Hi everyone!

Relatively new to the whole forum thing but been reading through a lot of useful info on here to gather ideas and wanted to get some opinions and first hand knowledge.

Been in the corporate world for a while now and starting to look towards making the leap to the airlines. Always liked JetBlue, worked with their safety department in college and know how great the culture is. I guess what I want to hear is from anyone who made the leap of faith and how it worked out.

Also doesn't look like they re hiring at the moment but if anyone had some additional info on when they were beginning to look for FOs again I would greatly appreciate it.

 

Well good, glad you decided to join a forum. The secret to these things is read it all the time, especially when hanging out with family and post on everything. Even when you know nothing about the subject. Double up your post rate after you've been drinking. You should be good.

I came from a fortune 100 7 years ago. If you have good experience they will hire you, no biggie. Can you please expand on your experience and background? Are you 91 or 135?

 

Thanks for the advice I'll make sure to be on here as much as I can. Ive done a mix of 91 and 135. Currently I'm on an owner's LR60XR on a 135 certificate but the company has not been as great as ones I have worked for in the past as far as keeping us busy. We have barely cracked 50 hours total since November and run into a slue of MX issues thats were not quickly resolved. I'm pretty low time, just over 2000 but most of it Turbine and I understand Jetblue historically is not taking guys that low on time. I shouldn't complain about getting paid not to fly on salary. Just want to keep accumulating as much time as possible while I'm still young so I can be able to apply to a better airline or a 91 corp gig in the near(er) future.

Also not trying to abandon ship too quickly like everyone else to go to the regionals (yet)

 

I came over from the fractional world, though I did have a bit more time than you have at the moment. You're gonna read a lot about JetBlue on here and at the moment it seems pretty bad. And, a lot of the gripes are very legitimate. Many of us, including myself, are trying to move on to another place.

JetBlue has long claimed to want to be a destination carrier, where pilots wish to spend their careers. Unfortunately, that has come to seem more like lip service than a genuine desire.

We unionized a bit over two years ago in an overwhelming vote. Since then it seems there has not been the pace of progress most of us had hoped for. Some of these hopes were genuine and some may have been overly optimistic. At this point we still severely lack our peers in most areas including pay, retirement, healthcare, and work rules, among other things.

In addition there is the issue of relative stagnation at the airline. Movement is slow. We only have two fleet types which means your relative seniority does not change quickly, though I have experienced rapid growth on the E190 in only three years it is artificial as the airplane and base are both fairly junior. Were I to move to the left seat I would expect a number of years on reserve. Junior line holder on the airbus is many years more than that away. And at that point I have reached the most senior aircraft meaning further movement up the list will be slow going. That means desirable schedules, weekends and holidays off, are a pipe dream for a number of years on the bus.

These are all things to think about. On the bright side, I personally like coming to work. We have good people working here, and for the most part the job is fun and relaxed. The equipment is good by comparison to what I came from, though some guys have had less pleasant experiences. At the moment it is true to say that there are a lot worse places to hang your hat than JetBlue. Sadly though, and I sincerely hope this changes, there are far better places that are currently hiring and will experience a massive volume of retirements during our career spans.

 

You are a bit light in time. About 4000 hrs is competitive. You many not want to abandon ship immediately but the seniority system means the longer you wait you will pay by that many numbers. Seniority is everything. Also, don't look at it as surviving first year pay, look at it as 1 more year at max pay at the end of your career. That could be close to $400k.

 

Also keep in mind that in order to get an interview, JetBlue requires 200 hrs on the last 12 months

 

Or an "acceptable" explanation as to why not. One guy in my class only had about 75 hours in the past 2 years but was continually qualified as a 121 captain during that time. He was a management pilot and spent a lot more time in the office than on the line, but he flew just enough to keep his currency up. This isn't terribly different from what the management pilots here do with their two "fly" days a month.

 

appreciate the info everyone! Hard to find a company that would allow me to be based in BOS or PVD. Hope JetBlue can work out the benis by the time im up around 4000 hours. The more I research I'm beginning to see how this expected 'pilot shortage' can benefit us all.

 

I would recommend moving to a regional with a flow option to a major and fast upgrades - Commutair and Piedmont come to mind. Flying an ERJ or Dash 8 won't be as sexy as the Lear 60XR but you will upgrade fast and have at least a potential path to a legacy like AA or UAL. And pay ain't as bad for regional newhires these days... Focus on the benefits of 121 time and gaining hours much faster. If I were you I would seriously consider it if you want a good airline job.