JetBlue Has 13 Board Members… And One WallStreetBets Trader Holding the Puppet Strings

Normally, if a retail investor tells a Fortune 500 CEO to “clean house or else,” the only response they get is a gentle pat on the head and maybe a 7-day ban from the Yahoo Finance comments section. But not this time. Welcome to JetBlue’s current reality: their second-largest shareholder is a former electronics wholesaler and GameStop YOLOer who lives in Miami, is at the beach right now sunbathing (probably), and just publicly threatened to dump his $212 million stake unless they get their act together.

If you’re picturing a Harvard MBA hedge fund shark, stop. Vladimir Galkin made his money selling electronics (wholesale TVs, drones, and all the random tech you’d expect from a sketchy warehouse website) and then doubled down on the most degenerate bet of the decade: GameStop during the 2021 meme stock frenzy. And let me tell you… he went all in. At one point, 80% of his net worth was in GME. Somehow, he lived to tell the tale. And unlike most Reddit traders who ended up broke with diamond hands and AMC tattoos, Galkin walked away rich. Like, $200 million rich.

So naturally, he bought JetBlue. Because when you strike it rich betting on a dying video game retailer, you don’t play it safe with Magnificent Seven stocks or boring index funds that could quietly make you wealthy forever… you go all-in on a struggling airline that’s a few years away from bankruptcy.

Galkin started buying in early 2024, when JetBlue was trading at around $5 and still picking pieces of Spirit Airlines out of its engines. Wall Street wanted nothing to do with it… analysts had moved on, investors had moved out. But Galkin saw something different: undervalued assets, a recognized brand, and a stock so beaten down he thought it was too good to pass up. He kept buying. And buying. And by mid-year, he owned 34.6 million shares (almost 10% of the entire company) putting him behind only BlackRock and Vanguard, both of whom have mastered the art of doing absolutely nothing while collecting management fees.

But Galkin wasn’t about to be another silent bagholder watching from the sidelines. He channeled his inner Carl Icahn and started acting like he owned the place (because, well, with nearly 10% of the company, he kind of does. He met with the CEO, the CFO, the President) probably would’ve looped in the guy loading baggage if it helped. He pitched ideas, suggested changes, even floated joining the board. He made it clear, he wasn’t there to clap politely on earnings calls… he wanted results. He backed their June plan (codenamed JetForward ) which promises up to $900 million in earnings by 2027. But he made it clear: this isn’t charity. If the changes don’t land, he’s gone.

“If I see meaningful changes, I’ll hold. If not, I might move on,” he said. He even took a swipe at their pathetic 13-person board, basically asking why JetBlue has more directors than profitable quarters. The airline, to its credit, is trying. They’re cutting costs, ditching underperforming routes, and leaning into premium offerings like business-class seats on flights to Vegas.

Still, the numbers are ugly. JetBlue’s stock is down 43% this year. They’ve posted profits in just 2 of the last 9 quarters. And the forecast all but admits they won’t break even until 2026… maybe. Wall Street analysts have absolutely zero buy ratings on the stock. Ten say “hold,” five say “sell,” and two went full funeral with a “strong sell.”

Meanwhile, Galkin is sitting on losses… but he’s not panicking. Yet. He still thinks JetBlue has potential, especially with a 2027 partnership with United that could increase ticket sales and route access… assuming Spirit doesn’t convince the feds to block it first, which they’re actively trying to do with a regulatory sob story about “anticompetitive behavior.”

As ridiculous as it sounds to turn $200 million in GameStop winnings into a high-stakes bet on a struggling airline (arguably one of the worst business models in human history) it’s somehow real. None of this should be happening. Retail investors aren’t supposed to get this far. They’re supposed to blow their paychecks on penny stocks, post memes about their losses on Reddit, and clock back in at Best Buy on Monday. But here’s Vladimir Galkin, full-on meme stock millionaire turned activist investor, throwing his weight around at a $2 billion airline and telling the board to either fix the company or hit the runway.

If it works, he’ll be a legend… GameStop degen turned boardroom shot-caller. If it doesn’t? His kids and grandkids will spend Thanksgiving reminding him he turned $200 million into discount airline peanuts and regret.

At the time of publishing this article, Stocks.News holds positions in Gamestop, Vanguard, and United Airlines as mentioned in the article.