Jetblue LGB base?

[lanilila]

How senior is LGB and how long to get it if the hiring starts again. Any chance of LAX growing or any west coast growth? Thanks

 

[uspilot]

Its very senior not as bad as MCO but its very senior. All new Hires will go to E190 first and we are pulling 190s out of West Coast so it will become a A320 base only. It will be very hard to get A320 once your hired as we have many E190 FO who are waiting to move over to the bus I would say you have to wait 3 to 4 yrs before moving to the Bus. I could be wrong but I am sure others will chime in soon. Good Luck...

 

[donvag]

To be honest with you, you are going to have to be very patient and wait years if you want to work to be based out of LGB. LGB is only an airbus base and VERY senior at that. We have hundreds of pilot on property (myself included) whose equipment lock is up but still has hundreds of pilots ahead to transition aircraft. LGB growth is limited because of the flight restriction in LGB. Growth in jetBlue is all going south. To the Caribbean. The growth right now is in BOS and MCO. All new hires now go into the E190. If we do open an E190 base in LGB we have alot of west coast commuters that are very senior that would be ahead of you. Sorry if you dont like what im typing but im being realistic.

 

[uspilot]

I am glad a LGB base guy chimed in and give you a better picture as I am JFK base. But to give a idea what he is telling you I have been here for about 5 yrs now and I think they have around 90 to 95 FO based in LGB and I would be bidding around 30 to 35 out of 95, so you see it very senior as was said by my JB brother. But things could change you never know, I would say if hired today 4 to 5 yrs for LGB and thats being on RSV not holding a line. Once again if I wrong I am sure LGB base guys could help better.

 

[Iflyforyou]

From the 4th quarter earnings conference call yesterday...

"We focused on strengthening our core network centered in New York, Boston, Florida, and the West Coast."

The word "Boston" was mentioned 23 times by the executives, but "LAX" was mentioned only once...

"...we’re going to keep flying to places like San Francisco and to LAX and adding frequency into those markets as well."

The focus definitely seems to be on the East Coast and Caribbean...

"Boston has been valuable for us both financially and strategically. Our footprint at this key airport has grown over the past six years from two gates and nine flights per day to eleven gates and nearly seventy flights per day. We now serve more destinations and offer more seats out of Boston than any carrier. In the summer of 2010 we plan to increase our Boston departures by approximately 30% year-over-year, driven primarily by increased frequencies to business oriented markets such as Baltimore, Charlotte, and Raleigh-Durham. JetBlue’s goal is to be the carrier of choice in Boston."

"We also continue to build on our success in the Caribbean and Latin America. Of the eight new cities open in 2009, six were in the Caribbean and Latin America, namely Bogota, Columbia; San Jose, Costa Rica; Montego Bay and Kingston, Jamaica; St. Lucia; and Barbados. These new markets have achieved great success in their first year of operation."

"While we are growing significantly in Boston and the Caribbean, the rest of our network will actually be shrinking in 2010 on a year-over-year basis. We believe this to be prudent growth. We’re targeting specific markets where ramp up is relatively quick and our brand resonates well with customers."

 

[lanilila]

Thanks for the realistic replies about the LGB base. Im a 5 year captain at Skywest based in ORD but live in L.A. I honestly dont see me getting L.A. for Skywest anytime soon either because of it also being senior. How is life on reserve for the E190 in JFK? Just curious if commuting to reserve in JFK is better than commuting to ORD for my regular line.

 

[1900dr]

Growth is good. One of the big questions that most people would probably want to know is when will hiring begin for 2010. Any insight on which quarter? Is there a pool to be hired from currently? Thanks

 

[uspilot]

I think we will start few classes from 3rdQ 2010 and more hiring in 2011.

 

[donvag]

It all depends how many people would be hired behind you. I have spoken to captain who where only F/Os for 9months and where only on reserve for the month they finished IOE. At the other end of the spectrum, I have been here for 2 years and I am still on reserve. Luckly for me I live on base. Hypothetically speaking if you were hired at JetBlue you would most likely get BOS.

 

[paluch]

Just came back from recurrent and the word from the school house is that there are no plans to hire this year. We are receiving 4 190's but no additional staffing is needed.