JetBlue CEO earns $257,672 in 2006

JetBlue Airways Corp. Chief Executive Officer David Neeleman, whose airline has struggled with operational woes this year, was paid $257,672 in total compensation for 2006.

Neeleman received $200,000 in base salary with no bonus and $57,672 in incentive pay and all other compensation, the New York-based carrier said last week in a proxy filing. He owns 10.8 million shares, or 6 percent, of JetBlue, of which he is a co-founder.

The highest-paid officer based on total compensation was Thomas Anderson, senior vice president for supply chain and LiveTV, who received $546,879 in salary, options, long-term incentive pay and other pay. He stepped aside in February and is now a senior adviser.

Neeleman's stake in JetBlue makes him the fifth-largest shareholder and the biggest individual investor in the low-cost carrier. He said after the Feb. 14 ice storm that canceled 1,191 flights and contributed to an expected first-quarter loss that he had no intention of leaving.

For 2005, Neeleman was paid $200,000. He waived a bonus, according to the 2005 proxy for JetBlue, the eighth-largest U.S. airline by passenger traffic.

Compensation totals in the 2006 proxies aren't comparable to figures for earlier years because of a change in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accounting rules that spreads the value of options over the vesting period.