JetBlue's Andres Barry on travel products driving revenue - South Florida Business Journal (2024)

Andres Barry

Age:43

Birthplace:São Paulo, Brazil

Residence:Fort Lauderdale

Current position:President, Jet Blue Travel Products

Previous positions:Managing director and partner, The Boston Consulting Group; sales and operations management, McMaster-Carr; operations research associate, ZS Associates

Boards/organizations:Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance

Education:B.S., Northwestern University; MBA, Emory University

Andres Barry joined JetBlue Airways in 2018 to lead one of the airline's key subsidiaries, JetBlue Travel Products.

The Fort Lauderdale-based division operates two online marketplaces: JetBlue Vacations, which allows customers to book hotels and cruises with their flights; and Paisly by JetBlue, where consumers can book hotels, car rentals and excursions, as well as travel insurance and luggage purchases.

JetBlue Travel Products employs more than 300 people across Florida and Salt Lake City. The division’s profits have grown nearly sixfold, to $84 million from $13 million, since its launch.

How does JetBlue benefit from having a post-flight travel business?We're more effective because we know more about our customers and see what they’re buying, instead of passing them on to a third-party platform. Our customers can call us and we can help them with all parts of the trip. It makes the travel planning process feel less disjointed. We only sign hotel, rental and travel insurance partners that satisfy our criteria. It's something that we take very seriously.We also have mechanisms in place where, if we start seeing repeated complaints from a particular location, there's a way we can provide feedback to resolve issues or get our customers booked elsewhere.

What does your role entail?Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for JetBlue customers to book the rest of their trip through us. So, my role is to make sure everything comes together. And when things break or aren’t working exactly according to plan, I need to make sure that we have a plan to fix them and take care of it. I also figure out where we need to innovate and help guide our teams ... [because] the website needs to work, the marketing leads need to be effective, the customer service team needs to do precise back-end work. My role is to make sure everything comes together.

What inspired you to enter the travel business?Early in my career, I worked in a lot of industries that I was not necessarily a consumer of. Later, I thought I'd enjoy it more if I could relate to the business. Also, travel is an enjoyable product to sell. It's something people want to buy. And so that's what attracted me to it. People make vacations and leisure trips an important part of their lives. Being part of an organization that's responsible for making that happen is rewarding and fun.

What do you enjoy about leadership?I love investing in people, and seeing them grow and develop in their career over time. We have a finance team, a customer service team, an HR team, a partnerships and marketing team, and a technology team.And I think it's great when people come together and accomplish something neat. When I look at the financial results of the business we’ve built and the number of great experiences we've created for customers, that only happens if all our teams work together.

What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve received?That you must have a compelling customer value proposition. There's so much competition, especially in travel. So, the first step is just having something that customers want. And while you’re trying to build a profitable, sustainable business, you have to figure out how that model is going to attract customers because low prices will only get you so far. At some point, you need to deliver a good experience. That's been ingrained in me across industries and for most of my career, and it's something that I prioritize in this role.

What do you love most about travel?The memory building that travel offers. My wife and I have two young sons. When we go somewhere as a family, we connect on a different level when we're away from the house and the day-to-day hustle and bustle. I think travel also provides growth opportunities for our children. They get to see new places, and it helps shape their view of the world.

As a kid, what was your dream job?I wanted to be an astronaut. But then I learned what that actually entailed, and realized that type of travel didn’t suit me. But I've always been intrigued by space and things around physics and astronomy.

What are your hobbies?I love to play bad golf. I wish I could play good golf, but I don't have time to get good at it. Running and exercising are probably the other two things that I'm doing when I'm not working and hanging out with my kids.

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