Sixteen Years After Creating a Customer-Focused Startup Airline,
JetBlue Forms First U.S. Airline-Backed Venture Capital Subsidiary for
Next Generation of Travel Startups
On the day JetBlue celebrates the 16th anniversary of its first flight,
JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU) today announced the launch of JetBlue Technology
Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary that will invest in, incubate and
partner with early stage startups at the intersection of technology,
travel and hospitality. As the first corporate venture capital
subsidiary in Silicon Valley backed by a U.S. airline, JetBlue
Technology Ventures will operate from the GSVlabs campus in the heart of
Silicon Valley.
By partnering with incubators, venture capital firms, universities and
other organizations inside and outside Silicon Valley, JetBlue
Technology Ventures will build relationships with a range of startups
across the travel and hospitality spectrum. The initiative will serve as
a launch pad for innovations that improve customer and crewmember
experiences, increase the airline’s operational efficiency and expand
the JetBlue brand to new markets.
Bonny Simi will serve as president of the subsidiary, reporting to Eash
Sundaram, executive vice president and chief information officer of
JetBlue. As head of the JetBlue Technology Ventures oversight/advisory
committee, Sundaram will lead and shape the strategic direction of the
subsidiary, and will also facilitate integration of successful startup
programs into JetBlue’s overall corporate innovation and technology
initiatives. Simi is a JetBlue pilot and officer with over a decade of
leadership experience holding talent, customer experience and other
roles within the airline, and over 25 years in the airline industry.
Simi also has deep roots in the Silicon Valley community as a graduate
of both the Stanford Business and Engineering schools.
“Innovation has always been part of JetBlue’s DNA, and JetBlue
Technology Ventures builds on our history of staying a step ahead of the
status quo,” said Bonny Simi, president of JetBlue Technology Ventures.
“We will be casting a wide net to find technologies across the travel
spectrum that further the award winning customer-focused experience we
are known for.”
JetBlue, founded in 2000 with the mission of bringing humanity back to
air travel, has launched a number of firsts in the airline industry. It
instantly became known for free satellite television at every seat, an
innovation it continues to improve on today. It was the first airline to
incorporate new technology to power at-home call centers for customer
support. More recently, it was the first airline to launch free
high-speed wireless Internet and streaming video inflight, and has
installed Next-Gen navigations systems in its fleet to improve the
efficiency of flying.
“The work being done today in the startup community will define travel
for years to come,” said Simi. “We can offer our knowledge and resources
to bring early-stage ideas to life. We won’t limit our thinking to
traditional airline operations, and instead consider possibilities at
every stage in the travel experience.”
About JetBlue Technology Ventures
Located in the startup incubator GSVLabs in Redwood City, Calif.,
JetBlue Technology Ventures will invest in, incubate and partner with
early stage startups at the intersection of technology, travel and
hospitality. For more information, including upcoming events and how to
request review of potential startup ideas, please visit www.JetBlueVentures.com
About JetBlue
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 35 million customers a year to
95 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of
900 daily flights. For more information please visit JetBlue.com.
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