COMP NEWS- JetBlue Airways is offering $1,000 attendance bonuses to its flight attendants as long as they don’t call out of work before the month of May. JetBlue is creating this incentive in order to have enough staff to meet their high travel demand.
JetBlue Airways is offering flight attendants $1,000 bonuses if they don’t call out from work starting Friday through the end of May as the carrier tries to ensure adequate staffing during a surge in travel demand, according to a company message.
Flight attendants will even receive a $100 bonus for picking up extra shifts, and even part-time flight attendants will receive a bonus of $500.
Flight attendants will also receive $100 bonuses for picking up open trips, said the message, which was shared with staff Friday and seen by CNBC. Part-time flight attendants would receive $500 for meeting attendance goals.
The airline industry was hit particularly hard by COVID as many airlines suffered from employee shortages. JetBlue is hoping that these bonuses will ensure that it will not go through employee shortages during its most busy time of the year.
Staffing shortages have hamstrung airlines over the past year, particularly during Covid peaks, such as widespread omicron cases that sidelined crews during the year-end holidays. JetBlue, United, American and others turned to bonuses or even triple pay to ease staffing shortages.
“The spring rewards programs comes at a time where every flight makes a difference as hours are tight and staffing levels are not where they need to be,” Ed Baklor, JetBlue’s head of customer care and programs, said in the memo.
JetBlue’s new bonus will also help fill the higher work demand it will have after purchasing and merging with Spirit Airlines.
The incentive program started just days after JetBlue made a surprise, $3.6 billion, all-cash offer to buy discount carrier Spirit Airlines, throwing Spirit’s $2.9 billion deal to combine with fellow ultralow-cost airline Frontier Airlines into question.
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