Kalitta Air or Jet Blue

[Jet Jock]

With a very good chance of being offered a job at Kalitta and JetBlue, what airline would you choose?

 

[Ski-N-Fly]

No offense, but are you serious???

 

[N813CA]

duh jetblue

 

[Jet Jock]

No offense taken. JetBlue seems like the obvious choice but Kalitta is actually not the "old sh#tbag outfit" it was once considered. They are getting more planes with quick upgrades (2 years), home based, and I think the health insurance is fully paid by the company.
JetBlue is getting more planes too but very long upgrade times and I hear the insurance bites a chunk out of the paycheck as well as crash pad expenses.
Job stability would seem to be on JetBlue's side though but who knows in this industry with mergers, outsourcing, etc. Scheduling flexibility is definitely a JetBlue advantage.

 

[Fubijaakr]

You have no choice until you actually have both job offers in hand. "A good chance" is no chance.

 

[tzskipper]

No offense taken. JetBlue seems like the obvious choice but Kalitta is actually not the "old sh#tbag outfit" it was once considered. They are getting more planes with quick upgrades (2 years), home based, and I think the health insurance is fully paid by the company.
JetBlue is getting more planes too but very long upgrade times and I hear the insurance bites a chunk out of the paycheck as well as crash pad expenses.
Job stability would seem to be on JetBlue's side though but who knows in this industry with mergers, outsourcing, etc. Scheduling flexibility is definitely a JetBlue advantage.

These two airlines are polar opposites when is comes to the type of flying the do and the time away from your family. Kalitta has long trips that are almost all international/all over the world, where Jetblue is a more domesticated/regionally international airline with less time away for each trip. Imo, in order to be happy with your choice, you really have to know which type of flying you want to do.

S

 

[SEVEN]

JetBlue.

 

[clickclickboom]

plus assming that you dont have family or dont realize that 2-3 week trips will damage even the strongest family i recommend making a decsion looking ahead 5 to 10 years.

if no family but it's in the books ahead you need to seriously realize that only 3 out of 10 women will be capable of keeping the household together while you spend more than half the year gone. Especially if they are just being introduced to the world of aviation. If there is even a hint of dissent without kids realize that the relationship is doomed once kids arrive

My wife and i dated while i was paying my dues and she knew what she was getting herself into. Now we have a gaggle of kids and I am bypassing upgrade to keep a good schedule. Probably losing 50k a year but maintaining 16-18 days off a month with almost all commutable trips. i feel great, am healthy, hit the gym 5 days a week, spend lots of time with the family, love to fish, love to dive, Love the fact that I am gone only 4 days max at a time

Just to help with your comparison

year 6 FO going into yr 7 pay in 2 months 320 Fo

$124k this yr only flew 5 redeyes the entire year

I have a friend that lives in base and bids only the st lucia, st maarten, aruba, cancun 2 days trips.. They are only 10 hr and change two days but does 8 a month and basically has it made. Go home 2 days with the fam back to work 2 days with 24 hrs in paradise gets about 90hrs a month and made about 95k this year he is a 3 yr 320 fo..

 

[Heavy Set]

I would probably view JB as the better choice given the schedule (depending upon whether you have kids or not) and pay.

That said, I flew the Whale (not for Kalitta) for several years until 9/11 (thanks Osama!) and it was by far the best flying of my career. It was the older version of the Whale but I loved it and I flew it virtually everywhere - from Hong Kong to Dubai to the deepest, darkest Africa (i.e., Congo). Back then Kalitta had a less-then-stellar reputation. Nowadays, it has a better reputation and better equipment - getting more 747-400s. You still have the longish schedule away from home but you get fewer interruptions - 13-14 days off in a row vs. a broken-up schedule. Not sure what Kalitta pays FOs but it is probably less than JB.

Two considerations:

1. Do you have a family that can't have you away from home for 14-16 days in a row? If so, JB is the clear answer.

2. From a career perspective, do you want to fly heavy iron internationally? Most people couldn't care less about it while others have it as a career aspiration (that's why the legacies are a great choice because you can do both types of flying - shorthaul and longhaul). I did that type of flying and I thoroughly enjoyed it (I would do it again if I didn't currently have a great job that I enjoyed).


Good luck

 

[scrub]

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