Gov Bush: Jetblue Selects Orlando For New Flight Center [150 new jobs; average salary: $57K]

State of FL ^ | Aug. 6, 2003 | State of FL

[summer]

Governor Bush Announces Jetblue Selects Orlando For New Flight Training Center And Maintenance Hanger

~Low-Fare Airline to Create More Than 150 New Jobs in Central Florida~

ORLANDO- Governor Jeb Bush today joined JetBlue President and COO, Dave Barger at the Orlando International Airport to announce the low-fare airline will build its first flight training center and maintenance hanger in Orlando. The $160 million facility will employ more than 150 people at an average salary of approximately $57,000 per year. Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer joined the Governor at the announcement.

“JetBlue had a choice in where to locate their first-ever flight training center and maintenance hanger, and they picked Florida,” said Governor Bush. “This is a major victory for Florida and Orlando as it continues our efforts to diversify Florida’s economy. Technology, training facilities, and jobs brought here by JetBlue only adds to Orlando’s reputation as the world’s hub for simulation and modeling activities.”

JetBlue’s new training center will encompass an 80,000 square foot building with the capacity for eight aircraft simulators plus classrooms, cabin training equipment, a training pool, and administration areas. JetBlue will use this new facility for the new and recurrent training of all its pilots and in-flight crew, plus training for its technical operations and customer service crew. Construction of the center is scheduled for completion in late 2005.

The carrier’s new maintenance hanger will cover approximately 70,000 square feet and have the capacity to accommodate three Airbus A320 aircraft. The hanger, which is expected to be complete by early 2005, will be used for maintenance as well as the installation and maintenance of the airline’s LiveTV inflight satellite television system.

“Building on our long-standing partnership with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Governor Bush, Mayor Buddy Dyer and County Chairman Rich Crotty have all stepped up to the plate to help take JetBlue’s commitment to Central Florida to a new level,” said Dave Barger, President and COO of JetBlue Airways. “We were also fortunate to have the support of a variety of community organizations such as the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, Enterprise Florida, the University of Central Florida and Valencia Community College.”

The New York-based airline offers flights throughout the country, including Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach.

JetBlue selected Orlando to build the training center and maintenance hanger over other locations, including New York.

Orlando’s success came because of the tremendous teamwork at the state and local level. The Governor’s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development worked with Enterprise Florida, the Orange County Commission, the City of Orlando, the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority in convincing JetBlue to locate in Central Florida.

[summer]

FYI.

[summer]

FL folks, FYI. :)

[dufekin]

The real Bush economy in action. Doesn't Bush have some relative in California who can govern that state? Oh, never mind, no one in the Bush family is crazy or stupid enough to live there.

[Willie Green]

The carrier’s new maintenance hanger will cover approximately 70,000 square feet and have the capacity to accommodate three Airbus A320 aircraft.

Well since our domestic aircraft industry is collapsing, I suppose there's gotta be some kind of training on the Euroweenie equipment.

Is this training open to people who speak English?

[summer]

Gov Bush is really a natural when it comes to working with business leaders -- and securing more jobs for FL. He has been successful in doing so this time and time again, convincing a business to relocate to, or expand in, FL. He honestly deserves a lot credit in this area.

I still haven't seen any newspaper write up this Jetblue announcement. Gloom and doom they have room for; good news seems to get ignored.

[ChadGore]

Bush rocks !

[summer]

Gov Bush is really a natural when it comes to working with business leaders -- and securing more jobs for FL. He has been successful in doing so time and time again, convincing a business to relocate to, or expand in, FL. He honestly deserves a lot credit in this area.

I still haven't seen any newspaper write up this Jetblue announcement. Gloom and doom they have room for; good news seems to get ignored.

[summer]

I agree. :)

[JoeFromCA]

The founder of FreeRepublic, as well as many conservatives, live in California. Characterizing a whole segment of the country simply based on where they live as wrongthinking at best and stupid at worst is a trait of liberals, don't forget (James Carvill's reference to what you get when you drag a $100 bill through a trailer park comes to mind).

[Bob]

Well since our domestic aircraft industry is collapsing, I suppose there's gotta be some kind of training on the Euroweenie equipment.

Is this training open to people who speak English?

Does every silver lining has a cloud wrapped around it in your world?

Somehow, I just knew you'd be able to find something negative to say about about this article.

[Bob]

has have

[dufekin]

No one's been moving to California recently except left-wing liberals and illegal aliens. Normal Americans are fleeing the state in droves. I've been wondering when Jim Robinson will follow suit for some time, but I suppose he's ekeing out a living in Fresno.

[PokeyJoe]

Noticed he said "average" salary and not "median" salary.

[summer]

How would you describe the difference between an "average salary" and a "median salary"?

[summer]

PS BTW, I ask you that because, IMO, people who write press releases don't always know what they're doing.

[Bob]

Noticed he said "average" salary and not "median" salary.

Median salary wouldn't really reflect the impact of these jobs on the local economy.

If 1 manager makes $200k and the 149 other workers make $30k each, the median salary would be $115k.

Using the same numbers, the average salary would work out to just a little over $31k.

[JoeFromCA]

"No one's been moving to California recently except left-wing liberals and illegal aliens."

No one? You think that out of the thousands of people who moved to California recently every one of them falls into one of these two categories? That not even one conservative moved to California in calendar year 2003? You need to get out more. Again, your comment sounds like the positions taken by liberals: "everyone..... (whatever).".

[Bob]

How would you describe the difference between an "average salary" and a "median salary"?

See my post above.

To calculate the median, you add just the highest and lowest salaries then divide by 2.

To calculate the average, you total all of the salaries then divide by the total number of people.

Depending on the distribution, the median can be significantly higher or lower than the average.

[summer]

Thanks, Bob. :)

[Willie Green]

Somehow, I just knew you'd be able to find something negative to say about about this article.

Well, when one follows a number of different issues over a period of time, a bigger picture begins to emerge.

For instance, it's apparent that Jeb Bush is dead set against development of high-speed ground transportation infrastructure to alleviate traffic congestion caused by Florida's growth (despite Florida voters mandating him to do so.) But construct some infrastructure to facilitate shipments from Bogota (U.S. and Colombia set course for free-trade pact ), and the picture becomes all too clear.