The Future of JetBlue
 

I'm currently a Captian at a regional and I commute to NY from Orlando. I would love to fly at JetBlue or Southwest someday since they have Orlando bases. QOL is my #1.

I was hoping to create some discussion on a few topics.

1) The progress and possible timeframe of the new pilot contract?

2) QOL most Orlando pilots have experienced?

3) Is JetBlue preparing for the upcoming massive retirement and hiring spree from the legacy airlines?

4) Is Jetblues future bright?

Thoughts?
Thank you

Swa

Filler.

1) 20/31 sections of the contract have been TA'd. Most of the remaining sections are economic and have a lot of costs associated with them. There is one more mediated negotiating session remaining this year, which should consist of at least three days of negotiations. If there is no TA reached by the end of the year, we will be in a labor dispute. No one on here can say within a reasonable amount of certainty the time frame for an agreement. We've worked for over two and a half years to sit at the precipice of a labor dispute. This is a pivotal time in that

I accidentally submitted my original post too early and ran out of time editing it, so here it is in its entirity:


1) 20/31 sections of the contract have been TA'd. Most of the remaining sections are economic and have a lot of costs associated with them. There is one more mediated negotiating session remaining this year, which should consist of at least three days of negotiations. If there is no TA reached by the end of the year, we will be in a labor dispute. No one on here can say within a reasonable amount of certainty the time frame for an agreement. We've worked for over two and a half years to sit at the precipice of a labor dispute. This is a pivotal point in that timeliness. It could go either way over the next two months.

2)I'm not sure, but it sounds like a crowded commute.

3) Jetblue reduced the hiring for this year back in the spring. The Gateway 7 will not have the capacity to meet the demand of the upcoming retirement wave for quite some time, if ever. I haven't seen any sense of urgency on the part of the company.

4) Jetblue is making a ton of money right now. Mint was a surprising success and has apparently begun to prove itself in markets outside of LAX and SFO where it's easier to find revenue. The general, unspecified plan is to grow FLL and BOS, maybe followed by MCO growth once the new terminal is completed. Unless JFK lifts the slot restrictions, in which case that would quickly become a focus. We just learned about the company's intent to expand terminal 5 and possibly even take over terminal 7 at JFK. If JFK slots go away like they did at EWR, gate space becomes the limiting factor. Of course that gate space could always go to a code share airline. The CEO has said a decision regarding transatlantic flying will be made by the end of the year. A fleet review is underway that sounds like it will wrap up sometime the first half of next year. I'll be the first to admit that is the rose colored view of the future.

The fact is, no one here has any idea what this company will do tomorrow, let alone 5 years from now. I get the feeling the company has been trying to figure out what plan B is after losing the Virgin America deal. It only took this CEO a year on the job to start talks to buy another airline, a move that would have cost billions of dollars and was against the repeated mantra of organic growth from the previous management.

A lot is in flux currently. The next several months appear to some of the most interesting in my whole time here.

save yourself the trouble... go to a real MCO based airline

SWA

If QOL is truly your #1. Why not G4? They have a SFB base and home every night... If money is more important, then B6 or SWA...

Just in time for the Alaska/jetBlue merger :D

Have to agree here. Have two good buddies over there based on SFB. one upgraded in 18mo. Home all the time.

I do the MCO-JFK commute every week, 99% of the time I get on no issues. Lately it has been a pita due to the one tram being down, and the delays into jfk...but for the most part not too bad.

MCO is our most senior base, I think its currently at about 3-4 years seniority to hold it. Hopefully B6 grows our FL bases, I'm a QOL guy too. Definitely not commuting for my entire career.

To your last question - Is jetBlue's future bright?

It could be. However, there is such a lack of transparency at this airline that it makes you wonder if we are competing or not. We have had numerous opportunity to expand in a variety of markets but were either too slow or decided not to. ORD for example. The opportunity to add gates in this market was turned down and Spirit or Frontier took full advantage. This so called "fleet review" in my opinion is BS. They know damn well what they intend on doing with the fleet by now but sit on it for months. I am slightly optimistic in the future here but I for one am discouraged when no significant announcement is made for expansion or clear vision..."The most caring airline in the world" doesn't resonate...yet...if ever. I do agree with a previous post..After the Virgin ordeal, I think the execs became shell shocked..It seems like plan B is never thought of until we lose...(Virgin, Long Beach Airport to mention a few)...