Jet Blue E190 First Cities Announced

[smellthejeta]

I'm usually late to the party when it comes to breaking news, but just in case, courtesy of USA Today...

JetBlue to expand routes
By Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY
As bigger airlines pull back on domestic flying, 5-year-old JetBlue (JBLU) today will announce a major service expansion.
Between Nov. 8 and April 6, the New York-based carrier will add 52 weekday departures, including high-frequency service between its base at New York John F. Kennedy and Boston Logan. JetBlue also is adding service to Richmond, Va., and Austin.
The planned expansion coincides with delivery of the first of 101 Embraer 190 jets ordered by the carrier, which has been profitable for most of its existence. JetBlue until now has relied exclusively on larger Airbus A-320s but will fly the Embraer on its new routes. (Related story: JetBlue looks for space with Embraer 190)
Fast-growing JetBlue's plans typify the accelerating trend of discounters adding domestic service as the big hub-and-spoke carriers — United, US Airways, Northwest and Delta, for example — seek to shift flying capacity to more profitable international routes.
"As the legacy carriers are shrinking their domestic service, it creates opportunities for low-cost carriers," says Michael Allen of Back Aviation Solutions.
JetBlue is in high-growth mode. Its April schedule reflects a nearly one-quarter annual increase in flying capacity.
JetBlue is the first customer for the 100-seat Embraer 190, a Brazilian-made jet that fills the gap between smaller 50-seat jets and larger narrow-body jets. Highlights of JetBlue's expansion:
•Shuttle service. On Nov. 8, JetBlue will begin shuttle service between JFK and Boston, where it has been expanding.
By Dec. 20, it will offer 10 flights on weekdays, nine daily on weekends. Fares range from $40 to $120 one way. Currently, US Airways and Delta offer New York-Boston shuttle service from LaGuardia, and American from JFK and Newark, N.J., and Continental from Newark. The average fare on the route is $135 one way, according to Back.
•Smaller cities. Between Jan. 19 and April 6, JetBlue will launch service to Richmond, Va., and Austin. Each will have non-stop connections with JFK and Logan.
•Warm-weather options. On Nov. 8, JetBlue will begin flying twice a day from Boston to West Palm Beach, Fla. It will add a third daily flight on Dec. 20. On Feb. 2, it will begin a daily flight from Boston to Nassau, Bahamas. Fares for both routes range from $99 to $299 one way.
•Greater frequency. To improve service for business travelers, JetBlue is adding a fourth flight from JFK to Burlington, Vt., starting Dec. 4, and an eighth flight from JFK to Buffalo starting Dec. 20.

 

[MedFlyer]

This is going to put a real hurt on the DL/US Shuttles. While LGA may be a little more convenient, B6's fares are going to lure customers away.

 

[SELFloadingCRGO]

Saw one of them parked at a gate in DEN last week, good lookin' airplane.


SLC

 

[F9 Driver]

What is the fuel burn per hour for the 190?

 

[fifty30retard]

What is the fuel burn per hour for the 190?

I don't have an exact number for you but I saw a release for an Embraer 190 flight from MCO to JFK with EWR as an alternate. There were only 10 people on board because it was a proving run or some other kind of test flight. The total block fuel was 17.3 and was supposed to land with 8.5 on board. Seems low to me compared to the bus but then again it's a "whole different animal". Sorry F9 couldn't resist.

 

[Patriot328]

This is going to put a real hurt on the DL/US Shuttles. While LGA may be a little more convenient, B6's fares are going to lure customers away.

I hate to pull the whole business traveler card crap, but with US and DAL's FF programs and the fact that most business traveler's tickets are picked up by their companies, along with LGA and EWR are still more convenient to the City than JFK, most business travelers will stick to the other carriers rather than JB. That being said, JB WILL pull some travelers (leisure) from the other carriers, and that itself will not be good (for DAL and US).

 

[MD80DRVR]

I think the other carriers will see a mass exodus over to JetBlue. The product is so much better and you get treated like a human.

 

[Smoking Man]

IMHO the 190 an all we offer in it, vs the CL-65 and 145, and not to mention the operational cost, the 190 will win. As far as getting around in NY, at JFK you can take the airtrain to the subway, something you cannot do out of LGA.

The 190 V/S 50 seaters. This will be as big of change as going from turbo props to the 50 seat rj's.

 

[holdon]

Go Check the web site. $25.00 one way from JFK-BOS! Holy Cheap Fares Batman. It actually cost's more to take a cab from mid-town to JFK (45.00) than to fly up the coast to BOS. Something is wrong there.:nuts:

With those kinds of fares, I think we need to hook up with a few nice restaurants and offer a combo package for people to fly up to BOS Have a nice dinner for 2 and fly home all for under $200.00!

 

[Patriot328]

IMHO the 190 an all we offer in it, vs the CL-65 and 145, and not to mention the operational cost, the 190 will win. As far as getting around in NY, at JFK you can take the airtrain to the subway, something you cannot do out of LGA.

The 190 V/S 50 seaters. This will be as big of change as going from turbo props to the 50 seat rj's.

I agree that the 190 will be an incredible airplane (as long as it proves reliable). I got a chance to ride on a 170 a few weeks ago and to compare it to anything bombardier puts out is like comparing a Chevy Cavalier to a BMW 5 series. Yeah they do the same thing, but one is a helluvalot more comfortable than the other! The 170 completely outclasses the 200/700/900 series of RJs from Bombardier in terms of pax comfort (and I assume economics).

I have heard they have been a nightmare with reliability issues, though. Mostly random electron type crap. Hopefully those problems will work itself out soon.

 

[Neubyfly]

I think the other carriers will see a mass exodus over to JetBlue. The product is so much better and you get treated like a human.

I'd like to "mass exodus" over to JB. I sit by the phone but it NEVER rings blue!

 

[furloughed dude]

Might as well keep the fares at $25 since they are paying their pilots like a cheap street who###s...

 

[Smoking Man]

Might as well keep the fares at $25 since they are paying their pilots like a cheap street who###s...

This must be a record, we went 11 posts before someone ran it in the gutter. If you would have only mentionded union and cleaning the cabin you would have covered everything, I guess you just quicker than tony C.

 

[RUhiring?]

I wondered how long it would take.

the 12th message......the jetBlue bashing has begun.

why don't we just give it a rest and stop it right here?

 

[kaki]

some additional cities I hear a "buzz" about are: Islip, ORF, SWF

 

[GuppyPuppy]

This must be a record, we went 11 posts before someone ran it in the gutter. If you would have only mentionded union and cleaning the cabin you would have covered everything, I guess you just quicker than tony C.

He also failed to mention "not paying for their airplanes".

GP

 

[Spectre]

"We're not a hub and spoke airline." However, consider BOS-JFK with JFK having tons of international flights not offered through BOS. For example, people can pay $25 to get to JFK and then fly to Africa. Furthermore, you can connect BOS-JFK to many other cities that JetBlue serves out of JFK.

 

[800Dog]

Might as well keep the fares at $25 since they are paying their pilots like a cheap street who###s...

Well said!

 

[wndshr]

Quote:
Originally Posted by furloughed dude
Might as well keep the fares at $25 since they are paying their pilots like a cheap street who###s...


Well said!





yup...they are low! you wanna hear the real irony? unless you want to find another job outside the industry...you might just be dressing up in a suit one day and interviewing to fly a 190 at those rates!

Now that is IRONY! LOL

 

[800Dog]

Quote:
Originally Posted by furloughed dude
Might as well keep the fares at $25 since they are paying their pilots like a cheap street who###s...


Well said!





yup...they are low! you wanna hear the real irony? unless you want to find another job outside the industry...you might just be dressing up in a suit one day and interviewing to fly a 190 at those rates!

Now that is IRONY! LOL

Not desperate enough, not a whore, spent too much time/effort/$$$, have an education and a sense of self worth so, I highly doubt it.

 

[Spectre]

Quote:
Originally Posted by furloughed dude
Might as well keep the fares at $25 since they are paying their pilots like a cheap street who###s...


Well said!





yup...they are low! you wanna hear the real irony? unless you want to find another job outside the industry...you might just be dressing up in a suit one day and interviewing to fly a 190 at those rates!

Now that is IRONY! LOL

Well, how often do you see JetBlue pilots comment on the pay decreases at NWA, DAL, AMR, UAL, etc. I'll make a small comparison. Post 9/11, we've seen no pay decreases and no furloughs at JetBlue.

I agree the E190 rate is low. But what should management do? Give industry leading pay and hope the E190 model works well? Or go conservative with lower rates and wait to see if the E190 numbers are good? I think you'll see pay increases in less than a year once the E190 is a proven money maker. Look at our history. Four years ago, Captains were making $80/hour in the A320. We had a 30% pay increase in OCT 2001 which brought that up to $118/hour.

Right now, I make $118/hour as a Captain on the A320. After 70 hours, that pay is time + 1/2 at $177/hour. Most Captains can earn between $10-15K/month depending on how much you prefer to fly. Since I fly a lot, I'm making about 165K this year and will time out the first week of December (1000 hours in 12 months FAA) for a well needed rest. Add to that PTO (personal time off) pay at 9 hours/month. These hours are banked, but may be used for time off, sick time, or 25% of the bank can be cashed out at the end of the year. That's another 108 hours of pay (an entire month's extra) you probably haven't considered.

Remember to compare apples to apples. For example, you can't compare our Captain's pay here with NWA's Captains on the A320. First of all, our most senior pilot has 5 years here. There are no 5 year NWA A320 Captains. So sure, a NWA Captain makes more than a JetBlue Captain. But, the NWA Captain probably has at least 12 years seniority there to be on a bus. When E190 training stabilizes in a year, FO's here can upgrade to CAPT on the E190 in less than one year. Sure, you'll say those Captain rates are low compared to a NWA DC-9 Captain. Again, how many 1 year Captains are there at NWA on the DC-9?

Our 3% 401K matching could be better, but at least we have something. You can also purchase stock (up to 10% of your pay) in a 6 month period at a 15% discount. Most people cash out this stock as soon as it's bought and take the easy 15% gain. Profit sharing which had been as high as 17% will decrease due to less profits this year. This money is automatically put into your 401K at the end of the year.

So there you have it. My 165K this year won't buy me a nice boat, car, plane or a vacation home...but it'll do for now. Sure's better than my NWA furlough pay of $0.00.

 

[IB6 UB9]

Why do you guys continue to get baited into the pay thing? Does it really matter if anyone knows what we make? Let people stay misinformed, and disgruntled...who cares?

 

[TonyC]

Post 9/11, we've seen no pay decreases and no furloughs at JetBlue.

Whew. Since that's the criteria, I'm still qualified to comment.





.

 

[IB6 UB9]

Here comes Tony C...any minute now.

 

[IB6 UB9]

Beat me by 30 seconds or so.

 

[Dizel8]

I have to agree with IB6 on this one,why bother? I was truly thinking after 800's post, considering no one took the bait, that the thread would die, however silly his comment, but such was not the case.

The jetblue pilots can talk untill we are blue in the face, no pun intended, but all it will do, is leave us out of breath. The issues we all face, will not be solved here, the issues we may have with the company is better solved internally.

People such as TonyC and the General are more than likely great guys, however, they are not privy to internal company issues or solutions, just like I know little about the issues facing FDX or DAL employees. Certainly, they are entitled to their opinion and to comment, we may even learn a few things along the way, but do not be goaded into silly arguments, which are merely meant to be flamebait.

 

[shadesofBS]

Why do we care what anyone thinks about anything? Why do a few chosen soldiers take it upon themselves to defend the honor of Jetblue?

 

[Dizel8]

Pride in the company we are employed by, is what I would imagine!

 

[shadesofBS]

...and yet we make a concious decision to ignore huge inequities within our own organization and we stride forward with the very same in-groups that drove us all to unionism at our last airlines.

 

[SpeedBird]

Isn't that the inherent nature of a seniority-based system?