I'm out

kellwolf

Piece of Trash
.....of Pinnacle. Not aviation. At least, not yet. :)


Got the call yesterday for a class date at jetBlue starting on November 7th. I'll miss the people at Pinnacle. I might even miss some of the flying. Management? Not so much. I wish everyone still there luck in the coming storm. Looks like you might need it.

Thanks to all the jetBlue people here on the forums that have helped me along and given me info and support (and sometimes sanity) when I needed it. I might be hitting you up for more hints while I stumble through the first couple of months. :)

A big special thanks go to Doug and Kristie. Without them letting us hang in their "living room," I'm not sure how far I would have gotten in this nuts-o industry.

I'm also HOPEFULLY going to do another day-by-day recap of training. I did it when I was a new FO at Pinnacle, and I did it when I upgraded to CA. I'd like to do it again for training at a major just to get the comparisons down for people to read in the future.
 
Kick ass!

I'd drink a beer in your honor but I have to fly today.

Wait, that might be kind of interesting.... :)

(Kidding!)
 
Way to go Steve! I'm happy to hear you finally got out. Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't you swimming for almost a year of at JB? Good things come when you least expect it. Congratulations and have a great time with JB.
 
Thanks everyone, and yeah, I interviewed Oct 14th of last year, so my arms were starting to get tired of treading water. :)
 
Nice job Steve, gratz. While you're doing the indoc and they get to the health care stuff let us know if this page about the health care is correct? http://www.lifesnotbetterinblue.com/ It's a little critical I know, but I was curious if it was accurate since it is on the interwebs.
 
Whoa!

You, I think, had JUST made CA when we got together in Austin a few years back. That's really great news, man. Congratulations!
 
Nice job Steve, gratz. While you're doing the indoc and they get to the health care stuff let us know if this page about the health care is correct? http://www.lifesnotbetterinblue.com/ It's a little critical I know, but I was curious if it was accurate since it is on the interwebs.


A lot of the stuff on that web page is assuming the worst. Things like you're going to hit your max out of pocket every year. I have never come close to hitting my max out of pocket....like, ever. I've actually got the details on the 2013 health care benefits already. They aren't the greatest (or even great), but I think a lot of the naysayers are making it more DOOOOOOMMMMM than it really is. Running the numbers, between my wife and I, unless we both get sick a lot, we won't even get through the "seed money" in the Green Plan until mid-way through the year. We're already planning on doing a lot of the items that get money added to the HRA account, so that would take us 3/4 of the way through the year. Not over the deductible yet, but there ya go. The big thing is the prescription drug plan. It's not that terrible. It's actually cheaper than what we've got at 9E. For example, I'd be paying $5 a month instead of $10 for my generic stuff. It's 50% up to a max of $10. I pay $10 now, but the generic retails for $11.50. So, I'm paying $10 and Cigna is paying $1.50. The only reason we have insurance now is because of the name brand meds my wife takes, and the Green Plan over at jetBlue would save us money off what we're paying now, too. Doctor visits are more (esp since you have to hit the deductible first), and ER visits are way more. I don't think the health care is on par with what it should be at a major, and I think it's one more thing a CBA would probably fix over there. IMHO, if jetBlue management doesn't fix that and scope on their own, there will more than likely be some sort of union on property within a year.
 
A lot of the stuff on that web page is assuming the worst. Things like you're going to hit your max out of pocket every year. I have never come close to hitting my max out of pocket....like, ever. I've actually got the details on the 2013 health care benefits already. They aren't the greatest (or even great), but I think a lot of the naysayers are making it more DOOOOOOMMMMM than it really is. Running the numbers, between my wife and I, unless we both get sick a lot, we won't even get through the "seed money" in the Green Plan until mid-way through the year. We're already planning on doing a lot of the items that get money added to the HRA account, so that would take us 3/4 of the way through the year. Not over the deductible yet, but there ya go. The big thing is the prescription drug plan. It's not that terrible. It's actually cheaper than what we've got at 9E. For example, I'd be paying $5 a month instead of $10 for my generic stuff. It's 50% up to a max of $10. I pay $10 now, but the generic retails for $11.50. So, I'm paying $10 and Cigna is paying $1.50. The only reason we have insurance now is because of the name brand meds my wife takes, and the Green Plan over at jetBlue would save us money off what we're paying now, too. Doctor visits are more (esp since you have to hit the deductible first), and ER visits are way more. I don't think the health care is on par with what it should be at a major, and I think it's one more thing a CBA would probably fix over there. IMHO, if jetBlue management doesn't fix that and scope on their own, there will more than likely be some sort of union on property within a year.
I appreciate the breakdown. Wife and I and thinking about kids so I'm trying to learn about all this health insurance stuff. I just have it, don't know a ton about it, but the wife and I are muddling through.

The idea of exposure, worst case money out of pocket, is a good measure for quality of health insurance isn't it? I'm asking I don't know if it is more complex than that.
 
.....of Pinnacle. Not aviation. At least, not yet. :)


Got the call yesterday for a class date at jetBlue starting on November 7th. I'll miss the people at Pinnacle. I might even miss some of the flying. Management? Not so much. I wish everyone still there luck in the coming storm. Looks like you might need it.

Thanks to all the jetBlue people here on the forums that have helped me along and given me info and support (and sometimes sanity) when I needed it. I might be hitting you up for more hints while I stumble through the first couple of months. :)

A big special thanks go to Doug and Kristie. Without them letting us hang in their "living room," I'm not sure how far I would have gotten in this nuts-o industry.

I'm also HOPEFULLY going to do another day-by-day recap of training. I did it when I was a new FO at Pinnacle, and I did it when I upgraded to CA. I'd like to do it again for training at a major just to get the comparisons down for people to read in the future.

Best of luck to you at JBLU. Pinnacle? what can I say that place is melting down rapidly. Lots jumping off that sinking ship.
 
I appreciate the breakdown. Wife and I and thinking about kids so I'm trying to learn about all this health insurance stuff. I just have it, don't know a ton about it, but the wife and I are muddling through.

The idea of exposure, worst case money out of pocket, is a good measure for quality of health insurance isn't it? I'm asking I don't know if it is more complex than that.

If you want to plan for worst case scenario, I guess it's a good measure. Like I said, tough, in 13 years of having health insurance from multiple companies and employers, I've never come close to hitting the max out of pocket. The one time I though I might was the year my kid had tubes put in his ears, broke his leg and broke his arm....all in the same year. We didn't hit max out of pocket even then. Keep in mind, though, the lower your max out of pocket expense is, the higher your premiums are going to be. Insurance is one of those things that the more you use it, the better you get at it. And even after you have it, you still have to fight with the insurance companies to get what you're supposed to.
 
Back
Top