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Bypassing delay-plagued La Guardia Airport, Neeleman based the airline at John F. Kennedy, an international gateway that is crowded only a few hours per day. But it's also eight miles farther from Manhattan and more expensive to get to, a potential hurdle for low-fare domestic customers. Nonetheless, JetBlue lobbied the Clinton Administration for a remarkable 75 slots (takeoff and landing rights) at J.F.K., enough to allow robust airline growth through 2005. J.F.K. has proved a smart move: when congestion choked La Guardia to a standstill last year, JetBlue launched a marketing campaign that called J.F.K. "New York's most on-time airport."

For all its rapid expansion, JetBlue has yet to take on any of the "fortress hubs" dominated by the majors: Atlanta (Delta), Chicago (United and American), Dallas (American) and Detroit (Northwest). And it does not intend to. Neeleman knows that if he invades the hubs, the big carriers will probably try to price-cut him to death or add flights to overwhelm the still small airline.

But as it expands, JetBlue will have to prove that it can indeed cross flight paths with major carriers that have already helped ground newcomers from People Express to Pro Air. If JetBlue's philosophy of improving service, simplifying pricing and treating customers as if they mattered can make it there, the upstart New Yorker should make it anywhere.

Read Sally Donnelly's weekly column on the airline industry at time.com