Discount carrier says it could shut South Florida operations if union strikes

[Miami Freight]

Being on strike is tough, been there. BUT, sometimes it is necessary. In the RLA we have very little leverage. When you get it put in your hand you must take it. I wish the Spirit pilots the best. I will help as I can by volunteering my time to picket etc. (when I was on strike support was aboundant.) But you guys have to decide whether or not you can live without a paycheck for a while. I know that our MEC urged us to prepare but when you are already living paycheck to paycheck it is tough to put $ aside. Those one this board who urge you to strike do not usually have any skin in the game.
Good luck with your decision. You will have support from your fellow pilots no matter what.

 

[crxpilot]

The thing is that only the management knows if there will be a strike because they have all the infomation. Managment knows what the union is currently asking for, they know what other airlines pay, and they know what their bottom line is. They know that the union isn't going to settle for nothing and that it will cost them money to sign a deal.

The bottom line is that if Spirit (or AirTran, Allegiant, Virgin, etc.) has to pay everybody 30% less than most other carriers that operate the same equipment on comparable routes then they don't have a viable business and probably never will have. If this is the case the airline will end up out of business at some point anyway with or without a new pilot contract. When did airlines decide that they were entitled to cut-rate labor?

I say to the Spirit pilots; hang in there, don't give into the threats and you will get a decent deal with real and valuable improvements. If in the end the company takes a strike and shuts down then that was probably going to happen anyway, they just saw an opportunity to do it and put the blame on something other than a bad business plan, i.e. ALPA. I think there will be a lot of huffing and puffing from management in an effort to try to drive down expectations but when they see it's not working they will sign a deal and that will be that.

Kudos to the Spirit pilots for hanging tough and not giving in, that will help us all. Let's stop subsidizing ridiculously low ticket prices for the public with our paychecks. It cost money to operate airplanes and pay skilled professionals to staff the operation, it's time to charge the flying public for the real costs of providing the service (including paying the employees fairly and treating them decently) plus a reasonable profit margin.

Last time I checked Allegiant is paying better than some legacies buddy.

 

[Smarta$$]

Last time I checked Allegiant is paying better than some legacies buddy.

For now, maybe.

 

[Green]

It is easier for those not directly involved with spirit. However, we are all involved whether that is directly or indirectly. Many of us will be facing this same decision and I think it is time for all of us to hold the line and recapture our careers. There are jobs out there, albeit a lot over seas. I am overseas and make the roughly $147 an hour as a B737 FO. No airline in the states is paying nearly what is being paid abroad. I say stay strong and don't fall victim to corporate intimidation! Good luck.

very true and if you count the fact that your first 92k is tax free then your equivalent pay goes much higher. Pilot pay in the states absolutely sucks compared to what is available abroad.

 

[BE200drvr]

When would the possible strike date be?

Same question for Airtran?

 

[jonjuan]

very true and if you count the fact that your first 92k is tax free then your equivalent pay goes much higher. Pilot pay in the states absolutely sucks compared to what is available abroad.

Sounds like simple supply/demand economics.

 

[boomlrd]

June 12th for Spirit. Just to be clear, I work at Spirit and plan on shutting it down unless we get a fair contract. Most of us are ready and willing to walk! Just hope that some other carriers can try and get us pref hiring in the event we shut it down for good!

 

[A350]

All:

If ALPA can negotiate a spot on the Board of Directors for a pilot, they can sure as hell make sure the pilot group is in charge of the hiring.....it is simply a matter of will.

A350

 

[andyd]

How bout this? Nat'l ALPA call's emergency meeting and authorizes Spirit strike pay of $10,000 per pilot per month, paid for by the rest of us via special assessment? I figure it'd ROUGHLY = 100/mo per member.....Peanuts to prove a point to ALL mngmt that WE are in this collectively and we ARE willing to shut it down!

 

[boomlrd]

How bout this? Nat'l ALPA call's emergency meeting and authorizes Spirit strike pay of $10,000 per pilot per month, paid for by the rest of us via special assessment? I figure it'd ROUGHLY = 100/mo per member.....Peanuts to prove a point to ALL mngmt that WE are in this collectively and we ARE willing to shut it down!

Now wouldn't that be sweet, we would stay on strike until we had an industry LEADING contract, but I will vote no to any contract that is not industry leading at this point, they pissed me off too much now.