AR1978

I keep hearing rumors that JetBlue is getting A330s?

I'm flying the yellow bus right now and am new to the airlines after leaving the military. I was just wondering if there's any truth to the rumors or if this is a thing where JetBlue has been on the verge of getting A330s for like the last 15 years.

DrSmacFum

I think itll happen eventually, but I wouldnt waste any more energy on that rumor until the merger stuff is over and done with

Flyby1206

Nope, it's been a rumor since Feb 11, 2000. For what it's worth, I recently had recurrent and during the management lunch portion the 330 rumor was brought up (as required by the rules of every single management lunch event). The VP said WBs are not on our radar any time soon. He mentioned the closest we came was during 2017 when they developed training and internal processes for operating the plane, but ultimately got cold feet and didn't place any orders. He said Robin really loves the 787, but again no plans for it or any other WB.

DrSmacFum

sounds about right. If you ask Robin, WBs will definitely happen... Again though, not worth thinking much about until JB has a bigger & proven footprint in EU & the acquisition is taken care of

Flyby1206

Agreed. It wouldn't surprise me to see the company toss some WB rates in the JCBA as a carrot. Figure a 4-5yr duration JCBA with WB rates and maybe see 1-2 airframes delivered by the very end of the contract cycle. Either way, it is important to ignore the WB $$$ carrot and focus on the here and now of CBA priorities.

RemoveB4flght

Those of us flying the yellow bus a long time would hear 330 rumors back in the day, well before they were painted yellow. I think I may even have started a few myself.

Obviously Blue’s cabin and mint would make more sense, and unless they want to stay Southwest scale it would have to be a consideration at some point down the road. It’s also a very capital intensive realm, planes, training of pilots and crew, sims, ground equipment etc. I can’t even imagine how senior it would go initially.

They have to sort out the merger, and the XLR could be a bridge to evaluating a market for future widebody ops in the meantime, but I’ll believe it when I’m calling gear up in it.

11atsomto

Ahh yess the omnipresent WB rumors, been here as long as I have (5 years). I like you am not very bullish on WB acquisition. Some believe it some don't. A bar graph of those who believe relative to years of service is high initially, then descends on a steep gradient sometime between 1 and 2 years. This may also explain for why attrition is so high for that group. They realize it's not going to happen, so they go to someplace where it will.

First off the range of 321XLR enables them to do a lot that usually would be considered WB space. Florida markets to UK, Spain, France almost inexorable. JFK and BOS deeper into Europe like Italy Germany, Athenos (or wherever the latest Brooklynite Hipster destination du jour is). They can do all this without taking the capital risk of the WB.

On the other hand, historically a big part of B6's international strategy is VFR (no not 1200 squak...visiting friends and relatives)....and we are like numero uno for the Tri-State Dominican diaspora and do very well with other Caribbean countries. So why not do that for other diaspora?
At least from what I see....most international folk now are coming from Asia and the Indian subcontinent places that need wide bodies. However I think the more fertile land for that crop is in the Pacific time zone, our Eastern time zone soil won't bear as many fruits. In addition due to relations with Russia/war in Ukraine, the polar routes remain closed to US carriers. So NY to Asia is less accessible and not fuel efficient.

Lincoln Osiris

5 years is a long time now?

Flyby1206

The past 20+yrs have been a NYC centric business model, we'll see if they can branch out from that mold. I am not holding my breath. But in general I agree with you that WBs make sense when we're looking at TPAC stuff, particularly from the western half of the US. The XLR will do fine for Europe flying, but the big question is when it will start being delivered and if it has the advertised range.

We're trying to keep up with your group of whippersnappers 😉

ARL120384

I've been hearing the wide body rumor forever too, but I think now is the time it has the potential to grow legs. I have heard from several people that the XLR is having some serious problems meeting its promises, and that they're having trouble cutting weight and meeting their numbers. I've heard that Airbus can only promise a 30 minute fuel reserve with what we want to do with it. One rumor I've heard is swaping the XLR orders for 330's that are available now, instead of an unproven airframe that is years away.

I'm not sure how many seats they plan, but our current LR's have 138 seats. I just don't see how we would make money doing Florida to Europe, or BOS/JFK to deep Europe and make any margins without the capability of taking cargo. I have heard several times that Robin likes the 787. We'll see, but I think for once this is a serious possibility. I know one of the good things that came from the NEA, is that we had the ability to access AA's reservation system and gather a lot of data as to where people are flying. I can only assume we took detailed notes, and can do that flying for a much better price.