Question

Please read the case provided below and answer the following question: In 2007, JetBlue was a booming young airline with a strong reputation for outstanding service. In fact, the low-fare airline referred to itself as a customer service company that just happened to fly planes. But on Valentine's Day 2007, JetBlue was hit by the perfect storm-literally-of events that led to an operational meltdown. One of the most severe storms of the decade covered JetBlue's main hub at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport with a thick layer of snow and ice. Small JetBlue did not have the infrastructure to deal with such a crisis. The severity of the storm, coupled with a series of poor management decisions, left JetBlue passengers stuck in planes on the runway for up to 11 hours. Worse still, the ripple effect of the storm created major JetBlue flight troubles for six more days. Understandably, customers were irate. JetBlue's efforts to clean up the mess following the six-day Valentine's Day nightmare cost over $30 million dollars in overtime, flight refunds, vouchers for future travel, and other expenses. But the blow to the company's previously stellar customer-service reputation stung far more than the financial fallout. JetBlue became the butt of jokes by late night talk show hosts. Some industry observers even predicted that this would be the end of the seven-year-old airline. But just three years later, the company is not only still flying, it is growing, profitable, and hotter than ever. During the recent economic downturn, even as most competing airlines were cutting routes, retiring aircraft, laying off employees, and losing money, JetBlue was adding planes, expanding into new cities, hiring thousands of new employees, and turning profits. Even more, JetBlue's customers adore the airline. For the fifth consecutive year (even including 2007), JetBlue has had the highest J.D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction score for the entire airline industry. Not only did JetBlue recover quickly from the Valentine's Day hiccup, it's now stronger than ever. What's the secret to JetBlue's success? Quite simply, it's an obsession with making sure that every customer experience lives up to the company slogan, "Happy Jetting." Lots of companies say they focus on customers. But at JetBlue, customer well-being is ingrained in the culture. From the beginning, JetBlue set out to provide features that would delight customers. For example, most air travelers expect to be squashed when flying coach. But JetBlue has

Answer 1

1. Core competency
The meaning of core means something fundamental and competency means the skill or ability and in the business, the concept of core competency is taken to be something unique that a business has, which enables it to compete effectively. So, it is a strategic concept around business strings. For example, the core competency of a company name “XYZ car service” is the ability to service cars well.
The idea of Core competency was first suggested by Hamel and Prahalad.in the book called “Competing For The Future”
JetBlue, New York city-based airline has gone from a start-up to a major mainstream player. In 10 years, JetBlue has proven itself as a powerful brand in the airline business.
In my opinion, the core competencies of JetBlue is due to:-
Competitive fares.
Making customers their priority and caring about their safety.
Offers luxuries like leather seats, satellite Tv, bricks and mortar.
Good customer service.
Maintain good relationships with crewmembers and customers
Look for innovation in business.
Creating fun that will exhibit negative situations into positive.

Yes, all these will lead to competitive advantages since JetBlue has continuously created value for its customer through fair pricing, good-quality service, and excellent services

2. An augmented product means those products that include several additional benefits and features beyond its physical product. It is used as a marketing strategy to make it's brand unique from its competitors.
Product augmentation by JetBlue:-
Jet blue with its unique strategy by offering its customer cheap fair, offering surprising indulgences like leather seats, high-end personal entertainment systems with satellite television, and extra-legroom in the back two-thirds of the plane has followed the theory of product augmentation. This unique strategy has helped JetBlue establish a unique position in the market and steal share from less creative competitors. By setting itself apart from both the low and high end while offering features of each, JetBlue successfully appeals to customers across segments—from college students to business executives.

3. Pricing Strategy of JetBlue:- Jetblue was low fare with high-quality service that redefined Jetblue as a “different kind of airline” which customers will prefer over the competition. And Jetblue was very successful in its pricing strategy with quality service which transforms many customers in their favorer. This successful implementation resulted in huge growth in the company.