aewanabe

Just like anywhere else, most of us confine our griping to the forums and not the cockpit. We talk about sports, our families, work gossip, what we're gonna do on layovers just like 99.9 percent of pilots everywhere.

I'm a good example; JetBlue has frustrated me an awful lot in the last couple years, and sharing that here is important to help people make informed decisions I think. As a result I'm a bit guilty of most of my posts being negative lately, and I have little tolerance for the usual suspects that chime in to tell me that I'm wrong, or exaggerating, or that the problems are the same everywhere. Our Crew Scheduling, Dispatch, and Tech Ops (Blue speak for maintenance) swing the full gamut from good to awful, so if you're expecting otherwise when you leave your regional you will probably be disappointed. My frustration mostly ranges from having seen the potential this place has and being disappointed at failing to live up to our potential. The changes in maintenance in particular have me strongly concerned; at a time of record profits I am flying brand new jets with MELs that were unheard of just a couple years ago.

Having said all that, on a daily basis I enjoy the aircraft and the people I fly with. The newhires I've flown with are still mostly impressive in their experience and quality, but many of them are open about the difficulty we will have retaining them. The 320/321 flight decks are an awful nice place to hang out if you're going to be in a jet 3-7 hours at a stretch. The layovers run the full gamut of nice to stupid; most places in the Caribbean are good, CONUS ranges from a Fairmont to spending 20 hours in an Aloft across the street from the airport.

Quite honestly if you have an offer you're probably better off here, assuming commuting to reserve on first year pay isn't going to destroy your family. If you can or currently do live in a JB base, it's a no-brainer to come over I think. Depending which regional and what longevity you have, you will equal and then exceed your top of scale anywhere between year 2 and 4 on either airplane, and that's assuming no new CBA. Dealing with your own employees versus being the red-headed stepchild with agents, ops, etc is a nice change, especially if you travel online. And there is an awful lot to be said for being clear of the FFD rat race in general.

Worst case, get online, start flying the line, and if we aren't your cup of tea JetBlue on your resume will help you stand out from the other 1000 RJ Captains with 1500 plus TPIC already. JB SIC time seems to go over quite nicely at the big three plus FedEx and UPS. All this is just .02 from a 10 year guy that's flown all 4 seats at the airline and isn't going anywhere. Hope it helps a bit.