Jet Blue A320 upgrade - I'm Curious

[CatfishVT9]

Greetings to my Blue bretheren. I had a class date at Jet Blue for the first week of June 2004 and chose to go to Airtran instead for a class that same week. I'm upgrading here In March (could have held 717 two months ago).

I'm just curious as to whether those guys from that class have upgraded and if so, when?

Thanks,
Catfish

 

[Wiskey Driver]

Greetings to my Blue bretheren. I had a class date at Jet Blue for the first week of June 2004 and chose to go to Airtran instead for a class that same week. I'm upgrading here In March (could have held 717 two months ago).

I'm just curious as to whether those guys from that class have upgraded and if so, when?

Thanks,
Catfish

Catfish, you can check with maybe bluedude to get more up to date info but this is from airline pilot central.

Monthly guarantee: 70 hours
Reserve guarantee: 75 hours (includes 5 hrs paid at 150%)

Most junior A320 captain hired: Jul 2004 (BOS)
Most junior EMB190 captain hired: Nov 2005 (base unknown)

Per Diem :
$2.00/hr

 

[CatfishVT9]

Thanks "WD",

Sounds darn close. July 2004 guys were awarded 717 slots a few months ago.

 

[AMRCostUnit]

I was in a May 1992 class at AA...I have never been able to hold Captain anywhere!

Good on you Catfish!

Unit
Frustrated FO

 

[Longhorn]

I was hired in Feb 05. Been a 190 ca for 6 months and should be able to jump to the 320 around sep next year. That would be a 3 year 8 month upgrade to the bus.

 

[Dogwood]

Greetings to my Blue bretheren. I had a class date at Jet Blue for the first week of June 2004 and chose to go to Airtran instead for a class that same week. I'm upgrading here In March (could have held 717 two months ago).

I'm just curious as to whether those guys from that class have upgraded and if so, when?

Thanks,
Catfish

Fish,

Yes, you would be a 320 reserve Cap in JFK now. Probably could have held it about a year ago or less. Bottom 320 cap is about # 850.

DW

 

[720persecond]

I had an interview with Airtran 6 years ago but never went...

 

[SellingDirt]

Greetings to my Blue bretheren. I had a class date at Jet Blue for the first week of June 2004 and chose to go to Airtran instead for a class that same week. I'm upgrading here In March (could have held 717 two months ago).

I'm just curious as to whether those guys from that class have upgraded and if so, when?

Thanks,
Catfish

You would be a Res 320Capt or a Pretty senior 190Capt. March of 04' hires could hold Capt Last Summer/Fall on the 320

 

[Mr Hat]

I heard a nasty little rumor that based on how things are going right now with the selling of A320s and the current fleet plan, someone hired today at Jetblue will never hold Captain on the A320. Is that true?
Not flame bait....Just a rumor I heard.

 

[8vATE]

I heard a nasty little rumor that based on how things are going right now with the selling of A320s and the current fleet plan, someone hired today at Jetblue will never hold Captain on the A320. Is that true?
Not flame bait....Just a rumor I heard.

That's a common "flame bait" or "taunt" that guys throw around.
They act like its a shock or something.

Their logic is that with only the approx 200 or so A320's on the firm order now that with the 1600 pilots hired so far, those guys/gals will be the A320 Captain's for the future.

uhhh...

Duh?!

Hopefully, IF the company is profitable it will continue to grow with more A320 orders, albeit at a marginally slower and slower percentage of growth.

 

[B6Driver]

Never is a very long time.
You look like a smart guy in your picture, well, maybe not.
Never listen to rumors

 

[Charlie Brown]

Mr Hat,
I think to answer your question would require a crystal ball. I know you are not trying to start a flame war but I bet the question will.

I think it's safe to say that 3-4 year upgrades in the 320 are a thing of the past. It all depends on how many accept recall. That should get figured out really quickly since all furloughees are at crunch time to have to make a decision regarding accepting the recall, or resigning. $hit or get off the pot, so to speak.

Theoretically, the amount of people on the list today equals the amount of total Bus captains that will be required when all deliveries are taken. At least that is how I understand it. That theory though, doesn't take retirements (not many), people electing to stay FOs or senior on the 190, and attrition. So it is safe to say, in my opinion, upgrade to the Bus will take a lot longer than in the past, however it will be attainable at some point in the future. My guess is at least twice what it is now.

Hope that answers your question.

 

[RogerMOSA]

Theoretically, the amount of people on the list today equals the amount of total Bus captains that will be required when all deliveries are taken. At least that is how I understand it. That theory though, doesn't take retirements (not many), people electing to stay FOs or senior on the 190, and attrition. So it is safe to say, in my opinion, upgrade to the Bus will take a lot longer than in the past, however it will be attainable at some point in the future. My guess is at least twice what it is now.
.

Don't forget to factor in the number of A320s that will be sold. I have a feeling that in JB's final tally, we will be nowhere close to 200 A320s.

RM

 

[Truckdriver]

Mr. Hat,

We have 94 320's now. We could have 231 by 2016 if they get all the firm orders and options and don't sell anymore. Figuring 7 Captains per airplane, they would need about 1600. Right now we have just under 1700 on the list. That is where people come up with that comment. We will also have around 200 190's in 2016. That would be about 1400 190 Captains. So we would need around 3000 Captains and about the same number of FO's. That would put a guy hired right now in the top 1/3 of the seniority list. I'm not sure you can get to the top 1/3 of any list at another carrier in 9 years. This is of course figuring no retirements and no attrition. We do have guys retiring although we don't know the exact number. We also have lots of UAL, UAIR, and NWA guys who are now accepting recall since they can no longer bypass. I've moved up about 10 per month the last three months. Factor those into the deal, and I think a guy hired right now won't regret it come 2016. Probably be a 320 lineholder or a 190 CA getting 19 days off. However, 2016 is lots of years away and I would hesitate to forecast any farther than a year in todays environment.

 

[Truckdriver]

Don't forget to factor in the number of A320s that will be sold. I have a feeling that in JB's final tally, we will be nowhere close to 200 A320s.

RM

Your are probably correct. We have 94 now with firm orders for 87 more which I have heard Airbus won't change to options. We then have options for another 50 by 2016. The current tally is 213 by 2016. I think they will sell a couple more this year. If 2007 is a good year, I doubt they will sell more in 2008. Hopefully the number will by north of 200 in the next 10 years. Don't forget about the 330 order that we will be placing in 2010 to charge into South America!

 

[coogebeachhotel]

Your are probably correct. We have 94 now with firm orders for 87 more which I have heard Airbus won't change to options. We then have options for another 50 by 2016. The current tally is 213 by 2016. I think they will sell a couple more this year. If 2007 is a good year, I doubt they will sell more in 2008. Hopefully the number will by north of 200 in the next 10 years. Don't forget about the 330 order that we will be placing in 2010 to charge into South America!

330 order? Got crack?

 

[IB6 UB9]

Don't forget about the 330 order that we will be placing in 2010 to charge into South America!

I heard the same...

 

[Bavarian Chef]

That's a common "flame bait" or "taunt" that guys throw around.
They act like its a shock or something.

Their logic is that with only the approx 200 or so A320's on the firm order now that with the 1600 pilots hired so far, those guys/gals will be the A320 Captain's for the future.

uhhh...

Duh?!

Hopefully, IF the company is profitable it will continue to grow with more A320 orders, albeit at a marginally slower and slower percentage of growth.

It's not flame bait! We have our own pilots saying that. But yes, as someone already said, never is a long, long time. What's the most junior CA at airways again? 1989? THAT seems like never.

 

[Bavarian Chef]

Your are probably correct. We have 94 now with firm orders for 87 more which I have heard Airbus won't change to options. We then have options for another 50 by 2016. The current tally is 213 by 2016. I think they will sell a couple more this year. If 2007 is a good year, I doubt they will sell more in 2008. Hopefully the number will by north of 200 in the next 10 years. Don't forget about the 330 order that we will be placing in 2010 to charge into South America!

Dude aren't you new? This enthusiasm for 2018 is kinda funny.

 

[Mr Hat]

Easy guys. I know you guys take a lot of crap around here but I like Jetblue. I think you have a hell of a product and wish you only the best. I was asking because I wanted to know how legit the rumor was. Of course things can change and hopefully they will but notice that I said "the current fleet plan"....IE assuming no change.

Sounds to me like the list will probably stagnate sometime in the near future or at least slow down. If Jetblue starts picking up the slack for a failed Virgin America things will most certainly change in a big way.....(Big assumption on my part but considering Jetblue was supposed to be Virgin America in the first place, I can see it happening)
Good luck!

 

[CatfishVT9]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm still happy with my decision, but you always wonder about that grass on the other side of the fence..........

 

[AAbyDefault]

Jet blue guys couple of question:

How junior/senior is BOS base?

Is it all 190 flying?

How many lines out of there?

Whats the callout time on reserve?

Thanks

 

[Longhorn]

Answers...kinda

Boston. Its both 320 and 190. There are 28 crews (54 pilots) on the 190 side and 35 crews (70 pilot) on the 320 side. In terms of seniority, a 320 FO that has been here around a year would be on the tail end of the list, as for 320 CA I am not sure. On the 190 though, it has turned into a fairly senior 190 ca base on the top end and somewhat junior on the tail end. I have been here just over 2 years and I am one of the last lineholders in BOS on the 190CA side. The bos FO is the same. The top guys are really senior and the tail end guys are fairly junior. The problem with BOS is that there is not a lot of growth there right now in terms of hours per month that the base gets. We are growing slowly but it seems that 28 crews on the 190 is where its going to stay for a little while. Since there is not a lot of growth right now, and there are not a lot of vacancies, its hard to get in unless someone leaves for upgrade or quits. So, once you are in, most don't leave unless they have to. I would assume that the same applies to the 320.

As for the boston base, I think its hands down much better than JFK. The reasons in my opinion are that its still a small base so everyone for the most part knows each other so there is more accountability for what happens. The gate agents and ground crew don't slack at all since they know they will see you again soon and vice versa. The people seem to be much friendlier as well IMO. The flying, while not always commutable on both ends is more productive on the 190 then the jfk base as well. I think most are happy with that since the amount of commuters is much smaller in bos as most live in the area so the productivity of the base is more important then the commutability....I commute so I could go either way on that.

Lines, I don't know what the 320 was (I deleted the bid results) but the 190 is around 20 hard lines with 8 reserve lines for the month.

Call out time on reserve is 2 hours

Your Welcome

lh

 

[ArchieF16]

Catfish....I was hired at JB in Feb 04 and could have upgraded late summer of last year......