JetBlue CEO: Long Beach brouhaha was not inadvertent

ARLINGTON, Va -- Below is a portion of Mutzabaugh?s interview with JetBlue?s Barger in a question-and-answer format. In it, Barger discusses the airline?s plans for Long Beach and the role of ?new media.?

Ben Mutzabaugh:Let's talk about Long Beach. You created quite a stir – I assume inadvertently – when you talked to Brett Snyder (author of The Cranky Flier aviation blog) about JetBlue's facilities at the Long Beach Airport. I think the way that the Long Beach mayor and city council reacted to your comments – because they came in a blog – caught a lot of people off guard. Were you surprised at the reaction of the Long Beach officials when your comments about Long Beach were posted on The Cranky Flier blog?

David Barger:I was surprised, in a positive way. But, let me say as a correction, it wasn't inadvertent. We spent time with USA TODAY and with The Wall Street Journal. And also – with what (I think) is very real – social media, (including) Brett and The Cranky Flier blog. We spent an hour together. We spent hours together with (USA TODAY) and also with The Wall Street Journal out at the Phoenix Aviation Symposium.

Where I was surprised is how sensitive the issue evidently was when it became magnified in the city of Long Beach and in the L.A. Basin. And I think in a positive way. JetBlue is committed to the city of Long Beach, but the commitments have been very disappointing in seeing (some of those commitments) come to life. It's (passenger) access to the airport. It's parking structures. It's gate-hold facilities.

(The airport) a historic landmark, much like the building we're in today (at New York JFK). We respect that. We get that. But I don't think the temporary trailers are the right footprint for an airline that literally (brings) 5,000-plus customers per day in and out of that facility. So, I was surprised at just how magnified it became in the city. I was very pleased with that.

Mutzabaugh: And that's because you feel like you've been patient in waiting for improvements and now you're ready to see results?