David Neeleman

By SALLY B. DONNELLY

The airline business is so tough, the saying goes, that the only way to make a million bucks is to start with 10 times that. David Neeleman began JetBlue Airways in 2000 with an unprecedented $130 million. Launching a customer-oriented, low-fare airline on the cusp of what turned into the greatest crisis in U.S. aviation history was fortunate: this year JetBlue will become the first low-cost airline since deregulation in 1978 to so quickly become a major carrier, with more than $1 billion in revenues.

With a top-class product (new airplanes, leather seats and live TVs on board), JetBlue challenged the skeptical perception of new airlines. But Neeleman, 43, also changed the reality. His obsession with employee happiness and customer service (when the blackout in August 2003 shut down most airlines, Neeleman drove out to the tarmac to beg for fuel) has set JetBlue apart from the rest of the industry. His motto: "Bring humanity back to flying." The legacy airlines, which haven't made a dime since 2001, can't beat JetBlue, so they have started their own look-alike versions of it. But none of them have a Neeleman. --By Sally B. Donnelly