JetBlue (or other airline) Cadetship Program

[Shamrocked]

Hi,

Has anyone got any experience having been accepted into any of these cadetship programs being run by JetBlue, American and others as to whether they are worth it? Money aside, I dont mind paying more knowing that I am going to start working directly for the airline from 1500 hours, which is apparently the goal of the program.

I know from other posts that yeh you can go via ATP, then try to get into these legacy airlines and JetBlue etc, but even though there is 'no job guarantee' for the most part what are the programs like and are the airlines keeping their end of the bargain?

I dont want the post to turn into something negative about 'buying a job' and doing it the hard way etc. I appreciate the sacrifices others have put in to get to these airline carriers....no doubt, but these programs were not exactly around years ago and I would consider them, IF, there is a good prospect of working for the airline as a FO after training and 1500 'to a satisfactory level'....ie in other words you didnt flunk or have other issues etc with crew. However if someone was a good team player, good pilot, passed everything with flying colors and paid extra and was then told at the end of it 'yeh we had the interview to satisfy the terms and conditions but we are not hiring you' then that is a different story.

So if anyone is currently in one of these programs or completed one....please let me know

 

[Rosstafari]

So... there are some differences in what JetBlue is doing and what most of the other cadet programs do.

For the latter, it's more or less a way to get hour building pilots interested. You fly out, and will generally do a tour, maybe an interview, meet some corporate people, get an employee number, be assigned a mentor, or some variation of those. The advantage to the pilot is that they get their seniority going, so if they start at that carrier, they will be among first picks for sim times, duty location, etc. For the carrier, they get a minor investment from the pilot in terms of being walked around the offices/hangar, and maybe you'll be more likely to go with them when you hit 1500 hours so you keep that seniority bump. A few carriers, like Envoy, also offer a contract you can sign where you'll get a few other benefits, like an advance on your bonus and non rev privileges when you get close on hours.

JetBlue's is a different story. They're trying to move towards the ab initio model, where the airline pays for the training but you're contractually committed to them for a period of time. Basically you pay $125k (IIRC) and they send you to CAE Phoenix at Falcon Field for your licenses. Then you turn around and instruct at CAE until you reach 1500. In the interim, they'll occasionally send you to JetBlue U in Orlando (and maybe other locations, can't remember), where you do some company stuff and spend some time in the E190 sim. At 1500 hours, you're then eligible to be an E190 FO with JetBlue, also there's no contract so you could go do whatever. I don't know if anybody has gone all the way to the Embraer yet; the program is about 2.5 years old so seems like it should be about that time.

 

[Shamrocked]

Any updates from any current or past people in the program?