That focus on low costs and efficiency also drove the in-house development of JEMS (JetBlue event management system) to track all safety-related incidents in the company and the decision to use BlackBerry wireless devices to report and respond to irregular operations -- anything from weather delays to a passenger injured by his own briefcase when he opened the overhead bin. And that’s why routine tasks, like getting expense approvals or processing payroll, are done digitally. JetBlue executives insist that the IT projects that make customers happy also benefit employees. "IT has made a huge impact on our number-one cost, which is labor," says Barger. "It allows us to do more with fewer people, and it also allows us to take better care of the people we do have." And in this heavily unionized industry (more than 60 percent of airline employees belong to one), it has allowed JetBlue to remain union-free so far. Upcoming projects include: onboard servers and wireless networks in jetways so that operational and mechanical data can be uploaded and downloaded pre- and post-flight; outfitting mechanics with ruggedized laptops; a paperless frequent flier program. Two security-related programs are also on tap: cockpit-monitoring cameras so that ground crews can monitor activity there via an existing satellite feed, and biometrics applications in airport terminals. Barger says he emphasizes experimentation in talks with Cohen. "I say to Jeff, ’Let’s find out what we can do next in terms of passenger check-in, talking electronically to the airplane itself and talking to one another. Let’s keep pushing the envelope.’"...