Jet Blue Airways Which Aircraft A320 or E190??

[clickclickboom]

Got the Phase 2 notice which aircraft? Constructive Feedback Please

 

[Fly-n-hi]

Whatever gets you in the door first.

 

[Chronic Jetlag]

Congratulations and welcome. Take the first class and get your number.

 

[lazy8s]

A few things....

Here's what I would (and did) consider:

-which has an earlier class date?

-can you take the pay cut to the 190 pay level, or is it not an issue?

-where do you live and or commute from? The 190 schedules are going to be 'fluid' for a while until the deliveries and service schedules are normalized (first revinue flight was yesterday)

-what's your background (if you are flying an EMB or have, training should be easy) conversly if you have A320 time, you may want to go that way.

Those are a few factors; you are still on the same list and there is no other difference aside from the plane you are in and the pay rate you are on....

Good luck,

Lazy8s

 

[stb]

A-320 New hire's have been assigned FLL and LGB out of training.

 

[skiav8tor]

Obviously you need to weigh what works best for you...but IMHO, the pay on the 190 is less, but the time to upgrade is shorter (about a year), probably spend less time on reserve, and getting in on the ground floor of a new aircraft type will have it's challenges...good and not so good...

The 320 has more base options, more money...at first...and more destinations, far more options of lines to hold, once off reserve, whereas the 190 will only go to 5-6 cities in the first few months of operation...

Whatever you choose, you will be happy here...you can't go wrong!!

 

[FNG320]

Here are some of the things I would look at:

JB origionally projected E190 Capt upgrade for new hires at 6-10 months. That was based on 100-120 current A320 FOs ugrading to E190 Capt. That number is now over 140 A320 FOs upgrading to E190 Capt. Since the brief plan was to upgrade 12 Capts per month, the upgrade time for new hire E190 FOs will move to the right and be 14-18 months. Not to mention any operational, aircraft delivery, training delays that may creap into the system. That is a lot longer time that JB origionally predicted.

For a pure $$$$ look at it, the A320 may be the better choice for the short term and mid term look. The big factor would be current A320 Capt upgrade times. I think (not sure) that current new A320 FOs can expect approx 3 years to upgrade to Capt. Then put on top of that, 1 year of reserve and you get 4 years till you hold a line in the 320. Maybe the way to go is to do the A320 FO for 2 years, then do E190 Capt for 2 years (both type locked from training), then come back to the A320 as a Capt and go straight to a line. This would reduce your total time on reserve and improve your quality of life. Again, this would all depend on upgrade times in each aircraft, but something to think about.

I would expect the E190 schedules to be real crap for the first year to two years. JB's first 2 years in the A320 were also pretty bad due to the limited selection in trips. Where the 320's current schedule is a little more mature and thus a little more predictable.

If you are in a JB city and fly the 320, you could bid to layover at home, where the E190 will be very limited in where it goes. So that my not be an option at most JB cities..

If you are lazy and don't lie 6 legs a day (JFK-BOS), then don't do the E190. You can bet that for the first year, most parings will have lots of this segment in the lines.

Right now, from what I understand the difference in class dates (thus seniority) betweens types is not much. So going for seniority vs initial pay on the 320 may not be a big issue. This may change later, but is not a big thing right now.

Overall, if the class dates are the same (or close), I would go for the $$$ first, and that means the A320. I see more advantages than the E190. If the class dates are 3-6 months apart, then maybe the 190 would be better. You'll have to get out the spreadsheets and pay scales and do the math. Good luck.

Just my opinion....

FNG

 

[skirt]

Close to 50 E190 Captains have already been trained (out of the original 143). This includes Check Airmen, who are part of the 143. Thus, even with a delay in Captain training in November, the upgrade time is still on track for 11-12 months. At the current planning of 12 CA per month, the remaining 90 or so will have upgraded by August 2006, which gives the first E190 FO's their first shot at upgrade at under a year (they started late August 2005). At the rate of 12 per month, the guys starting in November this year would upgrade sometime around November next year (assuming every E190 FO upgrades to E190 CA at the earliest opportunity).


That being said, nobody has a crystal ball, and you can't plan on an upgrade until you actually get one. Upgrades at any airline have always been a moving target that is hard to pin down exactly. At the moment, it appears the E190 slots have been in higher demand than the A320, so it might be that you have an opening for a A320 class date before an E190 class date.

Its nice to have a choice, but with a choice comes the need to do research. You are doing the right thing by asking around.

Skirt

 

[zkmayo]

A-320 New hire's have been assigned FLL and LGB out of training.

This is not correct. The only people going to FLL and LGB out of training are those pilots who bid it and were awarded it. Otherwise everyone is JFK based after training.

 

[Pilotbob3]

This is not correct. The only people going to FLL and LGB out of training are those pilots who bid it and were awarded it. Otherwise everyone is JFK based after training.

sorry but you are mistaken....LGB is not an option for new hires right now...just a tad more senior off the blocks...but FLL/PBI can be had while IN training. happened to 2 dudes in my class in June.