Originally Posted by
BeatNavy
Yeah, JB gives it good credit...more than any other major airline. Good for JetBlue because guys will come here before being competitive at other airlines and are less likely to bail. Good for helo guys Bc they can escape regionals faster. In my case if I stayed at my regional I would have made the same as I do here for the 2 years I’ve been here while building TPIC and most likely would have been at a legacy by now. AA/DL/UA don’t mind if their pax fly with helo background dudes at the regionals, but don’t count it at mainline...rubbed me the wrong way. That’s one reason I liked JetBlue and wanted to come here. Now pay/QOL/contract (lack thereof)/career expectations has rubbed me the wrong way here. Hope this place gets better. Even some of my juicer friends have become jaded, put on lanyards, and started looking elsewhere.
Had the same mentality: "If I go to X airline it would take me Y years to catch up on income from what I make at my regional". Even made a spreadsheet for it and turned down Frontier, Spirit, Atlas and Virgin. I decided I was only going to go to an airline that would offer an actual jump in pay. Then the DAL interview came and I wasn't hired. I thought it went well, I'm qualified, none of the others were more competent or better candidates, just the wrong interviewers on the wrong day I guess. Now considering JB as an option. The rest of the legacies may never call. Don't forget how much luck is involved in this career. Average pilot pay in 2016 at JB was ~$150k. Yes, at DAL it was ~$228k, but $150k is still way more than I can earn as a regional pilot.
Source:
Airline Data Project