Originally Posted by Wounded Duck

When I first looked at the bullet points I thought this might be a good deal. The more I looked at them and dug into what they mean the less I liked it. Disagree with me if you want, especially after the final language comes out but after taking some time to digest it this is how I see it.

1) 6, 9, 12, 24 month Extended Incentive Lines at 55 hours. Not enough credit for me to care about it. If it was 65 hours I'd be all over it, maybe even 63.

2) VPLOA. Don't qualify, don't care.

3) May 1st 2022 2% pay raise. This feels like a 1 year contract extension for a 2% pay raise. Obviously ALPA is going to wait until Jetblue is profitable to get our new CBA, at which point Jetblue will stall as long as they can. Their stalling justification will be based off our last pay raise. It's almost like it happened before when we got a pay raise in exchange for "agreeing" to give up PS. The 2% COLA is too expensive for me in the long run.

4) FLICA waiting room that may or may not be added through MEMRAT later. It's a nothing burger and I don't really care about it anyway.

5) Relief from Targeted Line Value (TLV) through December 31, 2021 + Note: Average Line Value (ALV) and minimum guarantee provisions of LOA 12 are not extended. This is where it all falls apart for me. It's no wonder they split them up. They should have just put an * with the note in tiny fine print at the bottom. Separate they seem OK. Reserve is going back to 75 hours. Great! I read through the entire section on this in LOA 12 to get a full understanding of what this meant. Line holders can fly any amount set by the company in the TLV and get paid 70 hours just like now. The difference is the ALV. Anything you fly over TLV just goes toward your MLV.
Example:
TLV is 55 hours for the month. You experience several delays and a diversion during the month causing you to over block 5 hours. A nice 12 hour 2 day drops into open time and for some reason the usual suspects don't pick it up so you grab it. Under LOA 12 you would get paid 87 hours. Under this new AIP you would get paid 72 hours. In this example you are working 15 hours for free before you can make more then the 70 hours MLV. How much free work you have to do before you can break MLV will be set by the company on a month to month basis per category and class.

The reserves and line holders have a symbiotic relationship. Line holders want to make as much as possible so they pick up all the open time. Reserves don't want to fly so they sit home and collect 70 hours between doing 3 takeoffs and landings in the sim every 3 months. Everybody wins. This AIP would take away line holders incentive to do any extra flying. So you end up with every reserve flying close to 75 hours per month and line holders flying TLV.

So since there is really no carrot in this AIP then there must be a stick. Which brings us to point 6. The veiled threat of furlough.

6) No furlough period May 1, 2021, through May 1, 2022 unless they need to furlough October 1st, 2021. It may as well be May 2032 because Jetblue has no intention of furloughing. The vaccine is out, approved and being injected into peoples arms as I type this. Another vaccine will probably be approved tomorrow. If that's not enough J&J should have one approved next week. People can't wait to visit friends and relatives. Everyone in this country needs a vacation after this year. The flood gates are about to open which is why Jetblue is trying to lock something in quick. The Flight Attendants didn't fall for it but maybe the pilots will. They already announced to all the other groups no furlough. You think they are going to furlough pilots and keep everyone else on board with no flights to service? Keep in mind the expense involved in a furlough, displace and retrain. That ship sailed in October. It's not gonna happen May 1st.

The tricky thing about this AIP is it doesn't look like concessions. The pay rates stay the same. The MLV goes back to 75 hours for reserves. The simple fact is this AIP is going to save the company a lot of money and they are saving that money by not paying it to the pilots. This job has always been a balancing act between making money and quality of life. For some this AIP will reduce their ability to make money and for others it will reduce their QOL. The flying will be spread evenly. The company will set your pay/QOL fulcrum where they want it, not where you need it.