2023 was a rough year for JetBlue Airways, but general counsel Brandon Nelson hit pay dirt, with his total compensation reaching $4.9 million, up 399% from the $1 million he received a year earlier.

Nelson and the other four senior executives listed in the Long Island City, New York-based airline’s newly filed proxy statement all saw pay skyrocket because of retention awards they received during the grim days of the pandemic, as well as “transaction-incentive awards” they received after JetBlue in July 2022 agreed to buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion.