For the interest of discussion, I'm a 40 yo corporate pilot for a Fortune 500 company and I recently applied to jetBlue. I'm not new to the airlines - flew 121 for about a decade until furloughed by USAir after 9/11. After reading comments like those above, I took a chance and found this corporate job. I've been here for almost ten years.
When I started, it was the best kept secret in aviation. We worked mostly Monday through Friday. We rarely worked weekends and almost never worked holidays. Most trips were day trips and we were home by 5:30. Pay was fair for the equipment (light jet) and they took good care of us. Expense control has always been strict, but no money ever came out of pocket for medicals, CFI renewals, gym fees on the road etc.
In 2007 I was recalled by USAir and, with a young family at home, I made the tough (but not TOO tough) decision to stay where I was. When that final recall came, I declined.
Now it's important to realize that my company is vehemently non union and, like most corporate jobs, there is no contract. So a few weeks after I declined recall, the company sent out an email that said we would no longer ferry airplanes empty just to get crews home. If the airplane wasn't needed at home, we would stay on the road. They experimented with month-long TDY stays on the west coast. They changed our schedule time and time again. In 2010 they decided our headcount was too high and laid off 10 pilots. But unlike part 121 there was no recall for those pilots... And the "layoff" did not take seniority or longevity into account. They fired a pilot hired with me, and they fired a pilot who was hired by the company founder 30 years earlier. Some people who were let go had gotten on the wrong side of chief pilots or managers. Others... We still don't know why.
In its wake we have run extremely short staffed. So much so that vacations are frequently denied, and our days-off schedule suspended, "all hands on deck". That has happened 5 times in 2013 alone.
They throw money at us from time to time, increasing the bonus by 10%, or adding a few percent to our salary -- but money doesn't solve everything. If we complain we are told that we are lucky to have jobs. We are told that despite an upcoming pilot shortage management doesn't believe that will ever be a problem at our department. Pilots are disciplined secretly and often in violation of company policy. Recently we were told that two of our days off per month are "flex" and during the 2 week flex period (when days off can be moved anywhere within the period) we would not be permitted to take vacation. Chief pilots are patronizing and often rude and disrespectful. They do not advocate for us - oftentimes yielding to expense control rather than what is in the best interest of the crew. (Like making crews drive over an hour to find hotels in budget)
There is no contract, no grievance process, or even anything in writing (like your 5 documents). When one pilot brought up a violation of our FOM he was taken to breakfast and told he needed to "be more of a team player" and then that section of the FOM mysteriously disappeared. Our open door policy doesn't really work because there are 3 levels of management you have to go through before you even get out of the department. The good ol boys network is in full force here. Management's favorites are chosen for desirable flying (or trips with dignitaries or heads of state). When the department bought a big airplane for international, pilots had to interview for the position... Some had been here for 15+ years and were forced to endure 2 interviews and write an essay for an upgrade. One was asked during the interview, "Tell us why you think your Copilots don't like you?" Nice.
The problem is most of us are in our 40s with kids in school. We are paid enough that it would be difficult to leave and start over (around 120 with bonus in a very low cost of living part of the US). We are trapped by golden handcuffs. Nobody has left voluntarily since 2009. Waiting for AA or DAL to call is a gamble due to our age. They may never call, or if they do we may blow the interview. Since we fly mostly light jets, we aren't particularly competitive at departments that fly heavier equipment. So when a company like jetBlue calls, it seems like an improvement even given the opportunities for improvement there.
Don't get me wrong. I love my job. I've seen amazing parts of the world. We get rental cars on every overnight and i have used them to tour volcanos and glaciers, museums, and see baseball games. I've spent weeks in Vegas, Hilton Head, Anchorage, and everywhere in between. The airplanes are well maintained (if not particularly comfortable).
But that said, having done a decade of 121 and a decade of part 91 corporate... I really think I am better suited to part 121. I miss the flexibility of bidding a schedule, and having written documents that describe what scheduling is and is not allowed to do. Having a voice instead of just having changes shoved down my throat.
It makes me really sad because, like I said, I love this job. I love where I live. If they would improve the scheduling, ease up on hotel budget issues, and replace the chief pilots with pilot advocates who treat us with respect I would stay. I feel too old to keep starting over. And I am terrified about leaving. I am afraid because of what I read on this board and others that I am making another terrible decision - one that will negatively impact my family financially and in QOL. It keeps me up nights... And I haven't even gotten a job offer from JB so there is really no decision to make yet. I don't know how old the jB pilots who are applying to AA, DAL, UAL are but at 40 I hear the clock ticking. I can't wait on the off chance that AA or DAL "might" call and that if they do I "might" get hired. That isn't to say I don't have my airlineapps.com all filled out and updated - I do. But so do thousands of other pilots, including some from your company who have been flying big airplanes a lot longer than I did.
Just thought I would share this perspective from an applicant who isn't probably the typical.
(If you know the department I am talking about, please don't mention by name - it's a small world and I don't want any retaliation if I am not picked up by jB or if for whatever reason I choose not to accept the job.)