David Barger

JetBlue Airways began operations in February, 2000 from its base at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and now, more than five years later, serves 32 cities across the U.S and the Caribbean with a fleet of 79 new Airbus A320 aircraft.

As President and Chief Operating Officer, David (Dave) Barger leads JetBlue’s charge to bring humanity back to air travel and to establish JetBlue as a new standard in the airline industry for service, performance and innovation.

Dave joined JetBlue after 18 years with Continental Airlines and New York Air, before the two airlines merged. At Continental, he was one of the 38 officers of the company and the Vice President for the Newark Hub Operation, the largest airport operation in the New York area, handling more than 50,000 passengers and 800 flight movements each day.
While at Newark, Dave was also the Chairman of the Regional Business Partnership (Chamber of Commerce for the metropolitan Newark region); a board member and executive member of Prosperity New Jersey, a public/private partnership established by the Governor; a board member of the State Chamber of Commerce in Trenton; a board member of the Newark Economic Development Corporation; a board member on the Governor’s Panel of Higher Education in the State of New Jersey; and a trustee for the Newark Museum.

Before being named Vice President for the Newark Hub Operation, Dave held a number of executive positions within Continental. He was Staff Vice President, Airport Operations at Newark; a Regional Vice President of the Central Region; and a Regional Director (1990–1992) in Guam and the Pacific Asia Division. Dave joined Continental through the its merger with New York Air in 1988 as Regional Director for the Northeast Region based in New York. From 1982–1988, Dave held various positions with New York Air including the position of Director of Stations.

Dave’s educational background includes studies at the University of Michigan where he majored in Economics and Political Science.

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