JetBlue Ab Initio Program ?

[xjt40]

Yet ab-initio programs have been used in the rest of the world with great success for decades. British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, Quantas, and others have used cadetships to their advantage. The testing is rigorous to qualify and then you can tailor the individual from day 1 to be exactly the pilot you want, following your SOP from the get go.
With flight training becoming prohibitively expensive (especially if you go to college too) this seems like the perfect way to ensure a stream of highly qualified, highly motivated and dedicated employees.
Now, does it suck for the people who have applied and failed? Yes, sure it does but if you failed to get hired is that the company's fault or yours?
Does this mean the company will stop its traditional hiring? No, because it takes years to get an ab-initio student to the right seat of a 320 or 190.
Will this encourage some people to start flying who otherwise wouldn't because it was cost prohibitive? Yes.
Does every branch of the US military use ab-initio to pretty great success? Hell yes and I defy any of you to say that the US military's pilots are somehow sub standard because of it.
I just don't see the issue with this at all.

I see an issue with this . I am a guy that will have to land a 321 in Santiago at 0400 with weather , mechanical issues , mountains and lack of rest because Jetblue makes their reserves fly these types of trips with as much as a 21 hour duty day if it's a tail end deadhead . And you think it's pretty cool to have 2 exhausted guys doing this when one has no clue what's going on because he hasn't seen the real weather , failure ,fatigue ,mountains in a real jet much less one that holds 190 people . Oh yeah no problem here sign me right up put all my family members in the back of that jet . At the end of my trip my family would like to see me . The next thing will be they sign a training contract with big blue like a skanky 135 operator .

 

[CX880]

Why is JetBlue so obsessed with creating their own "hitler youth" of pilots? They prefer yes men obviously but is it worth creating them?

 

[flyboyike]

Why is JetBlue so obsessed with creating their own "hitler youth" of pilots? They prefer yes men obviously but is it worth creating them?

Depending on the numbers, it may be...

 

[BeachBummer]

http://youtu.be/919IA_Lj0Ko

That bout sums that up! Lmao

 

[Splert]

This program does not make sense for BlueJet. It might for other carriers that are going to lose hundreds a month due to age 65-70.

So why is BlueJet doing the leg work for A4A?

Money. IMO Blujet is being paid to be the bow wave to change the FARs not for just BlueJet but for all Part 121 carriers and the A4A is footing the bill.

No proof but it is the only reason IMO why BlueJet is leading G7 to provide the A4A the data it needs to reduce the ATP requirements.

 

[bafanguy]

Any recent scuttlebutt about this program ?