## PART I 

## ITEM 1. Business 

## Overview 

## General 

JetBlue Airways Corporation, or JetBlue, is New York’s Hometown Airline ™ . In 2013 JetBlue carried over 30 million passengers with an average of 800 daily flights and served 82 destinations in the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. 

JetBlue was incorporated in Delaware in August 1998, commenced service on February 11, 2000 and by the end of 2013 had grown to become the 5 th largest passenger carrier in the U.S. based on revenue passenger miles as reported by these passenger airlines. We believe our differentiated product and service offering combined with our competitive cost advantage enables us to compete fiercely in the high-value geography we serve. Looking to the future we plan to continue to grow in our high-value geography, invest in industry-leading products and provide award winning service by our 15,000 dedicated employees, whom we refer to as Crewmembers. We believe in the future we will continue to differentiate ourselves from the other airlines, enable us to continue to attract a higher mix of business travelers and allocate further profitable growth to the Caribbean and Latin America. We are focused on driving to deliver solid results for our shareholders, our Crewmembers and our customers. 

 As used in this Form 10-K, the terms “JetBlue”, “we”, “us”, “our” and similar terms refer to JetBlue Airways Corporation and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise. Our principal executive offices are located at 27-01 Queens Plaza North, Long Island City, New York 11101 and our telephone number is (718) 286-7900. 

## 2013 Operational Highlights 

We believe our differentiated product, high-value geography and competitive cost advantage relative to the other airlines have contributed to our continued success in 2013. Our 2013 operational highlights include: 

• Fleet  - We restructured our long-term order book so as to better match our capacity with network demand at a lower unit cost in the future. Specifically, we deferred 24 EMBRAER 190 aircraft from 2014-2018 to 2020-2022, converted 18 Airbus A320 positions to larger A321s and added an incremental order for 35 A321 aircraft. All Airbus aircraft delivered going forward are to be equipped with Sharklets ®  which are 

## Our Industry and Competition 

The U.S. airline industry is extremely competitive, challenging and often volatile. It is uniquely susceptible to external factors such as domestic and international economic downturns, inclement weather, natural disasters and acts of terrorism. We operate in a capital and energy intensive industry which has high fixed costs as well as heavy taxation and fees. Airline returns are sensitive to slight changes in fuel prices, average fare levels and passenger demand. The principal competitive factors in the airline industry include fares, brand and customer service, route networks, flight schedules, aircraft types, safety records, code-sharing and interline relationships, in-flight entertainment and connectivity systems and frequent flyer programs. 

Price competition is strong in our industry and occurs through price discounting, fare matching, targeted sale promotions, ancillary fee additions and frequent flyer travel initiatives. All of these measures are usually matched by other airlines in order to maintain their competitive position. Our ability to meet this price competition depends on, among other things, our ability to operate at costs equal to or lower than our competitors. 

Since 2001, the majority of traditional network airlines have undergone significant financial restructuring including bankruptcies, mergers and consolidations. These processes typically result in a lower cost structure through reduction of labor costs, restructuring of commitments (including debt terms, leases and fleet), modification or termination of pension plans, increased workforce flexibility and innovative offerings. These actions also have provided significant opportunities for realignment of route networks, alliances and frequent flyer programs. These factors have had a significant influence on the industry’s improved profitability. 

expected to reduce fuel consumption. Most of the aircraft currently in our fleet are expected to be retrofitted with Sharklets ®  starting in 2015. Finally, we took delivery of the Airbus A321, a variant of the A320. With up to 190 seats we expect it will help us better serve our high-value geography more effectively. 

• Product enhancements  - Throughout 2013 we continued to invest in industry-leading products which we believe will continue to differentiate our product offering from the other airlines. We launched Fly-Fi ™ in-flight internet service with connectivity speed significantly faster 

