Herding Cats and CEOs as Baggage Handlers: Do JetBlue and Southwest Know Something Others Don’t?

In a recent NPR segment, Kenneth Button, director of George Mason University’s Transportation Policy, Operations, and Logistics Center told NPR’s Scott Simon that, “getting human beings onto an airplane is a little bit like herding cats.”

According to Button, the best feline wranglers in the airline business are Southwest and JetBlue. Southwest boards its planes by zones, while JetBlue allows passengers to board the aircraft from both the front and the back. JetBlue’s fleet also features larger overhead bins to cut down on the time it takes for passengers to load their bags and have a seat.

But that’s not where the commonalities end. According to Right Reality executives at both airlines are required by company policy to assist flight attendants, baggage handlers, and other airline personnel whenever they fly. Even JetBlue CEO David Neeleman has been known to tote suitcases and serve drinks. Now that’s doing business at 30,000 feet!

Mere coincidence, or meaningful correlation? Does corporate egalitarianism automatically spawn efficiency and innovation? Apparently so. Southwest and JetBlue both say they want to keep their top decision-makers in touch with the issues facing personnel in real-world situations. The theory is that their observations may just result in new insights that could increase efficiency across the entire airline. It’s entirely possible that the innovative boarding strategies that Button is so fond of are a result of these very policies.