WEBVTT - Chief Future Officer: Ursula Hurley, JetBlue 0:00:01.360 --> 0:00:04.519 As then in your dad, speaking. 0:00:04.120 --> 0:00:06.920 From the day jet Blue launched more than two decades ago. 0:00:07.040 --> 0:00:10.760 It's cast itself as a refreshing alternative to legacy airlines. 0:00:11.119 --> 0:00:15.000 Hey hey, look out the window, world, maybe hey over. 0:00:16.120 --> 0:00:18.919 Jet Blue has become the sixth largest US carrier, and 0:00:19.000 --> 0:00:22.040 while it has ambitious plans to grow, it stayed true 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:25.079 to its disruptive roots. One of the coolest things about 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:28.440 jet Blue is that kind of startup spirit, right. That's 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:30.840 a differentiator, the kind of the smallness of it in 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:33.000 a sense, do you do you keep that as you 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:33.760 grow bigger? 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:36.760 It won't be easy. With twenty five thousand people today, 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:39.000 you know, it's already HoTT than when it was a 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:40.919 thousand that at the beginning. 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:43.480 It helps to have leaders on board who've been there 0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:47.440 for the long haul, like cfo Ursula Hurley Well. 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:49.519 Ursler joined Jet Blue as an intern. 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:51.600 I came home for the summer and needed a summer 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:54.560 job and Jet Blue, who at the time, I was 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:58.040 like jet who, because Jet Blue was literally three years 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:01.960 old back then, had posted summer internship at a university 0:01:02.040 --> 0:01:06.200 pot board. They gave me freight privileges and so I 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:08.560 was allowed to fly across the country if there were 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:11.360 seats available on any flight at any point in time. 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:15.080 Now fast forward twenty years later, I haven't. 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:19.160 Left working in financial roles across the company. She's developed 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:23.040 a broad portfolio of skills and a unique depth of knowledge. 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:27.760 I think curiosity is a great skill in business, particularly 0:01:27.800 --> 0:01:31.039 in our business, which is so challenging. US is not 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:34.840 just a number CFO. Urse understands the whole business. When 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:38.160 someone's in front of her asking for more money, US 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:41.080 knows whether that's going to work or not, and she 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:44.240 can ask the right questions and that's a great skill. 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:48.320 A CEO who's made a name as an instigator and 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:52.040 a CFO with passion and perspective will lead Jet Blue 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:53.840 on the next leg of its journey. 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:58.000 Robin has always been a very strong advocate of mine, 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:04.160 and we collaborate together. There are times when we don't agree, 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:06.560 there are times when we do agree, and I believe 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:09.000 that that's healthy and we end up in a better 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:13.240 position for Jet Blue. So there's puts in takes. We 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:16.320 push back on each other. There are points in time 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:19.000 where we need to take risks and we need to 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.079 do those in a measured way, and so we try 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:24.720 to be thoughtful about where we place our bets, and 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:27.280 we do that in a responsible way in order to 0:02:27.320 --> 0:02:45.440 create a product offering that customers really value. 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:49.560 As much as Jet Blue has grown, it's still fighting 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:53.320 an uphill battle for market share. The big four airlines 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:58.240 United American, Delta, and Southwest control most of US domestic 0:02:58.240 --> 0:02:59.160 passenger traffic. 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:01.919 We have a two tier system where we have the 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:05.160 haves and the have not. Seriously, you have four airlines 0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:08.720 that are about seventy two to seventy five percent market share. 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:12.480 There's this enormous gap between four and five. 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:18.160 In July twenty twenty two, Jet Blue agreed to purchase 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:21.560 Spirit Airlines and a three point eight billion dollar deal. 0:03:22.360 --> 0:03:25.160 In March twenty twenty three, the US Department of Justice 0:03:25.200 --> 0:03:28.840 sued to block the merger on antitrust grounds. Until the 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:31.359 core battle is resolved, the shape and scale of Jet 0:03:31.400 --> 0:03:32.520 Blue's future. 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:33.280 Remains in limbo. 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:38.240 So you have to, in a sense, make two plans 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:42.400 and go along two paths until you know what the 0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:43.280 outcome is. 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:45.840 How stressful is that and how does ursula help you? 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:49.360 So our number one prior toy right now is to 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:52.800 get the Spirit merger done. We think it's transformational for 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:55.720 the industry. We think it's going to create a truly 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:59.960 national lo fare, high quality airline to challenge the big 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:03.640 So obviously Ursula has been really involved in that as 0:04:03.960 --> 0:04:07.760 early as last year, actually convincing Spirit shareholders to take 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:11.360 out deal versus another inferior deal that was on the table, 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:13.960 but also running the business day to day. 0:04:14.080 --> 0:04:17.440 How hard is it to deal with you forecasting and 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:21.520 planning years out with two very different outcomes. 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:25.280 Yeah, we have fantastic teams who are building plans for 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:29.599 both scenarios. Right that the benefit of Spirit is it's 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:32.920 going to allow us to turbocharge our organic growth plan 0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:36.760 if Spirit doesn't happen, which I feel very confident that 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:39.920 it will, and we have opportunities that we can continue 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:41.280 to implement in. 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:43.440 Order to bring Jet Blue the Jet. 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:46.760 Blue experience to more customers. So I'm excited in general 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:47.520 about growth. 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:52.640 Jet Blue's growth plan begins with modernizing and expanding its fleet, 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:56.520 replacing older aircraft with Airbus A two twenties that add 0:04:56.520 --> 0:05:01.440 passenger capacity while increasing cost efficiency Airbus A three twenties 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:05.440 to support long haul routes, but delivery delays caused by 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:08.239 supply chain problems are proving to be headwinds. 0:05:08.839 --> 0:05:11.520 We will need to get creative on how we source 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:15.919 airplanes in order to continue the Jet Blue growth trajectory. 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:19.359 We have a very big order book of new airplanes, 0:05:19.400 --> 0:05:22.040 but they're all coming late. On top of that, there 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:25.400 are some engine issues, and so we actually have airplanes 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:28.279 on the ground today with no engines because there isn't 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:31.279 enough engines to support them. I would say right now, 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:34.839 that is the biggest inhibitor to that organic plan. 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:40.400 A potential growth driver is the addition of transatlantic routes. 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:43.640 Since twenty twenty one, Jet Blue has begun service to London, 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:45.479 Paris and Amsterdam. 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:48.799 It's still early days, right, It's still a relatively small 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:50.440 part of our network, but it will grow. 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:53.479 Leisure travel to Europe has spiked in twenty twenty three, 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:57.400 with airlines adding capacity to meet demand that's far exceeded 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:00.839 twenty nineteen levels. Jet blues global ex bansion has helped 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:03.560 offset a decline in domestic passenger traffic. 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:07.200 One of the benefits these large airlines have not only 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:09.440 are they large, but they also have a lot of 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:11.600 hedging due to the fact they fly to so many 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:14.880 different markets. So we don't have that. You know, we're very, 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:18.359 very focused on domestic and Caribbean and Latin America. The 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:21.400 hedging I call it, or the having access to more 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:23.480 geographic diversity will actually help us. 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:26.120 So we are actually flying to Europe with the Airbus 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:28.920 A three twenty one long range aircraft, so it's actually 0:06:28.920 --> 0:06:32.039 a narrow body aircraft. There is a way in which 0:06:32.080 --> 0:06:35.840 we can pivot that asset to more domestic flying if 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:39.800 we have to, if the demand environment in Europe pools. 0:06:40.800 --> 0:06:43.880 Jet Blues revenues have bounced back from the troughs of COVID. 0:06:44.360 --> 0:06:47.880 The pandemic's long tail has created an uncomfortable new normal 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:49.240 on the expense side. 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:52.960 In general for the industry, revenues are back to twenty 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:57.040 nineteen levels, but costs are over twenty nineteen levels by 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:58.920 about eighteen or nineteen percent. 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:02.479 We're operating in a very volatile environment, so Jet Blue 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:05.640 has a very large presence here in New York, and 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:08.920 there are air traffic control challenges, so we've had to 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:13.880 over invest in hiring access crew members and building flexibility 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:17.680 into our planning process. Over time, we hope to wean 0:07:18.240 --> 0:07:22.720 some of those investments back as the operating environment around 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:23.760 us stabilizes. 0:07:23.880 --> 0:07:26.200 So I mean to give you an example, we have 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:31.760 about one hundred million dollars more of reserve or standby 0:07:31.800 --> 0:07:34.800 pilots in twenty twenty three than we had in twenty 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:38.720 nineteen just to fly the same schedule. Because the infrastructure 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:40.480 is still more brittle. 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:44.360 And pilot salaries are about to sort. New labor contracts 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:47.160 are building in raises that will add significant labor costs 0:07:47.200 --> 0:07:51.080 to every airline's ledger. With a shortage of qualified pilots looming, 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:53.080 their leverage would continue to grow. 0:07:53.400 --> 0:07:55.800 Hey, it's going up by thirty five to forty percent, 0:07:56.720 --> 0:08:00.400 which is insane. I've seen this movie before and this 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:02.200 is not sustainable in my opinion. 0:08:02.320 --> 0:08:08.120 We've certainly seen since COVID know a lot more pilot attrition. 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:10.640 We saw a lot of the time as during COVID, 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:14.200 and that then created this kind of gap of pilot's 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:15.880 once business return. 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:18.680 The pilot shortage has been an issue for years, and 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:20.960 I do believe we are on a I hate to 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:24.560 use the term crash course for you know, even bigger 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:25.600 issues in the future. 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:31.320 Nobody has problems hiring, it's retaining that's the problem. The 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:34.319 flight attendants are negotiating for contract and let's you know, 0:08:34.520 --> 0:08:36.800 just give them a smaller increase. I just look at 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:40.640 all these costs that are going onto the industry and 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:42.520 I don't see the revenue offset. 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:45.840 The pressure is on Ursula Hurley's team to trim costs 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:47.360 in an inflationary environment. 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:48.600 We've committed to. 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:51.040 Deliver O one hundred and fifty to two hundred million 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:53.880 dollars in structural cost savings by the end of twenty 0:08:53.960 --> 0:08:54.520 twenty four. 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:58.520 You know, it's a team effort, right as CFO, however capable, 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:01.160 they are kind of do it all by themselves. 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:01.320 You know. 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:03.280 Part of it is to kind of bring the whole 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:07.160 organization together. And I think you know, Ursules's strength, because 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:09.800 she's worked here for so long, is that she knows how. 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:13.440 To do that in a capital intensive industry. Rising interest 0:09:13.480 --> 0:09:15.000 rates are another concern. 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:19.440 Liquidity is the lifeblood of an airline. We make very 0:09:19.559 --> 0:09:23.440 conservative decision making about when we raise funding and how 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:27.120 we raise funding. We try to diversify our sources and 0:09:27.200 --> 0:09:30.520 we're always very focused on the actual rates and we 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:34.240 like to build an inflexibility in these financing structures so 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:37.199 that we can we have an opportunity to prepay debt 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:40.600 when appropriate so that we can continue to optimize the 0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:42.200 overarching rates that we're paying. 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:45.480 It's been a turbulent year for Jet Blue shares, one 0:09:45.520 --> 0:09:49.439 more example of the volatility that Ursula Hurley is determined 0:09:49.440 --> 0:09:52.880 to stabilize. You worked in investor relations on the way 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:57.320 to this chair. As a result of that, are you 0:09:57.400 --> 0:10:00.440 extremely sensitive in terms of the stock price, in terms 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:01.480 of analyst ratings? 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:02.880 I am. 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:06.199 I mean, that's the core of what I do and 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:09.480 what my teams are responsible for. I probably checked the 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:11.640 stock price way too many times a day. We have 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:15.080 three stakeholders. We have our customers, we have our crew members, 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:17.480 and we have our shareholders, and so those are the 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.600 lenses that we look through when we make any type 0:10:20.640 --> 0:10:23.680 of decision, and so we need to be balanced. But 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:25.920 at the end of the day, it's all about returning 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:26.959 for our shareholders. 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:29.920 Since Jet Blue began flying in February two thousand, the 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:33.280 airline has prided itself on offering a high end customer 0:10:33.320 --> 0:10:37.280 experience at a moderate price. It pioneered a meddies like 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:40.439 free Wi Fi on every flight and live TV at 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:43.680 every seat. Airfares have risen in the last two years 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:47.360 as demand has recovered, but Robin Hayes insists Jet Blues 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:49.760 low cost philosophy will not change. 0:10:50.080 --> 0:10:53.080 People want low fares. Our model has always been offering 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:56.319 low fares with great service to stimulate additional trips. I mean, 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:59.600 I think given the pivot for the industry away from 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:03.360 business travel to leisure travel, when you're talking about someone's 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:06.720 leisure travel, you're not just competing with other airlines, right, 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:08.920 You're competing with am I going to get a new car? 0:11:09.200 --> 0:11:13.680 So you're competing for a people's show of wallet. And 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:15.360 I think what we have to do is make sure 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:17.760 that travel is a compelling choice for people. 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:22.360 A compelling travel experience starts well before a customer boards 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:26.520 the aircraft. Ursula Hurley walked me through Terminal five at 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:29.680 New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, where the complexity of 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:32.560 the business she oversees really comes into focus. 0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:36.200 We operate one thousand flights a day, we serve over 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:40.479 one hundred destinations, and we transport about forty million customers 0:11:40.559 --> 0:11:44.560 per year. When you think about a person booking a 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:47.480 flight to getting them to their destination and home from 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:52.800 their destination, it takes an army of things to go right. 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:55.719 As we were coming through the depths of COVID, the 0:11:55.800 --> 0:12:00.280 labor market was very very challenging. You had people leaving 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:05.080 the company to do life changes, and so we had 0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:09.760 to very quickly hire thousands of crew members to staff 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:13.400 back up. Because the demand for air travel came back 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:19.800 so quickly, attrition has stabilized, so we're always monitoring the 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:22.800 hiring metrics, how long it takes to get them through training, 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:25.560 and what the job market looks like for each of 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:26.920 these specific work groups. 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:32.600 Of course, premium products help airlines relieve margin pressures. I 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:36.280 got to sample Jet Blues revamped Mint experience. 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:39.040 This is the new Mint. 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:42.000 This is our premium business class offering. 0:12:42.400 --> 0:12:45.760 What's the process like you order the plane from air 0:12:45.800 --> 0:12:48.640 Bus and then do you fitted out yourself? 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:50.520 Or how does how does this work? How do you 0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:51.080 make a Mint? 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:54.800 It's a multi year process that we work with our 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:59.800 Jet Blue product team and my fleet team work and 0:12:59.840 --> 0:13:04.720 collaborate with business partners to define and create what we 0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:07.679 want the experience to look like. We stress test it, 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:09.760 we make sure that we're doing it in a cost 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:14.960 conscious way. We optimize the seating configuration on every airplane 0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:18.760 to drive margin. On this aircraft, we have one hundred 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:23.960 and sixty seats in total. We have sixteen Mint seats 0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:26.400 and then we have one hundred and forty four core 0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:28.400 seats in the back of the airplane. 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:30.600 What kind of growth are you expecting from Mint? 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:35.760 So we have forty six Mint aircraft today and we 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:40.800 have over twenty more aircraft on order that will be 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:44.680 configured in Mint that can fly to Europe. So we're 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:49.800 really excited to spread the jetbou brand throughout more European destinations. 0:13:50.400 --> 0:13:56.480 I'm spoiling myself. Wow, that's really it's really flat and 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:57.880 I fit look at that. 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:04.439 There's change on the way at JFK ground has been 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:07.160 broken on a new Terminal six. It will connect with 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:10.160 Terminal five and add capacity for up to ten gates. 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:13.120 Jet Blue joins a consortium of companies managing the four 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:17.040 point two billion dollar project, helping definance, design, and guide 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:20.360 its construction towards completion in twenty twenty eight. 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:24.640 I think that what people want these days is an easy, 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:27.720 quick experiments through the airport. 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:31.239 We need to have better technology at all points throughout 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:35.480 the journey. We need to embrace biometrics. Consumers hate standing 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:40.280 in lines. There is biometric technology that can help cut 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:42.560 security lines and check in lines. 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:46.600 In a third, we're still in the design phase for 0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:52.240 Terminal six. But we leverage what other airports have done 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:55.360 and what we've seen throughout the world, quite frankly, and 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:57.960 we're going to pick the best of everything to really 0:14:58.040 --> 0:15:00.920 elevate the game, and technology is going to be at 0:15:00.960 --> 0:15:04.520 the backbone of that journey. We want to be able 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:08.720 to create and give customers experiences where they can self 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:11.800 serve as much as possible across the travel ribbon. So 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:15.840 whether it's checking in, whether it's checking your bag, going 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:20.120 through security, boarding a flight, we want everyone to be 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:22.880 able to do that seamlessly and be able to do 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:24.880 that with your own handheld technologies. 0:15:24.960 --> 0:15:26.600 Also, I'm just going to say, for Jet Blue, you 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:29.440 need to have a lounge. Jeff Blue has you know, 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:33.720 the T five is great, but for premium travelers, especially 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:37.080 now that flights are delayed so much, you. 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:39.200 Don't want to wait in the terminal, there's no VIP 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:40.040 lounge here. 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:43.280 Is that right? No specific Jet Blue VIP lounge. Is 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:44.720 that going to change with the new terminal? 0:15:46.360 --> 0:15:49.840 It could there could be a potential where we're evolving 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:54.040 the mint and premium customer offering. We need to make 0:15:54.080 --> 0:15:57.280 sure that we're building out our customer offerings in a 0:15:57.320 --> 0:15:58.440 cost conscious way. 0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:03.200 Chief financial Office Ursula Hurley has spent her entire professional. 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:04.239 Career at Jet Blue. 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:07.080 Her rise from college intern to the c suite is 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:10.000 rare for an industry that's still male dominated at the 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:10.920 highest levels. 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:13.720 We don't have a lot of diversity in the c suite. 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:18.400 We have a lot of diversity below that level, and 0:16:18.600 --> 0:16:21.280 airlines are working on improving it. They have goals for 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:25.400 their boards, they have goals for management, but what they 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:26.840 have to do is attract and. 0:16:26.760 --> 0:16:30.120 Retain the Jet Blue bucks the trend. It's the only 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:33.240 airline among one hundred and twenty three global carriers tracked 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:37.120 by Bloomberg with fifty percent gender parity among executives. 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:40.320 Diversity drives innovation. At the end of the day, innovation 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:44.560 provides stronger returns. I also am president of our Jet 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:48.880 Blue Foundation, and the mission of the foundation is to 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:54.040 promote access to STEM and aviation to young girls of 0:16:54.120 --> 0:17:00.000 color and two young girls who don't have access to experiences. 0:17:01.080 --> 0:17:05.040 The company's diversity goals include getting more women into the cockpit. 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:07.359 Pilots are tough. I mean, historically, you know in the 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:10.720 US we've been about ninety five percent men five percent women. 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:13.159 That's clearly a significant imbalance. 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:16.439 We have made great strides in increasing the number of 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:19.840 women in our pilot work group. We have what are 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:24.040 called our gateway programs. The diversity is very impressive, so 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:27.160 you see a lot more women, and you also see 0:17:27.160 --> 0:17:31.720 a lot more women of diverse race as well. 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:34.639 Along with plans to make the future of aviation more inclusive, 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:37.680 Jet Blue has taken steps to make it more sustainable. 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:40.760 In the last two years, it signed agreements with suppliers 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:45.000 for millions of gallons of sustainable aviation fuel or SAFF. 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:48.960 We have committed to net zero by twenty forty and 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:52.159 we have also committed to fly ten percent of our 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:55.800 fuel consumption on SAFF by twenty thirty and so today 0:17:55.880 --> 0:17:59.560 we actually consume SAFF in three of our airports that 0:17:59.600 --> 0:18:02.440 are based in California, and so we're on a path 0:18:02.560 --> 0:18:06.120 to achieve that ten percent. There is not enough staff 0:18:06.240 --> 0:18:11.760 out there for consumption, and so we're encouraging producers, financiers 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:15.200 as well as other airlines to help push this forward 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:19.399 and provide us opportunities to achieve our sustainability goals. 0:18:20.200 --> 0:18:23.320 Like many companies, Jet Blue is exploring the potential of 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:24.680 artificial intelligence. 0:18:25.080 --> 0:18:28.120 We can utilize AI to make better decisions. We can 0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:33.159 also utilize AI to help us gather and analyze information. 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:36.960 It's already invested in AI tools to improve its operations. 0:18:37.080 --> 0:18:40.320 A number of years ago, we set up Jet Blue Ventures, 0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:43.959 which is one of our subsidiaries that really is at 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:47.600 the intersection of technology and the travel industry. Tomorrow Io, 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:51.000 which is our weather forecasting company, one of our initial 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:55.760 investments in Jet Blue Ventures, and they use a lot 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:59.960 of really cool technology, including AI to more accurately put 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:03.479 weather and deciding what flies to cancel and delay, or 0:19:03.480 --> 0:19:05.600 what run ways to land on, or how much fuel 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:09.320 to load based on a more accurate forecast. Using AI 0:19:09.400 --> 0:19:12.080 and other technology is a game changer for us. So 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:14.760 you know, I think that we're going to continue to 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:18.520 see that across more aspects of our company. 0:19:20.040 --> 0:19:22.720 Jet Blue fights off the Dog lawsuit and pulls off 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:25.880 the Spirit merger. Robin Hayes will lead the company into 0:19:25.920 --> 0:19:29.440 a new era of size and scale. He believes customers 0:19:29.560 --> 0:19:30.240 will benefit. 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:33.160 We have four large airlines today that have about twenty 0:19:33.160 --> 0:19:35.879 percent of the market each. A Jet Blue Spirit combination 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:39.600 will put us between eight to nine percent, so we'll 0:19:39.640 --> 0:19:41.880 still be a distant number five we'll still be less 0:19:41.880 --> 0:19:45.280 than half the size of these Big four, but it's 0:19:45.320 --> 0:19:49.000 not sustainable to have this bifurcated industry where we have 0:19:49.080 --> 0:19:51.879 four big players at twenty percent and everyone else is 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:55.520 showing twenty percent of the market between them. So we 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:58.400 feel passionately that one of the best things that can 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:01.520 happen for consumers is the Jet Lo Spirit deal because 0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:05.760 it will give customers a truly more national choice than 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:07.560 just flying on the Big Four. 0:20:09.080 --> 0:20:12.240 In any future scenario, Ursula Hurley will have a lot 0:20:12.280 --> 0:20:14.800 on her plate. She'll play a key role as Jet 0:20:14.800 --> 0:20:16.840 Blue continues to innovate and grow. 0:20:17.280 --> 0:20:19.760 I asked her what she sees when she looks ahead. 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:23.440 What are you most excited about for the next ten 0:20:23.520 --> 0:20:24.679 years of Jet Blue. 0:20:25.840 --> 0:20:29.600 I'm really excited to see jet Blue continue to grow. 0:20:29.840 --> 0:20:32.720 At the end of the day, we view ourselves as 0:20:32.840 --> 0:20:36.480 a destructor and a maverick in the aviation industry, and 0:20:36.520 --> 0:20:39.320 we want to bring more of the Jet Blue experience 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:43.000 to more customers across the country. And I'm really excited 0:20:43.080 --> 0:20:46.600 to play a meaningful role in that growth journey. 0:20:47.200 --> 0:20:49.840 And So, what's the biggest challenge over the next ten 0:20:49.920 --> 0:20:51.200 years that keeps you up at night? 0:20:53.000 --> 0:20:56.240 The biggest challenge is just managing the volatility of the 0:20:56.320 --> 0:20:59.360 industry that we live in. And I mean there are 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:03.440 many puts into our business and we're thrown many curveballs, 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:07.359 and so it's just having the agility and quite frankly, 0:21:07.400 --> 0:21:10.639 the resiliency to power through it and look for ways 0:21:10.640 --> 0:21:14.280 in which we can deliver for our customers, our crew 0:21:14.320 --> 0:21:16.440 members as well as our shareholders. 0:21:16.800 --> 0:21:19.439 What is one skill set or knowledge area that you 0:21:19.480 --> 0:21:22.800 think every CFO is going to have to develop or 0:21:22.840 --> 0:21:24.320 have over the next ten years. 0:21:24.800 --> 0:21:30.480 Just resiliency, just the dynamic of the world that we 0:21:30.560 --> 0:21:32.840 live in. You need to be able to power through. 0:21:32.960 --> 0:21:35.760 You need to be able to see through the trees. 0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:39.160 You need to identify opportunities and push people. You really 0:21:39.240 --> 0:21:43.399 need to inspire and bring people along with you in 0:21:43.520 --> 0:21:44.719 order to be successful. 0:21:45.160 --> 0:21:48.040 And what advice would you give someone who is promoted 0:21:48.040 --> 0:21:49.080 to CFO today. 0:21:49.359 --> 0:21:50.439 You have to have. 0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:55.160 An exceptional team around you in order to be successful. 0:21:56.119 --> 0:21:59.639 You also need to dive into the details. Knowing and 0:21:59.800 --> 0:22:03.800 un understanding the analytics and the drivers of the business 0:22:03.840 --> 0:22:07.359 will allow you to push back and quite frankly, create 0:22:07.440 --> 0:22:11.000