JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 passenger plane lands at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
Nik Oiko | LightRocket | Getty Images
JetBlue Airways is calling back flight attendants who took vacation this spring to work early to meet the rising demand for travel. This comes from a company memo sent on Tuesday.
The move comes a day after several airline CEOs, including JetBlue, reported that bookings were rising well into the summer. The trend is a sign that the industry is gradually recovering after losing $ 35 billion last year. Their optimism has pushed airline stock prices to their highest levels in more than a year.
“As we enter a new phase of the pandemic where the number of cases is falling and vaccination rates are rising, our focus now is on getting our operations up and running safely for a busy summer season and our in-flight crew members are more critical to our opportunities for recovery Meaning.” said a company memo sent to flight attendants seen by CNBC.
The New York-based airline told flight attendants who had taken two months of vacation for April and May to call in a month early and attend federal training before April 22nd.
“We have seen a significant increase in booking numbers in the past few weeks, both in March and in the spring and summer,” said Robin Hayes, CEO of JetBlue, in an interview with CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Monday.
JetBlue didn’t immediately comment or say how many flight attendants would be affected by the change.
Airlines spent most of 2020 encouraging employees to take overtures or leave of absence to cut their labor costs when demand fell.