JetBlue Airways forms technology unit

JetBlue Airways is launching a subsidiary in Silicon Valley to find and help develop new technology ventures in the travel and hospitality sectors. The New York-based carrier claims JetBlue Technology Ventures is the first corporate venture-capital unit in Silicon Valley backed by a US airline. The unit, which JetBlue plans to disclose in its 2015 annual report in the coming days, plans to work with three startup incubators, and will be based in the Redwood City, Calif., campus of one of them, GSVlabs. The two others are Plug and Play Ventures of Sunnyvale, Calif., and San Francisco-based RocketSpace.<br/>JetBlue, the fifth-largest U.S. carrier by traffic, declined to specify exactly how much the unit will invest, but it is being launched with millions of dollars in capital, said Bonny Simi, the unit’s president, who is a JetBlue captain and most recently served as vice president of talent. JetBlue could add money if a particularly promising idea comes along, she said. Simi said the initiative is focused on using technology in three areas: making passenger and employee experiences smoother, better using the massive amounts of data airlines acquire, and improving airline operations and logistics. She said potential technologies include geolocation, virtual reality, big data, connectivity and artificial intelligence.<br/>