NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today the JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) Senior Leadership Team shared the following note regarding the airline’s plan to distribute $1,000 to all of its 21,000 crewmembers, excluding CEO and executive vice presidents, following recent tax reform legislation:

Dear Crewmembers,

You’ve likely seen the news about U.S. tax reform. We believe these tax changes will be positive for our company, and provide us the opportunity to do good things for our Crewmembers, Customers and shareholders.

When tax reform looked like a real possibility late last year, we formed a team to think through what it could mean for each of these important groups. Many ideas are on the table but we believe our Crewmembers should be the first to benefit. With that in mind, we are excited to announce we will be paying every Crewmember employed as of December 31, 2017, a $1,000 bonus by the end of February!

Crewmembers like you are the heart of JetBlue and the reason we have become one of the most awarded airlines (and brands) in the world. We’re delighted we’re able to offer this extra thank you for your incredible efforts. In the months ahead, we look forward to working with our Values Committees and directly with you on other ideas for how we can use tax reform benefits to make JetBlue even stronger.

As a smaller airline competing against four very large competitors it is vital we continue to run a sustainable and profitable company. With over 50% of Crewmembers also being shareholders, we understand the importance of retaining investors’ confidence in our company better than anyone else.

Ultimately, we will continue to succeed because we have the best Crewmembers in the business. All 21,217 of us are continuing to do something that is truly unique in our industry by genuinely caring for each other, our Customers and our shareholders.

Finally, the new year has barely begun and we are already in our first winter irregular operation. We know today’s weather presents demanding operating conditions. As we manage through the storm, let’s remind ourselves of our #1 value – Safety. Every Crewmember is empowered to call a safety time-out if needed. This is ultimately the most important responsibility any of us have.

We’re looking forward to a great 2018 here at JetBlue. Thanks for being part of it.

Best wishes,

Robin Hayes

President & CEO

Mike Elliott

EVP People

Joanna Geraghty

EVP Customer Experience

James Hnat

EVP General Counsel

Jeffrey Martin

EVP Operations

Steve Priest

EVP Chief Financial Officer

Marty St George

EVP Commercial

Eash Sundaram

EVP Chief Digital and Technology Officer

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline®, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 38 million customers a year to 101 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of 1,000 daily flights. For more information please visit jetblue.com.