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Spirit Airlines

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Green Banana

Request Direct Honolulu..
Joined
Dec 16, 2001
Posts
566
Spirit Airlines sure is in the news today for opening all kinds of new routes. Anybody have any info on the pilot group there? how big? Pay? Contract? F-Low? Min's? Any info or a point in that direction would be great. I can not find much on thier site or ALPA.
 
Dash Trash said:
Spirit Airlines sure is in the news today for opening all kinds of new routes. Anybody have any info on the pilot group there? how big? Pay? Contract? F-Lhanow? Min's? Any info or a point in that direction would be great. I can not find much on thier site or ALPA.

The core of the pilot group is made up of pilots from: Midway (the original ), AirFlorida, Eastern, PanAm, Braniff, USAJet, Zantop, PrivateJet,or anywhere they could find people with previous DC9 experience. No scabs, by and large a great group of pilots. In the past, one just about had to have previous jet experience to get hired. Now, we hear that the criteria pretty much matches the major carriers requirements.

Currently about 350 pilots. Rumors of about another 100 this year.

Pay is not great, but I upgraded in less than two years. Ya gotta take the good with the bad.

ALPA. We're on our first contract, and are currently working on the necessary studies to renegotiate. We are presently the lowest paid MD80 guys with the possible exception of Vanguard. However, we have some really good work rules and we do make more than most regional pilots. Also, our business niche makes for a real easy job. (hardly ever more than two legs a day)

F-Low, what the heck is this?

Mins, much higher than early last year. I'd say that competive numbers would be in the 8000hour range, with previous DC9, or comparable, time.

Spirit is privately owned, so it's impossible to know how we are doing. However, the big guys are not playing with stockholders money, so we assume that we are making money because they wouldn't lose their own. I doubt that we will be the next SWA, but if one chooses to look at the bright side, Spirit has tremendous potential.

Good Luck.
 
if you don't mind me jumpin' in.....

What are the crew base/bases? Are the schedules commutable? (I guess that depends on my perspective huh?) One last question... is a letter of recommendation the only way to get a foot in the door? It seems as though that's becoming the standard nowadays.
Thanks for the info.
 
Re: if you don't mind me jumpin' in.....

Pondscum said:
What are the crew base/bases? Are the schedules commutable? (I guess that depends on my perspective huh?) One last question... is a letter of recommendation the only way to get a foot in the door? It seems as though that's becoming the standard nowadays.
Thanks for the info.

DTW, FLL and ACY. ACY is a small DC9 only base that is very, very senior. Don't bother yourself thinking of ACY. DTW is slightly more senior than FLL.

I'm so junior that I never get a good line. I don't consider them commutable, but I'm a little more conservative than some others. I really don't need to get fired. Seriously, I am usually able to commute one end of a trip.

About the recommendation. I'm not sure that they are the only way, but they are looked upon favorably.

good luck to all
 
Anaconda said:
F-low = furlough

We furloughed one third in September. We are now all back, plus some who returned after being furloughed from majors, and now we seem to looking for another hundred, or so, more.

I thought the original question was asking about a flow-thru, or something like that. Our niche is no stop, cheap seats from the north down to FL, so we don't hub and spoke. Under that kind of structure, we have no need for a feeder, therefore no other pilot group for management to whipsaw, or flowthru.
 

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