• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, February 6, 2012

JetBlue Airways has launched an iPhone app and updated its mobile and PC-based Web sites in an effort to provide a more personalized and streamlined travel experience for customers.

The refresh was developed in partnership with Rokkan, the airline's digital agency of record, and Double Encore, the airline's mobile application developer. The new iPhone app, bearing JetBlue’s blue and orange branding, includes standard features like mobile booking, and the ability to check in, check flight status and airport information. 

It also allows users to send real-time flight information to the person picking them up, create virtual postcards that can be shared via social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and get information about destination cities. Based on a limited sample of 128 ratings in the App Store so far, the JetBlue iPhone app is off to a strong start, earning 4.5 out of five stars.

For a company that prides itself on customer service and digital innovation, the app has been a long time coming. Many competitors, including American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, already have their own iPhone apps. 

While many customer posts expressed relief, one was disappointed by the lack of a mobile boarding pass in the app.

The JetBlue Web and mobile sites were redesigned to make navigation more intuitive, allowing people to track upcoming flights without having to leave the home page. It also sports a more prominent TrueBlue module to encourage users to log in to receive maximum benefits from the rewards program, and an upgraded flight-booking widget.

"Self-service was an important aspect of the new redesign, and even on the JetBlue home page, you'll see there is a greater emphasis on customer needs, rather than on other information," noted Charles Bae, executive creative director at Rokkan, in a blog post about the revamped JetBlue.com.

For the online and mobile overhaul, the company interviewed its crew members and polled more than 15,000 customers from the airline’s JetViews panel, a group of engaged JetBlue customers who have opted in to participate in feedback sessions. Virtually all customers (95%) surveyed, for instance, wanted a “smart site” that could provide updates based on awareness of their travel plans.

To meet this goal, JetBlue integrated Akamai for faster page-loading and a new targeting engine that sends messages based on a customer’s location, travel history and preferences linked to the airline’s loyalty program.