Here is my 2 cents, flame away: Just like any other airline JetBlue has three distinct pilot groups, Senior, Mid-Seniority, and Junior, so here we go.
Senior Captains - No Raise, I know it sucks and in effect they actually got a pay cut because productivity is going down and inflation. But let's face the facts our Senior Captains at JetBlue do as good or better than every Narrow Body domestic carrier out there. (With a few exceptions Southwest, American, etc.) They are also the only group who SHOULD have benefitted from very lucrative stock options. So bottom line, they are competative or better than their peer group at other carriers.
Mid-Seniority - (Junior Captains and Senior F/O's) You just got a 5 to 10% pay raise in one of the worst downsides of the Airline Industry. You are now competative against your peer groups, (again Southwest/American are the exception). If you are an E-190 Captain you are now the highest paid Small-Narrow Body pilot in the industry. You just set the new standard for the airline industry on the E-190. Hopefully it will continue to rise but it is at least a start to an Industry Leading example of redifining the aircraft category.
Junior Pilots - If you are a first year pilot you are grandfathered in at current pay. Future new hires will be under the new pay ($40.00). Ask a CAL pilot what their first year pay is??? Every other junior E-190 pilot just got a pay raise. Now hopefully you had no dillutions about what you were getting into when you got hired as a E-190 F/O. Growth is at a stand still, most new hires were treating it as a Transitional Job waiting for the big fish to call, but now they are stuck, because of the industry state. Sucks to be Junior, at least you got a raise and if you left a Regional Left Seat I am sorry. Over time things should improve, but remember it is a new category aircraft that some will still argue is a Regional Jet. The Junior pilots are the worst off, but some would argue that the rest of the industry is Furloughing and JetBlue has a shared sacrifice gameplan, I know 43 year old United pilots that are going to be on the street, most of you are in your late 20's or early 30's and you still have a job.
JetBlue has a long way to go on other issues LOL, Medical, Retirement, but this is a good effort by management. I know a CBA is the only way to get certain protections, so I am not ruling out a good JBPA push. Bottom line, stay informed, stay educated and keep an open mind from all sides and all arguments and make a good decision.
Flame Away