JetBlue Named Top 25 Place to Work in Forbes 'America's Best Employers 2015' List

NEW YORK, NY, March 26, 2015 /3BL Media/ - JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) announced it has been named by Forbes® as one of the top 25 places to work in the magazine's "America's Best Employers 2015" list. The ranking honors employers based on an independent survey asking how likely individuals would be to recommend their employer, and other employers in their industry, to someone else.

JetBlue ranked No. 19 across all categories of more than 500 employers. This marks the debut of Forbes' new evaluation of employers in the U.S.

JetBlue has long been recognized for its service and customer focus, most recently placing as the top airline for customer experience in the 2015 Temkin Experience Rankings. The airline attributes its popularity among customers to the crewmembers who personalize and deliver that experience every day.

"We aspire to give our crewmembers the same JetBlue experience that they work so hard to deliver to our customers," said Mike Elliott, executive vice president, people, JetBlue. "When customers tell me they love JetBlue, I know that's a result of our crewmembers showing our customers every day how much they love what they do. This recognition from Forbes is a tribute to our crewmembers who live our mission, embody our core values, and make JetBlue a great place to work."

JetBlue's core values -- safety, caring, integrity, passion and fun -- are ingrained in how the airline operates and are brought to life in unique ways. These include:

• Crewmember Orientation: Recognizing that JetBlue's distinctive culture starts on day one, crewmembers begin their career with a two-day orientation at JetBlue University in Orlando. The twice-monthly orientations are presented by JetBlue's most senior leaders, who explain the company's business strategy with a focus on values-based service, and tell the story of JetBlue's founding mission to "bring humanity back to air travel."
• The Lodge at OSC (Orlando Support Center): JetBlue's new accommodations bring together crewmembers from across the operation in a fun and continuous learning environment during new hire orientation and training at JetBlue University. The four-story, 196-room lodge will be home to the more than 7,000 crewmembers that visit the training facility each year for new-hire orientation and recurrent training. Every element at The Lodge is thoughtfully designed to reinforce JetBlue's values, inspire collaboration and team building -- as well as offer a fun environment with amenities such as a tailfin-shaped pool, fitness center, softball field, outdoor fire pit, and restaurant and lounge.
• Pocket Sessions: These meetings originated when JetBlue senior leaders gathered crewmembers into lounges and support areas to chat about the operation. Today, senior leadership continues to hold regular Pocket Sessions at JetBlue stations to connect with crewmembers, update them on the airline and answer questions.
• The Leadership Connection (TLC): Every city in JetBlue's network is paired with a leader of the company through this program, which helps local airport leadership and crewmembers stay connected and aligned with the strategy and direction of JetBlue. Leaders visit their TLC city several times a year to work in the operation, share the latest information, and answer crewmember questions.
• Travel Perks: JetBlue crewmembers share a love of travel and, along with their immediate family, enjoy the opportunity to fly free of charge on JetBlue. Even single crewmembers can designate one "travel buddy." Additionally, crewmembers receive "Buddy Passes" so friends or other relatives can join. One catch is that every crewmember, from CEO to intern, helps the inflight crew clean the plane after arrival -- whether traveling for business or leisure.
• Community Connection: The Community Connection volunteer program connects crewmembers with meaningful opportunities to inspire something special in their own backyards. In 2014, more than 1,500 crewmembers logged 103,372 hours of community service. Additionally, all crewmembers are empowered to help their favorite nonprofits jet around. For every 25 hours of service logged, JetBlue crewmembers can donate one roundtrip flight to the charity of their choice.

"As we've grown to more than 16,500 crewmembers, we continue to advance the culture that set JetBlue apart from day one," Elliott said. "Core to that culture is service and innovation. It starts with people who believe in the mission and love what they do. We are proud to join other great brands on the Forbes list that leverage a unique culture to give their customers so much more than just a product."

The employers on the Forbes list were chosen based on an independent survey by Statista.com of 20,000 American employees working for large U.S. companies and institutions, and U.S. divisions of international firms. They were asked anonymously through several online panels if they'd recommend their employer, or any other employers in their industry, to a potential employee. The mix of respondents (gender, age, region, educational level, and ethnicity) in the sample is representative of the overall U.S. workforce. Where appropriate, subsidiaries of larger entities were combined for evaluation. The survey was conducted on companies in all industry sectors employing more than 2,500 workers in the U.S.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline™, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 32 million customers a year to 87 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of 825 daily flights. Upcoming destinations include Cleveland on April 30; Reno-Tahoe, Nev. on May 28; and Grenada on June 11, 2015 (subject to receipt of government operating authority). For more information please visit jetblue.com.

MEDIA CONTACT

JetBlue Corporate Communications

Tel: +1 718 709 3089corpcomm@jetblue.com

Source: JetBlue