CASmessage

2 year seniority here. I’ve had an exceptional experience so far. Your bosses in BOS are understanding and helpful, VDA flows like water at times, I have tons of control to manipulate my schedule (especially because a commute isn’t a factor), upgrades on the 190 have gone to people with less than 1 year seniority, 220 is currently at 3800/5000. Our pay rates are within roughly $10/hr of Deltas in all fleets, other than their special 321N rate. As others have said, BOS is the junior base so you’ll have it right away; any equipment.

I was a big fan of this place before I was an employee. The issues we complain about as a pilot group are the same as the ones I hear about from friends at legacies. We fall short in profit sharing and some silly operational pitfalls. Overall this is a really great place to work.

I’ll leave you with this thought, it’s pretty telling that every comment in this thread is JetBlue positive where as in the Delta thread there are plenty of comments telling you to come here.

fly4fun14

Joined B6 in Nov. FWIW I live about 40 mins from BOS, I'm sitting Long Call, get every day off that I want, and get called roughly once every other week. Pretty darn good QOL in my opinion (in a very short time period). I previously commuted at my prior airline and you couldn't pay me enough to do it again, especially living the local life now. While it is true Delta might open a BOS base, doesn't mean it will stay open for the rest of your career. There's also no guarantee the Delta BOS base wouldn't go super senior (like the AA BOS base).

As others have said, if B6 closes BOS, the company is probably going under and we've got bigger problems to worry about.

Who knows what the airlines will look like in a year or two no less 30 years down the road, my decision was based on where I could hold BOS quickly and have good QOL.

rvr1800

I’ll echo others opinions, driving to work is priceless. If Delta or any airline offered me my current seniority, current seat, and current pay plus 25% it would be an easy no if that meant a commute.

crash312

I've driven both...on average over the year the drives are about the same unless you avoid all rush hours, then 93 (not too far north into NH) is quicker. Rush hour worse on 93. Holiday/Weekend/Summer worse 95. Either is good enough for reserve. Unless you are on the water prices are about the same in an apples to apples comparison between towns (all about the school systems in NH, many great ones to choose from).

GogoYoyo

Delta is obviously the best airline by many metrics. Anyone that can’t admit that is in denial. That said, B6 is the best airline for me and my family. And that’s all that ultimately mattered in my decision. “Put your apps in at delta, don’t be stupid” is the first thing most unhappy guys at b6 will say before they even ask me anything about my life and learn my circumstances. It’s so annoying but thankfully of the people I’ve flown with only about 2 people said that. If On the other hand, if I were single with no children and in my 20’s, I’d probably be at delta right now. Good luck, learn inner contentment wherever you choose to go.

Beewatcher2

I would opt for Delta if I had offers at both. Even with the commute, Delta is going to offer more career flexibility, profit sharing and career upside than JetBlue. That being said a Delta career would be even more rewarding if you lived in base. If you stayed at JetBlue just because of the Boston base imagine your regret when Delta opens a base in Boston.

11atsomto

(note: this is perspective of someone on property at JetBlue for 3+ years, not someone starting from Scratch)

Imagine your regret when the a321xlr comes to JetBlue and there numerous PRODUCTIVE Transatlantic flights out of Boston..........my point is: we can always try and sabremetricly analyze seniority %ge at certain year benchmarks. We know retirements, but we don't know what the company's will do. There will always be a crapshoot element to this. Tough decision. It's a judgment call, almost a gamble, but that's why we get paid the big bucks

I however still agree with you. There are more options at a Legacy. I think it the deeper European productive transcons won't be a thing at Jetbule for 5-9 years. Das a long time to wait. Non commuting is like the new Gold and it should be, this generation has learned from the previous. What's different is: pilots used to move to where they got hired and based, now people move to/stay in areas first and then choose the carriers.

For anyone living in base and contemplating leaving JetBlue under 4 years and under 45: BOS stay with JetBlue. EWR, LAX, JFK, FLL try to see what the legacy co-tenant has to offer.

Just my 11 Rupees.

nuball5

I’m local to BOS, make around 300k with the opportunities afforded to someone that’s senior and lives in base, and never pack an overnight bag. I ain’t commuting to JFK, especially with how bad delays have been this summer with really no plan to address it from either Buttigieg or the FAA. Iffy advice IMO.

Even if Delta opened a BOS base there’s plenty of questions. What do the trips look like? How senior will it go? How many crews? There’s another Legacy airline with a BOS base, and I don’t hear of JetBlue pilots leaving in droves for there because of Boston. Small base with limited opportunities.

DWC CAP10 USAF

From our latest AE (vacancy bid):

"...we have made the decision to not open a BOS base on this AE, and we don't have plans to open the base for the foreseeable future"

MergingTargets

Or imagine your regret if they never opened that base, or opened it years from now and you could have been home all this time instead of commuting to a crash pad in Kew Gardens? Imagine your regret when you wake up one day and realize you've been chasing metal and missing out on the things that actually matter in life?

I'm going to posit something that will probably blow some people's minds, especially zoomers and grammers... but I think it's true: It's not all about the money or the metal. There will come a day when something dear to you is gone: a loved one, a pet... your youth... and when that day comes I cannot for the life of me imagine that you're going to be sitting on your couch thinking to yourself, "god, if only I had more CASH!"

Time is precious. Time doing things with people you care about, time spent on hobbies you enjoy, time spent in your own bed at night... I wouldn't give that up for a commute, even with some extra cash in my pocket. If JetBlue and Delta were really that disparate, I'd say maybe think about it, but they're truly not; and shoot, I've met my fair share of abjectly miserable Delta guys, too. The fact is that we all do the same job, and if you can't be happy in base at JetBlue, I can't imagine you'll be happy commuting to Delta.