JetBlue CEO ‘removed’

Removal: it’s not just for teeth anymore. According to this Yahoo News article, it was just announced that JetBlue CEO David Neeleman has been removed from his chief executive post. He’ll be replaced by current president Dave Barger.

What does it mean for JetBlue, and what does it mean for passengers? Will we feel any effects, good or bad? And what will become of JetBlue’s passenger bill of rights and stated intention to prevent future meltdowns like last winter’s “service disruption”?

My guess is that we’ll get more information that will lead to some initial answers in the next few days. In the meantime, write in and tell me how you think things will shake out. If you’ve got opinions, I’ll collect them, and share in a post next week. Which reminds me: we’re working on getting a place for you to comment at the end of blog posts so that you can add your two cents more often.

But back to the JetBlue story. What will become of David Neeleman? He’ll remain at the company as non-executive chairman and will focus on strategic instead of operational issues. The examples given were new entertainment units, alternative fuels, and, intriguingly, “new opportunities afforded by the open skies agreement between the U.S. and Europe.”