JetBlue CEO Pushes for Air Traffic Control Reform in the New Administration

JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty would like to see some reforms to air traffic control when the incoming president takes office on Jan. 20, 2025.

“I wish this administration would focus more on air traffic control,” she said to Bloomberg on Tuesday, Dec. 17. “That has definitely been a meaningful pressure for JetBlue and other airlines.”

She claimed that the country’s air traffic controller workforce is “grossly understaffed” and that “we should be able to have a more resilient air traffic system.” The shortages have disproportionately affected JetBlue and other airlines with significant operations in the New York region.

The aviation system was strained due to a shortage of air traffic controllers caused by retirements and hiring and training halts during the pandemic. This year, the Federal Aviation Administration employed 1,811 controllers, the most in over 10 years.

“I’d love to see more hiring, better technology and ultimately improving the amount of delays that come out of air traffic control,” Geraghty said.

To date, however, the JetBlue CEO has not met with any members of the incoming administration.

JetBlue Launching ‘Junior Mint’

The airline, however, isn’t slowing down on its offerings. The airline said last week that starting in 2026, it will offer the “junior Mint” first-class travel program on domestic flights.

According to CNBC, the “junior Mint” level and the elite Mint class are not the same. JetBlue’s Airbus aircraft without Mint, the airline’s lie-flat seats, will have two or three rows of domestic first-class seats, according to a memo distributed to employees by President Marty St. George.

“Since launching Mint over a decade ago, we’ve explored the idea of expanding a version of it across the fleet, often playfully calling it ‘mini-Mint’ or ‘junior Mint,’” St. George said, noting that he wasn’t ready to release all of the details about this new offering quite yet.

“We’re keeping the rest of our ideas under wraps for now while we prepare for a 2026 launch. Let’s keep our competitors guessing,” he said.

The airline has focused on tactics to increase sales since a U.S. judge blocked its January plan to purchase Spirit Airlines, and another judge ruled that the carrier’s Northeast alliance with American Airlines was anti-competitive.