jetBlue Captain Pay?

[dgs]

This question (along with the one about free airplanes) has been asked and answered so many times before that I decided to answer absurd with absurd. Search the threads and check the financial statements.

While we do have aircraft under warranty, we still spend plenty for MX, including C checks. Here's a trick--we do a LOT of preventative MX to keep surprise failures low and reliability high. The mgmt of this company has a very long term view and realize that an investment in MX now pays huge dividends in the future. We recently had a day with not a single MEL in the entire fleet--not even one TV out. Things get fixed pretty quickly and no, Airbus does not pay the salary of our MX technicians.

 

[717capt]

Did an overnight in Rochester, NY last week. Met with my crew downstairs in the lobby for dinner (AirTran), and there was a jetBlue crew with the same idea, so we all (all 11 of us) decided to go out to dinner together. Went to dinasaur BBQ (anyone thats ever been to Rochester, NY knows what I am talking about).
Never had such a better time with a better bunch of people. The jetBlue Capt. and myself got to talking. I asked him to tell me what all these rumors are about not paying for maintenance, crew training and all the rest of the bunk we hear all the time about jetBlue and their airbus'. The man was very happy to answer all my questions. They do get a good maintenance deal on the airbus when they come new. Just like anyone else who orders new airplanes. We get it with our 717's. Training was provided and paid for by airbus for the first 200 crews or so. Same deal with us for boeing. Free maintenance is just a bunch of baloney. Like any other airline, more maintenance costs for the first airplanes which is offset by not a lot of mtc. costs for the newer aircraft. Makes perfect business sense to me. Anyway if any of those jetblue crewmembers are reading this post, just wanted to tell you guys again what great people you are and I can speak for my entire crew, we had a great time. By the way if anyone is interested, the jetBlue Capt. and myself spilt the check and let the rest of the crew take care of the tip.

 

[learob]

I am so tired of these posts.

"Fly Delta" why dont you go and bitch at South West because our scale is based on theirs. Or even better go whine at America West your ALPA brothers, our 2nd year capt. makes more than their top capt. Or United their top A320 capt makes 145 per hr if you average our base and over time pay we make the same. So please enjoy your pay I think it is great that you make that much but dont rip on me because I dont. Also just to let you know pay is only one part of our total compensation we also have profit sharing and stock options.

 

[FLB717]

WoW, I cant believe as an AirTran (former CMR) guy am saying this but I dont see FlyDeltaJets as being rude. It seems he was just making a point. Ive seen flame posts from him before but in this one he seemed to get the idea of CSM's and FBI's TGIF's etc. He has a point it is not just the pilot pay it is the whole thing. Our 12yr rates are now by my best estimate better than UAL's 737-500 rates and thier CSM are higher than ours! I wanted to make Industry avereage but I didnt think the industry would come to me so fast.

 

[P3-Adub]

FLB717

You hit the nail on the head ! Pay coming down to the level of success in these times.

UAL has made pay the same on the 737 and the A320, obviously coming down to the 737 instead of the other way. This will mean more than the 30% published for a lot of folks. I know, I know, no sympathy here.

A race to the bottom, I don't think that anyone will be uneffected because as pressure mounts due to lower costs, the LCCs will have to do something to maintain the competetive edge that they now enjoy. All points well taken about CSM and how far off the majors are, this will change because they have to just to survive. All a guessing game at this point.

Flydeltajets is just trying to say that the lucrative days are going away and the folks that have been around for some time building the big 6 are going to pay the biggest price. Don't have to like the fact that there are 4 figure furloughs at most and that pay cuts that are are unspeakable in any other industry. I agree with Deltajets. Economy, 9/11, Iraq, and poor management have wrecked the industry and now Walmart is the name of the game. Hey, great idea, we all make what we could at Walmart !

Have fun fellas !

 

[FlyDeltasJets]

Lear,

Thank for the advice. Perhaps you are new, but I mention LUV in almost every post I make about lccs. I will continue to do so. As for AWA, I'm pretty sure they are getting all they can with the finances of their airline.

UAL? If you don't mind, I'd prefer to use them as an example of where this profession is headed.

717,

Thanks for the defense! You hit the nail on the head about pay being lowered to lcc level rather than lcc pay being raised to ours. I'm afraid the trend has just begun.

P.S.
I have always tried not to post "flamebait". I'm sorry if you interpreted some of my posts to be so. They were not intended that way.

 

[dgs]

I didn't post specific capt pay rates because I wanted to specifically avoid the schoolyard "My p---ck is bigger than your p---ck comparisons." (paycheck... what did you think I meant?)

There is a lot more to compensation than the hourly pay. Our management made a decision to use things like stock options and profit sharing as a way to compensate us for performance. Their up front costs are lower, but if we make money we all benefit with HUGE profit sharing bonuses. (Hence, we get a pay raise every year we make a profit.) These other forms of compensation could make us by far the highest paid in the industry when we do a look back from the future. Stock options made some SWA pilots very wealthy. So far we are already exceeding SWA's performance in its early years. Only time will tell what it will all be worth in the future. If we work hard to continue to make the airline a success, the long term compensation could be incredible. Its a risk we take with a "new" airline, but one I gladly take.

Aside from money and benefits, the joy of coming to work at a fabulous company with management that "gets it" is priceless. High hourly pay rates mean nothing if your overcompensated management team drives your company to bankrupcy and/or you lose your job.

My money is on jetBlue and I'll be working hard to continue to ensure our profitability.

 

[embraerdriver]

Ride the wave....

looks like we will replace all of you with rj drivers......less cost, etc.

not my idea but look around you.....it's happening and quickly.

Good luck you'll need it!

 

[race#53]

Re: Ride the wave....

looks like we will replace all of you with rj drivers......less cost, etc.

not my idea but look around you.....it's happening and quickly.

Good luck you'll need it!

The smaller aircraft theory is not always the answer;
My relatively efficient experimental uses 10 GPH at 150kts and fuel costs alone are .20 per mile and i can only carry one passenger!!!
SWA and JB are in the .06 to .07 cent range for total costs and looks like heir way is the absolute cheapest way to get around.

 

[hngryflyr]

And I will third it. After being on the street hours after reviewing my "no furlough" clause, JB offers employment without a letter of resignation. Why? "We are confident that after working here you won't want to leave!" I don't, and I will go the extra mile here. Pay is good, the future is currently bright, and we enjoy it here. But it's the other forms of "compensation" that make this such a good thing.

embdriver...curious...how many apps have you filled out to graduate off you RJ? Good luck with your JB app...you will need it!

flydeltasjets...sorry, but you present yourself as extremely arrogant sometimes. You have good stuff somedays, then you ruin it with your blown up ego, kind of a stereotype that you and your brethren have created in our industry over the years. Like you are 5-5 or something. Talking down to the little people...shame on you. Maybe have someone proofread your posts, checking for arrogance and stupidity.

My 2 cents. Later dudes...

 

[Skank]

Embraer driver. May I suggest you read up on the RJ subject? I don't think you see RJ's hurting Southwest at all. They don't have a whole lot of effect on us either. Just read up on it, I don't want to rehash all that here.

 

[contrail777]

Serious question,

How many of the JB guys based in NYC actually live there? Is it hard to commute, say from RDU, given the relatively small size of the airline? I would not want to live in NYC with a JB salary...or DL for that matter.

 

[FlyDeltasJets]

hngy,

If you interpret what I do as talking down to people, then perhaps you need a lesson in reading comprehension.

I am simply pointing out industry trends that disturb me. You can ignore them if you choose. I hope you will continue to have that luxury, but I doubt it.

As for the rest of your post, you chastise me for the tone of my posts, at the same time calling me arrogant and stupid. Maybe you should worry first about your own posts? Out of the hundreds of posts I have submitted, I challenge you to find a single one in which I insulted anyone. Until you do so, perhaps you should consider that it isn't arrogance, but concern which fuels my posts.

For the record, your post was very insulting. Not that it bothers me, I'm used to it. Most people on this board, with a few notable and often impressive exceptions, would rather insult than have a rational debate. You are obviously not a member of that minority. I'm happy that I do not require insults to make my point. It's a shame that you do.

P.S.
I have apologized twice for hijacking this thread. It was not the place for this discussion, and I tried to bow out a few times. If the rest of you want to keep arguing, be my guest, but I'm going to try to keep out of it.

 

[AKAAB]

Contrail777,

I think we have a number of pilots that commute from RDU or CLT. I don't think it is too difficult. They may have to go into LGA, though.

I'm sorry I don't have any hard numbers to give you, but I'd venture to estimate that about 90% of the pilots are commuters to the JFK base. When I was based there, my crashpad cost me $235 a month and I spent about another $40-50 for taxi and shuttles. (I could have saved some cash if I had used the bus system, but it seems that I always caught a cold a few days after a bus ride.)

Many of our pilots don't even need a crashpad by bidding redeyes or paying for an occasional motel room.
Of course, while sitting reserve a crashpad is necessary, but there is no shortage of available beds.

I hope this helps. It looks like it may be some time down the road for you - according to your profile, but don't let the commute steer you away from a great career opportunity with jetBlue!

AKAAB

 

[jointops]

Contrail,

The majority of people commute into JFK. I'd hazard a guess at 80% as commuters.

AA, DL and US all have flights out of RDU into LGA using RJs. A couple of flights actually go into JFK. CO goes into EWR using 737s.

I have a buddy who lives in RDU and he commutes to FLL instead of dealing with the JFK issues.

That being said, he spent a lot of time this spring in his crashpad instead of being home. 2 legs, (1 being off-line) during spring break and Easter was tough. However, FL in the spring on the beach isn't too shabby either now that I think of it.


Happy landings