Brandon Nelson, general counsel of JetBlue.

JetBlue Airways Corp. has promoted its vice president and associate general counsel, Brandon Nelson, to serve as the New York-based airline's new legal leader.

Nelson shouldn't experience any turbulence transitioning to his new role, because he's been the company's acting GC since July following the retirement of his predecessor, James Hnat. Hnat, who received a $1.2 million pay package, stayed on as an adviser. But he is expected to leave that role at the end of the year, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Nelson joined JetBlue more than 13 years ago and worked his way up from manager and staff counsel to director and corporate counsel to VP and associate GC before his latest promotion, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also serves on the company's corporate venture capital fund, JetBlue Technology Ventures.

After graduating in 1999 from the New York University School of Law, Nelson went to work as an associate for Shearman & Sterling in New York. In 2003, he joined the Enterprise Counsel Group, a law firm in Irvine, California, where he was also an associate. Nelson hung his own shingle in Los Angeles in 2004, and acted as corporate counsel for small businesses before he went to work for JetBlue a year later.

Nelson, who declined an interview request, said in a prepared statement that he was stepping into the GC role at “an exciting time in JetBlue's history as we set our company up for its next chapter of success.”

The airline's CEO, Robin Hayes, stated that “Brandon has proven a keen ability to navigate JetBlue through the complexities of our industry's constantly shifting landscape.” He added that he was “confident Brandon's leadership and counsel will serve our company and our crew members well.”

Things are looking up for JetBlue at the moment. The airline announced a significant route expansion on Wednesday and recently reported a 9.5 percent spike in traffic for the early fourth quarter.