I think the only thing left working for them is JetBlue Vacations.

 

This! The algorithm has so many more options. IAD, EWR, IAH, ORD, DEN, LAX, SFO. I’m not saying B6 needs all that. But we have no way to reroute pax. Snow in the north, send em to Houston. SFO on the 10s. Send em to LAX or DEN. Even the dumbest investors know diversification is basic. B6 doesn’t, hasn’t nor will ever try to do this. Even if it doesn’t make money and just breaks even. It’s poker. We all win & lose hands. The key is not winning the most hands in poker. It’s losing the least amount of money on the losses and gaining info on your opponent. And with 1 flight on the route, no EDCT swaps because they’re all headed the same direction

 

Airlines today are perpetual loss leaders. Before credit cards were as big as they are now, the only successful airline to pull it off was virgin america. Nowadays, they everyone tries to offer the lowest fare and they make it the difference in CC points or in ULCCs cases, ancillary fees. That article someone write about us where we’re trying to figure out where we sit. Because we don’t do the ancillary fees and we’re trying to do the CCs. We don’t have a goal and we don’t have a path that will make us money. Maybe Paisly? But where does the airline operations fit into that picture? The only thing that we lack that every other airline has is network. The TAM for Caribbean flying is not large enough for us to survive solely on that traffic. We cannot grow into more Caribbean flying and while the European stuff makes money, we switch to seasonal while other legacies continue to grow into more destinations and more frequency from airports OTHER than JFK. Also, the legacies fly 300+ seat heavies on every flight over there and it just kinda seems like we’re giving it half the effort with these 321s. We’ve also really cornered ourselves into the NE and while I don’t think it’s sustainable, it’s fun to watch to see how and when we pull off what we’re trying to do. Gotta root for you’re own team while you’re on it.

 

This thread derailed a bit; I didn't read every page so not sure if this was addressed:

Is OP married to Delta? The numbers for American look much better; still need to hire several hundred more this year to cover confirmed deliveries and retirements, and they have by far the biggest retirement numbers over the next few years. On their most recent bid junior captain (NY 73) went down to about 2 years. It also seems like, if you have solid quals, AA is the easiest to get hired by right now (hey, they hired me so...).

For reference I'm a more precarious position where the choice to leave for a legacy is more clear. I'm a downgraded FO at Spirit who was originally staying for the merger. I should have gone to UA a couple years ago; I'd be a 737 captain and living in base.
So yea, I also regret not leaving sooner but looking forward to anew adventure with American in the fall.

 

The point I was making wasn’t ME leaving, it was that the people who didn’t leave have now been there about seven years, and where there thought processes were/are. That it entirely relevant to the OP.

 

I was JetBlue for 5.5years and left for American last year. I have not regretted my decision one bit. The retirements and aircraft deliveries has provided a nice amount of movement and growth.

 

Out of curiosity were you a commuter before or after? Lot of variables. I'm in base, about the same seniority, and about 18 years of work runway left. I wrestle with what the "best" probability play is. I like JB, but you know...I need a job...and I'd like to upgrade at some point.

 

Same here….both points are questionable at this point.

 

SoFlo is home for me with 25 years to go. I was initially hired at JetBlue in FLL and then was displaced to JFK for 2 years due to COVID. I commuted for two years and then eventually returned to FLL in mid-2022. I wrestled with the same decision at the time and made my decision based solely on facts, not "what ifs." I'm glad I made the decision, and while the paycut sucked initially, the peace of mind I have now doesn't compare to the uncertainty that lingered when the merger was shot down and shrink to profitability is/was the mantra. Feel free to DM if you have any questions.

 

All basically the same size/revenue.

At the Big 3 the w/b's get a lot of support. MIA 777 CA descending into MIA with a new FB. :45 minutes early (not uncommon if the winds are light crossing the pond). FB - "darn it. Now we're going to sit on the ramp for 45 minutes waiting for a gate." Captain said he turned and looked at the FB - "no we're not. We're a 777. They'll find a gate for us." Sure enough they did. Does it happen all the time? Of course not. But switching EDCT times within their own airline? Guess who gets the attention - the 1x daily DFW-ATH of one of the 10x daily flights to AUS? And yes, not being reliant on only one hub/region always a significant portion of the airline to keep churning away.