Articles tagged “pilots”

JetBlue was the only airline to shut down operations in Boston and New York for an extended period. With customers facing endless waits at the airports and on the phones, did JetBlue make any errors in its preparations or response to the situation over the weekend and its aftermath? You weren't hearing any such admissions today.

Newsflash: It snows every winter in Boston and New York, and it gets cold, too, although admittedly not as frigid as its been over the weekend and early this week. Shouldn't JetBlue had a major contingency plan for this kind of situation, and been better prepared to hustle in some new pilot crews when its flight crews became over-extended?

Airlines are going to have to do some additional pilot hiring to cope with the new pilot rest rules and inclement weather, which isn't so out of the norm in the Northeast, where JetBlue operations are concentrated. It is hard to believe that JetBlue might not have done more to reduce the extent of the disruption that its passengers are facing over the next few days.

The new FAA rules on pilot rest could lead to more flight delays and cancellations, but ensuring that pilots in the cockpit aren't nodding off because they are excessively tired is sensible and worth it.

The FAA has been fairly rigorous in taking remedial steps to respond to the Colgan Air crash even if sometimes the bureaucracy moves very slowly.

JetBlue will be walking a tightrope in 2014 as it continues negotiations with pilots. The airline has been falling behind rivals in terms of profit margins, but the struggle to retain pilots means JetBlue is going to have to increase their compensation. This is stuff to keep executives awake at night.

Creating a pilot records database out of airline employment records that currently exist on everything from Excel spreadsheets to tattered paper files and PDFs could be more difficult to get together than a certain federal government healthcare insurance website.

With regional airlines and their major-airline benefactors fighting over the recruitment of pilots, Mesa's hiring binge will exacerbate the tussle. Mesa's new agreement with United is a game-changer for the airline, which will increase its pilot ranks by nearly 50%.

The FAA should be commended for going with the mobile trend and optimizing these flash cards for smartphones. Hey, pilots can brush up on their signage while they have time to kill at the airport.

Major airlines covet their regional airline partners' pilots, and the big carriers are going to have to come up with programs to help the regionals get through the crunch.