# JetBlue Airways: David Neeleman (2019)

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2021-05-31
- Length: 1h 05m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-31-jetblue-airways-david-neeleman-2019

## Summary

David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue and Azul, recounts his journey from a college dropout who failed in a timeshare business to launching five airlines. He details how his experience at Southwest Airlines, where he was fired for being too aggressive, and his time building a reservation system during a non-compete period, informed his decision to launch JetBlue with Airbus A320s and premium amenities. Neeleman explains the catastrophic 2007 Valentine's Day ice storm, which led to his ousting from JetBlue, and his subsequent success in Brazil with Azul, where he maintains voting control to avoid similar board interference.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-31-jetblue-airways-david-neeleman-2019#t=0) Introduction: David Neeleman and the complexity of building airlines
- [3:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-31-jetblue-airways-david-neeleman-2019#t=226) Early life, Mormon mission, and discovering ADD
- [12:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-31-jetblue-airways-david-neeleman-2019#t=778) First business failure: The Hawaii timeshare and charter collapse
- [19:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-31-jetblue-airways-david-neeleman-2019#t=1140) Founding Morris Air and inventing e-ticketing
- [26:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-31-jetblue-airways-david-neeleman-2019#t=1591) Acquisition by Southwest and subsequent firing
- [36:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-31-jetblue-airways-david-neeleman-2019#t=2160) Building a reservation system during the Southwest non-compete
- [39:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-31-jetblue-airways-david-neeleman-2019#t=2376) Launching JetBlue: Choosing Airbus A320s and premium service
- [52:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-31-jetblue-airways-david-neeleman-2019#t=3126) The 2007 Valentine's Day ice storm and operational failure
- [55:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-31-jetblue-airways-david-neeleman-2019#t=3356) Ousting from JetBlue and founding Azul in Brazil
- [1:00:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-31-jetblue-airways-david-neeleman-2019#t=3625) Family life, leadership philosophy, and Breeze Airways

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up, large enterprises

## Mentioned

- JetBlue (company)
- Southwest Airlines (company)
- Morris Air (company)
- Airbus (company)
- Boeing (company)
- Azul (company)
- Breeze Airways (company)
- A320 (product)
- 737 (product)
- H.P. Helo Packard (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Keenan Wyrobek (Co-founder/CTO, Zipline)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-07-29-keenan-wyrobek-co-founder-cto-zipline) (Just Gonna Send It)
- [Lessons from a Recovering Hardware Founder | Bluesmart, ROOM, Kite Compliance | Brian Chen](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2026-06-09-lessons-from-a-recovering-hardware-founder-bluesmart-room-kite-compliance-brian) (TRADEOFFS)
- [A Baseball Startup with Paul Freedman and Bryan Carmel](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2024-04-17-a-baseball-startup-with-paul-freedman-and-bryan-carmel) (Oxide and Friends)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-31-jetblue-airways-david-neeleman-2019. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.