AIRWAYS INTERVIEW Alex Wilcox
But a new business model is emerging . JSX , originally known as Jet Suite X ( XE ), offers greater ease in grabbing a flight — what it calls ‘ hop-on jet service ’— enabling passengers to arrive as late as 20 minutes before their flight . The flights are point-to-point , and the on-board service is premium .
WE DISCUSSED JSX ’ S HISTORY , challenges , and strategies with Alex Wilcox , its co-founder and CEO . Wilcox has a long and successful history in aviation , notably as a founder of JetBlue . Now , he runs one of the most revolutionary airlines in the US . Since 2016 , JSX has carried in North America hundreds of thousands of passengers who have taken advantage of its novel business model .
How did the JSX project start , and what was the main idea behind the new airline ? At the time , we were operating a private jet company called Jet Suite , and we noticed that many of our customers were paying us US $ 10,000 for a one-hour flight from Burbank to Oakland . We asked our customers , “ Why are you paying us this much when you can fly on another airline for a few hundred dollars ?” and the answer invariably was , “ It ’ s for the convenience on the ground . I want to show up , I want the door to close behind me on the airplane and I want to take off . I don ’ t want to wait for 180 people to get on the airplane . I don ’ t want to walk through a shopping mall or take off my shoes , and I don ’ t want to do all the stuff required to fly commercially now . I just want to get from point A to point B , and I don ’ t want to get worn out about it .”
So , we thought to ourselves , “ If we can produce a private jet-like experience on the ground at a price point that ’ s more like a commercial one , we will have a huge opportunity .”
Right now , there is no difference between the price of First Class on a major network carrier and that of a private jet . It ’ s either a few hundred or tens of thousands of dollars here — so , we came in at just a little bit more than flying commercial , but a lot less than private jet — but with a lot of features and advantages of that private jet experience .
We looked at the charter regulations and found that we could carry up to 36 passengers maximum . We called our friends at Embraer and told them we might have this crazy idea we wanted to try , and they lent us five ERJ-135s to see if this project could work . We launched our first flight from Concord , California , down to Burbank , and it was a hit right from the start .
When did everything start , and what is the status of your fleet in 2024 ? Our first ticket was sold on April 4 , 2016 , and our first flight was about two weeks later , on April 19th , 2016 . We have 48 aircraft flying now . Over half of the airports we fly to are served by no one else . We own 77 airplanes , and the ones that are not in service are currently in storage in the desert and we ’ ll be taking those out once every couple of months .
In a few years , you went from zero to owning 77 aircraft . What was your key success factor ? The secret of our success is very simple : We ’ re in the customer service business , and we focus on customers . We don ’ t call the people who buy tickets to fly with us ‘ passengers ’. Passengers are people you process . A customer is someone that you serve . It ’ s a big difference .
I see the difference as the one there is between a fast-food restaurant and a place where a waiter can serve you : it ’ s all about the service . We never forget that we exist for our customers , and everything we do is with the customers in mind . We try to study them carefully to see where they want to go and when they want to go there , and we want to provide them with the best possible value in getting there .
Our customers often have access to — or directly own — private jets but , when JSX is in the market , they are inclined to fly on JSX . For example , a few days ago , I flew from Dallas Love Field to Las Vegas and had a funny and interesting conversation with one of our customers . I often like to pass out snacks to our customers and ask how they had heard about us . I spoke to one customer , who said , “ My neighbor told me about you . The best thing about JSX is that I can stand up when I pee . Then I get back to my seat , and I have a Flight Attendant to serve me a drink . On my Learjet , I must sit down when I want to pee , and there ’ s no Flight Attendant to bring me a drink .”
So , by using JSX , he saves $ 30,000 every time he goes to Las Vegas , and has a better overall
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