I guess I'll put my two cents in.
Feb. will make one year for me at AirTran, came from ATA. For the most part things are going well. Reserve only lasted two months with me getting plenty of flying.
First year pay is not bad considering what others have to offer, you can figure an average of 85 CREDIT hours of pay, that is not the same as actual hard hours flown.
Upgrade time now is at 2-2.5 years. Things can change but the plan is 162 airframes by 2008.
Health insurance begins the following month after your date of hire. The plans are OK but expensive, not happy about that.
Do a research on the pay at all airlines at airlinepilotcentral.com . Someone mentioned Continental being paid more, not exactly. The pay depends on type of aircraft, CAL have heavy's which tend to pay more. By the way, I agree that you should also try CAL along with the others.
Retirement at Airtran is not bad. After your first year you will participate in a company sponsored "B" Plan. This will put 10.5% of your earnings into a fund that you control. Key word is YOUR money that YOU control. Granted, you must be vested to keep it, about five years I think.
Management is keeping the ship upright considering the state of the industry.
I don't much about Jetblue but they do get alot of press time where Airtran does not.
By the way, I live in the New Orleans area and when Katrina was heading this way, my chief pilot released me from my trip to go home and evacuate my family. He personally flew the rest of my trip. I had about a month off work and Airtran did not question my time off and actually paid me for a full month. On top of that, the employees donated money into a fund and this in turn was distributed to all employees that lived in the affected area. If only FEMA could work that fast and efficient.
You will probably read alot of hateful and vulgar things about Airtran on this board or others, but in my short time here I honestly can say that all of the trash talking is off the mark it is not even funny. Some people have a bone to pick. You decide what to believe.
I hope that helps you or anyone else that is interested.
BigEasy