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JetBlue Extends CEO's Contract Through 2015

NEW YORK (AP) -- JetBlue Airways has extended the employment contract of its top executive, president and CEO Dave Barger, through 2015.

The New York airline said Wednesday that Barger's current contract was set to expire in three years.

Barger joined JetBlue in 1998, two years before its first flight took off. He succeeded founder David Neeleman as CEO in 2007, in the wake of the company's bungled response to a Valentine's Day snowstorm that left 130,000 passengers stranded or delayed.

Barger started his airline career as a customer service representative at New York Air, which was later swallowed by Continental. He had worked his way up to Vice President of Continental's Newark hub when he left to help start JetBlue.

JetBlue shares fell 8 cents to $6.60 in morning trading.

(Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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