JetBlue Q

[hydrarkt]

There have been some great posts here. Thanks for all of the input. I am still considering. I realize that it would be tough to give up NJA in my position. Hell, I'm writing this from downtown Kiev on one of my 3 week vacations! Personally I would probably rather fly 121 for a major because I do believe that it's a better job and easier than NJA. But I also know that NJA is a fairly stable company...for now. I also think that giving up 6 figures and the vacation time that I get is a tough choice...so who knows.
Some good advice and ideas here..... thanks

 

[CaptainMark]

well whatever you do..in this day and age it's nice to have good choices..good luck...

 

[Diesel]

Hey man how is it over there. Good to hear from you. By the way enjoy one of your 21 day vacations this year. What do you have 3-21 day vacations? Not to shabby.

 

[hydrarkt]

What am I doing here???
Hmmmm... meeting the locals

Yeah the vacation thing is a BIIIG Bennie! Although it's costing me a fortune.. oh well.

 

[Diesel]

just remember the exchange rate.

 

[Dave Siegel]

LT, all you are is background static on this forum and proof that cosmic radiation does turn pilots' brains into mush after flying beyond 10,000 hours. Your comments do nothing to promote an honest debate about B6's role in this industry.

Hi, it's Dave!

LT has an obligation to promote though provoking ideas, because most pilots are simply too naive to do anything but drink from the company Kool-aid and hope for the best.

It's that type of shortsighted thinking that Frank and I can routinely exploit. Instead of listening to him, Speedbird and others once again refuse to face reality.

It's quite depressing, it really is.

 

[IronCityBlue]

timliness

I don't think the issues surrounding JBLU punctuality is really crew issues at JBLU. More unrealistic schedules, ATC and various other issues that surround this carrier. Having a reserve at the airport does not magically make an airplane arrive for them to fly.

Either way on-time is starting to unveil the dirty little secret of the jblu experience.

We are making improvements towards better on time, but there are some important things to note. First, we do very, very little connecting traffic, and considerably fewer business travelers. That significantly reduces the negative impact of late arrivals compared to other airlines. If we're 45 minutes late, 150 people get to their destination 45 minutes late. When a legacy flight is late, 150 people miss their connection in their respective intergalatic hub of doom, stand by on the next 85% load factor flight, most miss it, and get to spend the night somewhere else. Big difference.

Then there's the reason for being late in the first place. WX like blizzards and squall lines are largely out of your control. But we hold flights all the time for just a few connecting people (we don't do that much, but its a noteable part of our delays). We also push when it makes sense to push. I just flew a flight to a major airport with the same departure time as a legacy. ATC advised both of us of a 2 hour (+/-) ground stop. The delay was unavoidable for both. We let the people stay in the terminal til half an hour before our time, then boarded like usual and got out right away as planned. The legacy in question boarded immediately and sat on the ramp for an extra 90 minutes. But they got the on-time departure at least.

Like most legacys we have ACARS, which makes it impossible to "fudge" the times. But many legacys outsource a significant percentage of their flights (as many as half) to companies who routinely fudge the times. The difference between the on time statistics of an ACARS and a non ACARS company can be staggering.

Finally, people who fly us are compensated very well by industry standards. We spend the voucher money most airlines dole out for bumping confirmed pax on compensating late pax, not to mention free pizza, etc. We also don't cancel flights if at all possible. We run it 4 hours late if necessary to get them there. The impact on our on time stats because of this one customer service philosopy is huge. But if its your flight that would have been cancelled, its a big deal to you too. So if you're late on us, you're taken care of.

Again, not to make excuses, because we do need to improve our on time performance. The temporary construction and ramp congestion in Kennedy is causing a lot of delays right now (just waited 20 minutes to push on a clear day with little airport traffic). That is getting fixed big time in the long run (2009) but there are significant interim fixes like temp gates opening up this summer. And yes, a BOS base will help. We have a huge presence there and having reserves able to cover things will improve the operation especially during irregular ops when people time out, etc. It won't fix every delay as you so sharply pointed out, because planes don't magically appear just because you have a base there, but it will help.

So hopefully that answered some of your questions on our on time performance. Now don't you have a scope clause you could be loosening or something?
moderator reviewed.

 

[Lake Alice]

There have been some great posts here. Thanks for all of the input. I am still considering. I realize that it would be tough to give up NJA in my position. Hell, I'm writing this from downtown Kiev on one of my 3 week vacations! Personally I would probably rather fly 121 for a major because I do believe that it's a better job and easier than NJA. But I also know that NJA is a fairly stable company...for now. I also think that giving up 6 figures and the vacation time that I get is a tough choice...so who knows.
Some good advice and ideas here..... thanks

Here is another way of looking at the vacation time or lack there of.

Do you want to work a little less and have a little less vacation or do you want to work more for a little more vacation. I chose a little less work so I didnt need all 3 weeks to recover Enjoy your vacation and rest assured that what ever descision you make will be the right one for you. All else doesn't matter.

 

[Lou C. Ferr]

It's that type of shortsighted thinking that Frank and I can routinely exploit.

Hi Dave! Tell Frank I've got quite the party waiting for both of you---bring your swim trunks, it gets plenty hot down here.

 

[whymeworry?]

It all boils down to the gamble you wish to take with your career.

JB will be fine, so will NJ if they get their financial act back together. Nontheless, it's hard to say which choice will be the better one. For that matter, it's hard to say which airline will be "the airline" in 30 years. Suffice to say, the whole career is a bit of a gamble.

I flew corporate. Indeed, I flew some of the wealthiest people in the world around (a few were in the top 5 of the Forbes list) and some top celebs as well. That kind of flying exposes you to a very nice life. The trips in corporate can be fun since you fly to places an airliner will never go and you stay for days or weeks at a time (really gives you a chance to see a place on someone elses dime). Sometimes you even get to stay on the owners yacht or somethng to that effect. My one problem with corporate was the time off, or lack thereof. I was always on-call or always out on a trip. If I were offered a guaranteed 7/7 sched with my previous company, I would have probably stayed.

Airline flying is fun as well, it's just a different kind of fun. Of course the bigger equipment means larger cockpit but it's more about the idea that you are gowing with an organization that will grow with you. Sometimes the growth in corporate can be slow-going

Some in corporate say flying the same routes that airline pilots fly is boring, perhaps, but it also makes the job a heck of a lot easier. I flew into some challenging places in corporate that required a lot more attention to planning and detail. Exciting for sure, but certainly increases the stress level. I much prefer stress-free (or stress reduced) flying when it comes to career flying. One thing is for sue, as you know, you can also fly the same routes in corporate. There were times I would fly clients to the same destinations for business, time and again. So the argument that corporate guys get more variety isn't exactly true either.

All in all, I'd say stay where your at. IF you believe NJA will be around for another 20 years then it's worth the gamble. You've already got a great job and you already get an additional 9 weeks off a year in addition to your two weeks off a month. What more could you want? Besides money of course.

There is also the equation of post-job marketability. At NJ, if you were to lose your job, with your type-ratings and experience you could most likely find employment elsewhere at a similar salary. In airline flying, well, there are only so many Airbus jobs in corporate. So if you lose your job at Blue, you'll have to start at the bottom somewhere else, assuming you were no longer current in corporate.

 

[beytzim]

I'm a former NJA and now at SWA, so here's my take:

Flying corporate was fun, no doubt. But here's the problem. Your wife and kids aren't enjoying the time with you at Aspen or Kiev or whatever, they're wondering why you're not at home with them! Whenever I flew to an exotic local (that lasted more than 60 minutes or a 10 hour overnight), I always wished my other half was there to enjoy it with me (and I don't mean the copilot!).

The reality is you will be gone no less than 13 nights a month from your family at NJA. As a non-commuting pilot as SWA, it is very easy to just be away 8 nights a month, less if need be. The flexibility of controlling your time away is pricelss, better than any cool approach at ASE.

I remember taking the engine cover over on the Hawker at NJA last winter where the temp was 15F with blowing wind. I had gotten so cold during the preflight that I had to run into the cockpit three times to defrost just during the preflight - all the time cursing the job as a "pilot". I then lugged the pax luggage in the blistering cold while doing one final walk around and kicking out the chocks. I hated it. I swore to myself never again. At SWA, I fly an airplane, in warmth and comfort, and oh yeh, I do a preflight, but I bid for warm cities for the winter - what a concept!!

Later

 

[Clyde Frog]

A JB capt I spoke to said he expects to be in ch11 before the end of the year.

 

[Blue Dude]

A JB capt I spoke to said he expects to be in ch11 before the end of the year.

Then he'll ruin his credit and will have a hard time opening another business. Good thing he has his airline job to fall back on.