Originally Posted by Southerner

I don't disagree with any of this. The CBA progress is good, so I'm happy with where we are. I will become unhappy if we go into mediation, and stop making forward progress. Our negotiations are moving along well, so as long as progress is being made, things are good. There absolutely is pressure on both sides to get a deal quickly. ALPA wants one for obvious reasons, and management wants one because Jetblue needs to be able to compete for pilots. Someone said earlier that it isn't a problem yet, but will be in a year. Management is already looking at that year and beyond. They know that a CBA is critical to our business survival, and that's why they are asking for more negotiating days.

My last carrier took 6 years to negotiate a deal. We got parked, had a strike vote, etc. We aren't there yet. Not even close. I believe that most of the people who think we are moving slowly have zero experience with airline negotiations. If we get a contract next year, that's lightning fast, especially for an initial CBA. We need this to be done right, and it takes time to do so.