JetBlue has today announced two key leadership appointments, with Don Uselmann appointed as Vice President – Inflight Experience, and Chris Buckner promoted to the role of Vice President, Loyalty Programs and Partnerships.
On Thursday (March 31, 2022), JetBlue announced two new key leadership appointments. Don Uselmann has been appointed Vice President – Inflight Experience, reporting to JetBlue’s Head of Customer Care and Programs, Ed Baklor. In his new role, Uselmann will lead and support the airline’s inflight team, ensuring new and current crewmembers have the tools and training to deliver JetBlue’s award-winning hospitality on every flight. Since Joining JetBlue in 2006, he has served in a variety of roles across sales, marketing, business development, customer experience and operations, including as Director – JFK Flight Operations. Most Recently, Mr. Uselmann served as Vice President – Loyalty, Personalization and Marketing Communications, where he led the continued evolution of the TrueBlue® loyalty program and the carrier’s co-branded credit card portfolio.
In today’s announcement, JetBlue’s Head of Customer Care and Programs, Ed Baklor, said,
“We are very excited to welcome Don to inflight. Since joining JetBlue in 2006, Don has developed a deep understanding of the customer journey and his focus on delivering powerful human interactions is noticeable throughout his own journey with JetBlue. After meeting him several years ago while he was leading JetBlue’s JFK airport operation, I knew immediately that he was a great leader by how involved he was with his crewmembers, active in the operation, and always working on new ways to drive a better customer and crewmember experience.”
Also commenting on his new role as VP, Inflight Experience, Don Uselmann added,
“The JetBlue Experience truly comes to life through our culture and our incredible people, particularly while customers are in flight. I am thrilled to be joining our team of more than 6,000 award-winning inflight crewmembers as we aspire to deliver exceptional experiences to each and every customer on each and every flight.”
JetBlue has also today announced the promotion of Chris Buckner to Vice President – Loyalty Programs and Partnerships. In his new position, Mr. Buckner will be responsible for the continued growth and development of TrueBlue, as well as JetBlue’s co-branded credit card portfolio. Joining JetBlue in 2020 as Director – Customer Loyalty and Partnerships, Buckner played a key role in rolling out enhanced TrueBlue benefits, including Mosaic, as well as the launch of Mosaic+ in 2021. Prior to joining JetBlue, he spent 16 years in commercial roles across the aviation industry.
Speaking on Chris Buckner’s appointment, JetBlue’s Head of Marketing and Loyalty, Jayne O’Brien, said,
“This role is strategically important to JetBlue’s success as we work to better know our Customers and deliver the experiences and interactions they want. With Chris’ experience in aviation, he brings an invaluable wealth of industry knowledge with him that will benefit our customers and JetBlue. He’s been an incredible leader since joining the team and is the natural choice to help us continue building on the success of our loyalty team.”
Also commenting on his new role as VP – Loyalty Programs and Partnerships, Chris Buckner added,
“Since joining the team, we have developed an ambitious roadmap that will redefine the loyalty space for our customers and for JetBlue. I look forward to bringing this plan to life over the coming months and years.”
JetBlue is ‘New York’s Hometown Airline®’ and a leading carrier in Boston (BOS), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Los Angeles (LAX), Orlando (MCO) and San Juan (SJU). The airline carries guests to destinations across the U.S., Caribbean, Latin America and London (Heathrow and Gatwick). JetBlue Airways Corporation trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol JBLU.
Source: JetBlue/Businesswire