JetBlue Airways is offering early retirement packages to some of its pilots, their labor union told members on Friday.
The carrier has been working to cut costs and raise revenue with initiatives such as new first-class seats while dealing with a Pratt & Whitney engine recall that has grounded some of its airplanes.
The company has opened voluntary separation bids and they will close on Feb. 7, according to the Air Line Pilots Association note, which was seen by CNBC.
JetBlue and the union agreed to pay pilots out for 55 hours of their hourly pay rate to their mandatory retirement day or 18 months from the separation agreement, whichever was less. As an example, the letter of agreement said an Airbus A320 captain, 12 years in and who turns 65 in December 2027 would receive $416,293.02, while an Embraer E190 captain with eight years of experience who turns 65 at the end of the year would get $160,858.91.
JetBlue, which reports quarterly results on Tuesday, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The letter of agreement between the company and union from earlier this week states eligible pilots will be 59 years old on or before March 31. The federally mandated retirement age for U.S. commercial airline pilots is 65.
Spirit Airlines is getting stricter about its dress code.
The company updated its passenger "contract of carriage" on Thursday to include examples of the clothing– or lack thereof – that is forbidden.
"A guest shall not be permitted to board the aircraft or may be required to leave an aircraft if that guest ... is barefoot or inadequately clothed (i.e., see-through clothing; not adequately covered; exposed breasts, buttocks, or other private parts), or whose clothing or article, including body art, is lewd, obscene, or offensive in nature," the updated contract reads.
- Before, the contract said that passengers might be denied plane entry or required to leave if they were "barefoot or inadequately clothed," or if their "clothing is lewd, obscene, or offensive in nature." It did not specify tattoos, however, or clarify what constituted "lewd."
The update comes a few months after three women were reportedly removed from a Spirit flight for wearing crop tops.
- In October, two of the women told KABC, an ABC affiliate station, that they wore sweaters to board the plane but took them off once they sat down as the air conditioner wasn't on. They were wearing crop tops underneath.
- They said a flight attendant told them to "put something on," and when they didn't, they were kicked off the flight without refunds.
- At the time, Spirit told USA Today, "Our Contract of Carriage, a document all Guests agree to upon making a reservation with us, includes certain clothing standards for all Guests traveling with us."
Spirit Airlines did not respond to Axios' immediate request for comment.