David Neeleman, letBlue’s founder and chaiiitfgfifit _
- . sought to “bring the humanity back to rm Have. it ,
launching operations in February 2000. kill-er ‘ W."
‘pg‘uished itself from its competitors by providing supcttflt
iuStomer service at low fares. The letBlue ettpetlente in"
' eluded brand new airplanes, leather seats, and personal
, lsatellite TV service. The firm experienced rapid early
lgrowth. In a period when most US. airlines struggled m
the aftermath of the September 1 l, 2001 , terrorist attacks.
IetBlue reported 18 consecutive quarterly profits.
‘ Then in 2005, letBlue announced its first net loss of
$20 million. The disappointing results were attributed
‘to spiraling fuel prices, aggressive competition, and im-
a; creasing operating costs. Global events, such as war. pt)?
litical turmoil. and natural disasters contributed to the.
Ense in fuel prices. The average price fora barrel of oil in.
£2003 was $30. by the summer of 2005 prices had climbed._ .
gabove $60 per. barrel. The legacy airlines werebecoming
.1 more competitive after exiting'bankruptcy and strc§m;.. _. _
I :ln'nng2 their operations to benefit from econ“,
ascale. Analysts speculated that 1am,“ m.” r -_ ,
_ growth pains; their maintenance costs on
were increasing. employees we ‘- - -