Thank you to all who have welcomed me to blue-koolaid land. Now I am getting embarrassed!
For all those skeptics out there, I will tell you that this place is for real. I've been at JetBlue for all of two weeks, and I feel I know more about where this airline is headed, what the vision and values are, and have more faith in both, than I did at my previous airline in 13 years.
While it was initially very tough to walk away from the left seat of a major airline, to start over at the bottom of JetBlue, I have no second thoughts or doubts....and no, the blue koolaid is not spiked.
Job satisfaction in any industry is related as much (or sometimes more) to respect, trust and a sense that you are valued, as it is to the paycheck. Don't get me wrong, going from 12th year captain pay to 1st year F/O pay hurts, but it is temporary. However, the respect and trust (from the top to the bottom and everywhere in between) here are instantaneous and a thousand fold compared to where I was. I feel I can follow the leadership here without wondering where we are going all the time. They are smart, very smart, but they also care very, very much. It is a rare combination, at any company, especially an airline. I also know that the leadership cares about the job satisfaction, welfare, livelihood and job security of all the crewmembers whether they are a junior F/O, janitor, ramper, or sit in the executive suite. To me that makes it worth the jump, as life is more than a W2. No secret executive bonuses, KERP plans, trust funds or fancy executive perks here, just good honest people treating everyone right. There is a definite sense that we are all in this together, and I like that.
Certainly not the case where I came from. While I never personally was "mistreated" by management or anyone else (in fact just the opposite), it is more of a system-wide culture that is the problem, with the poor customer getting stuck in the middle all the time. That kind of culture does not make good business.
As far as pay is concerned, when I look back after I retire will I say it was worth it? Who knows. If I could predict the value of JetBlue stock 19 years from now, or which airlines will still be around then, I wouldn't be a pilot, I would be a Wall Street guru. Instead, I just have to go with my gut and my values, and that is what brought me to JetBlue (along with a friendly recruitment team, and a bunch of great guys here at flightinfo).
Moral of the story, if you are thinking about making a move yourself, research the options and think about what kind of work environment is important to you. If you are furloughed, or about to be, it would seem to be a no brainer to apply here (no resignation of seniority required by JetBlue). If you are not furloughed, do you have golden handcuffs where you currently work? How bad are you willing to be treated as a group? Do you care if you are just a widget, or a warm body in a seat? Do you think your senior management cares? Does your airline have a vision and business plan? When do you walk away and say enough is enough? Don't get me wrong, JetBlue isn't nirvana for everyone. There is an airline out there that matches every personality and pilot style. I count my lucky stars that I found the one that fits me well.
In any case, no matter how it plays out in the long run here, there will be one less furlough for someone else at my former airline, and all the guys on the bottom half of the list move up one number. Not a bad deal.
Skirt