JetBlue Airways Corp. has announced the retirement of longtime GC James Hnat, effective June 30.

A publicly filed separation agreement between the New York-based airline and Hnat, 47, indicates that the legal leader will be taking a pay package with him worth more than $1.2 million after he leaves the general counsel seat.

According to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Hnat will fill a transitional role as an adviser for JetBlue, beginning July 1 and ending Dec. 31, 2018.

Filings said Hnat is to receive a base salary of $730,000 as an adviser—higher than his 2017 base of $435,000. He'll also get a lump sum “special bonus” of $500,000 to recognize his “significant efforts during his 17-year tenure with the airline to build and develop the legal department” and his efforts to “support innovation” with the formation of JetBlue Technology Ventures.

The departing GC will also receive $40,000 for a career transition, up to $30,000 for moving expenses and $5,000 for continuing legal education (CLE) costs. And, of course, Hnat gets some lifetime flight benefits, too.

To receive the compensation package, he agreed to several provisions including noncompete and non-disparagement agreements and a confidentiality provision.

Hnat, who is a named executive officer with the company, revealed on May 17, the same day as the airline's annual shareholder meeting, that he would be retiring.

In an announcement issued the next day, JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes thanked Hnat, who joined the airline in 2001, for his service.

“Jim's leadership has contributed to JetBlue's success from its early days as a startup airline to the admired and trusted brand it has become today,” Hayes said.

JetBlue's latest proxy statement refers to retirement provisions for “retirement eligible crew members,” and stated employees can receive either accelerated or continued vesting of restricted stock units (RSUs) and performance share units (PSUs).

However, Hnat's agreement indicated he will forfeit his unvested restricted stock units and performance share units at the termination of his employment. According to the document, Hnat holds nearly 16,000 stock units in JetBlue that will continue to vest and it appears he will likely forfeit more than 54,000 shares.

The recent JetBlue proxy statement indicated “there are no named executive officers who are retirement eligible as of Dec. 31, 2017.”

A representative for JetBlue did not respond for comment for this article.

When Mark Powers, former chief financial officer, retired two years ago at the age of 64, his separation agreement indicated that he was leaving due to a retirement and referred to the departure as a retirement throughout the agreement, whereas Hnat's separation agreement does not reference a retirement but rather the fact that he “shall relinquish his role” at the end of next month.

Upon Hnat's departure, Brandon Nelson will serve as acting general counsel. He is currently an associate general counsel for the airline business. “He will oversee JetBlue's legal strategy and work closely with JetBlue's government and airport affairs team,” JetBlue said in its announcement last week.

Hnat, who did not respond for comment about his retirement or the terms of the separation agreement, said in the press release, “It's been an honor to serve JetBlue, our board of directors and all of our crew members over the past 17 years. In particular I'd like to thank the teams I've had the privilege to lead over the years and the values they have demonstrated in building JetBlue.”

As Hnat retires, another JetBlue lawyer is moving to the C-suite, but in a different role. The airline named Joanna Geraghty as its president and chief operating officer on May 18. She is a former associate general counsel and director of litigation and regulatory affairs at the company.