It was the same way with the failed VX merger attempt. Doom and gloom, end of Jetblue type of stuff.

I personally don’t have 40 years left but that's good advice and a very grounded perspective. I appreciate that.


That's another awesome perspective. I think what makes it different now is how much the legacies are growing.

Absolutely, in 2016 when the VX attempt failed it was seen just as dire as today since we were fresh on the heels of:

2010 DL/NW
2010 FL/WN
2010 UA/CO
2013 US/AA

^^^ happened and we (JB) were getting left in the dust. All to say, life will go on. I'm bummed about this failed merger just like I was about the VX attempt too. The sharp stick in the eye this time is getting shot down by our DOJ/court system when all of the above happened.

That wasn't a failure. They shrewdly drove up the price and backed off leaving Alaska with a bunch of airplanes they didn't want at twice or thrice the cost.
Some parallels to today, with a deal that will likely not happen, but instead of Spirit at 3X the price it's a very troubled Spirit perhaps not likely to be a significant competitor to JetBlue anymore.

Oh that’s right, we eBay’d Alaska 😂

Point being we were hoping to expand our presence and scale via a merger and it failed to happen for one reason or another. The thought at the time was “good luck JB, you’ll never compete in transcons now!”

In a similar vein, NK has a bunch of planes and staff that we needed to execute our growth strategy. Those are the assets we want, not some super lucrative hub or slot portfolios. Now how will we ever be able to grow without NK? I’m sure we’ll find a way.

25 planes at a time seems to be the current way forward.

I was pleased to see that we took 2 more 220s this month and have another coming next month.

It's never just that one earnings call, or that one failed merger, but a collection of failures. Eventually, one more bad call is enough to break the camels back. I keep living by my old school aviation advice of "Get hired where you can, when you can, as soon as you can and keep your number", but maybe that advice is dated and the current era of airline hiring means you can jump ship and still land solidly on your feet.

I spent a decade at a little airline called Comair. There were dozens of red flags over the years: displacements, bankruptcy, deferred orders, concessionary CBAs, lost flying bids... each time I thought to myself "This is just a setback, stick it out and you'll be glad you did."

We spent most of those years "Shrinking to Profitability" and then Delta said "You're too small and we're just shutting you down." In my time at JetBlue I have never felt like I was back at Comair. But this is really starting to feel like Comair.

Yeah I hear ya and I agree. I'd say up until about a year or so ago you could jump around without issue. Now, things are slowing to normal rates, and even though upgrades at the legacys are still junior, youll still be looking at a 15,000+ seniority number that may not mean much, until the music stops. Granted, legacys have the retirements to keep you moving up the list.

I liken the industry to the market. If you take a micro look at the operation day to day, you'll lose your mind following the ups and downs. If you scroll out and look at how the company has evolved since 1999, it paints a different picture. I try to stay positive because 1) I'm not leaving, and 2) there's nothing any of us can do so why get all fired up. We'll get through this.