[3] From 1982 to 1988, Barger served in a number of positions with New York Air, such as the Director of Stations.

Barger was one of the first employees of JetBlue Airways in 1998, and served as the chief operating officer until March 2007.

Following a February 2007 incident in which the airline was forced to cancel nearly 1,700 flights due to winter storms, JetBlue's board of directors replaced founder and Chief Executive Officer David Neeleman with Barger.

[7] Neeleman, the company's founder and largest individual investor, became a nonexecutive chairman as a result of the change.

He is a member of the board of governors at International Air Transport Association (IATA).