.

Thus, what Jetblue is doing is important. It is differentiating itself from companies willing to make profits at the expense of their customers - companies that are parasitic to their customers. It is proving that CSR creates value that firms can profit from. Parasitic companies create marketshare for other firms who can then present the same product at a slightly higher price point via socially responsible, fair and respectful customer service. So while companies like United exploit their customers in new and extreme ways daily, firms like JetBlue are there to snatch United's former marketshare by offering a product that actually helps their customers.