On Thursday, the carrier announced its president, Dave Barger, would also serve as CEO of the airline effective immediately, as founder and CEO David Neeleman transitions to a full-time position as non-executive chairman of the board, a position he has held since 2002. "This is a natural evolution of our leadership structure as JetBlue continues to grow," Neeleman said in a statement. "As chairman of the board of directors, I will focus on developing JetBlue's long-term vision and strategy and how we can continue to be a preferred product in a commodity business." Since his tenure as CEO began nine years ago, Neeleman has guided the low-cost carrier through many highs and, more recently, some lows, including the Valentine's Day storm that left JetBlue passengers stranded on runways for hours, prompting the carrier to craft a passenger bill of rights, as well as the recent news that some JetBlue employees had gone on shopping sprees with customer credit cards left behind at check-in kiosks. Barger joined JetBlue in August 1998 as president and CEO and the airline took to the skies two years later. "I am honored to serve JetBlue in this capacity and I thank David for his leadership," Barger said. "I look forward to a very bright future for our crew members, our customers and our shareholders."