Spirit ALPA Wins Arbitration on 4-days-off Language

[enigma]

Maybe my last post won't make a hill of beans if this is true...

The rumor is gaining ground that we're getting 4 of our "retired" 319s back that went overseas. It was first heard from FLL MTC, but was candidly discussed on the inaugural Medellin flight earlier in the week. Maybe they found a solution for all that extra flying marketing has built in for May/June.

This reminds me of the ASA days; we received some RJs that were Comair N numbers on the back after the Comair strike...assuredly their punishment for a successful shutdown. I guess we're in the same boat with Indigo having other "alter-egos" around the globe to shift our aircraft to. Kinda scary at how easy it is to move them around if this one turns out to be true.

gator

Nice intel from Medillin Gator. Did you fly the flight? I forgot to look at a flow sheet that day, but I was expecting SM to fly it.

Don't go overboard with the "shift the aircraft around" talk. Many of our fellow pilots do not want to believe that it is possible or that Franke would do it.

 

[enigma]

Congrats to you and the others on that phone call; hopefully everyone that wants it will be back soon.

Quick question on the phone call you received for training: what date did they give you to show up in Miramar? There's a debate going on over on the socialistboard/spiritboard concerning the timeline required of the company for notification of recalls.

Per the contract, a furloughee has 10 days to contact the company upon receipt of the Fedexed letter (which none of you have received), and then an additional 21 days to show for company-related duty. So, that's 31 days after receipt to meet all of the requirements of an eligible recall.

Here's my point: there are some on the other board who are trying to convince the furloughees receiving these calls to buzz off, send them a letter, and they'll see them 31 days later. I'm not the one whose been without a paycheck for 6+ months, so I'm not judging any of you for taking the spot offered upon receipt of the phone call. However, think about how Spirit operates: they'll pick up the phone and get 12 warm bodies on the other side of the line to show up for a class starting in 2 weeks, seniority-order-be-damned. So, let's say 5 of you at the top of the recall list hold them to a letter (ie...don't answer the phone call). They'll bypass you; I'd bet my house on it. Then, once all the smoke clears, it'll be obvious that the company recalled out of seniority order. The 5 of you that held them to the process will be owed a spot as well, since you did nothing outside the bounds of our contract to meet the requirements for a recall.

I'm not sure how long it would take, but I'd say we'd have 17 recalls at that point. That is, unless the company did the lowest of all lows and took the bottom 5 out and re-furloughed them (I don't see Ole and Anderson doing this; it's a flight ops function and neither of these guys are the type to do it).

Just food for thought, as it might happen to a couple of folks. You know Spirit's going to screw something up...

Anyone else have their 2 cents to offer on it?

gator

Here's my 2 cents. The contracts' purpose is to protect the pilot. If seniority gives a pilot a recall, he can take up to 21 days (or whatever the specific contractual language states) to show up for tng. There is no requirement that the pilot wait 21 days, but he has that many if he needs them.

If the recalled pilot is working elsewhere and needs the time to do the right thing for that employer, he gets the time.

If Spirit tries to force a recalled pilot to show early, they will lose. If they pass over someone, that pilot will eventually get paid bypass pay. I doubt that Anderson will make that mistake.

 

[gatorbird]

That Franke wouldn't do it? Leo Mullin and his Delta/DCI boys were preschool bedwetters compared to this guy. Our only saving grace at this time is that Indigo doesn't have a US-based carrier to shift the a/c around to. In other words, if they want to be a part of the US market, they've got only us (for now).

 

[Shrek]

That Franke wouldn't do it? Leo Mullin and his Delta/DCI boys were preschool bedwetters compared to this guy. Our only saving grace at this time is that Indigo doesn't have a US-based carrier to shift the a/c around to. In other words, if they want to be a part of the US market, they've got only us (for now).

Glad to see someone with the "Big" picture instead of how much overtime they can squeeze into their pocket when there are pilots on the street ......

 

[huncowboy]

Asia is not doing as good as they used to. So who knows? There may be truth to the rumor of getting some of the exact same planes back. It "seem" to make sense as they have entered this global recession a bit behind the US. They could be in the same shoes we were in a few months ago. For the moment all we know is definitely no planes for May. They only need 12 to come back. My guess is any further recall is depending on additional planes from this point on.

 

[RemoveB4Flght]

Agreed.. I doubt any recalls based on added routes or increased frequencies will be a reality.

As was stated before.. Spirit needs to grow if we are to ever see a complete recall and future hiring. I would say the median age of our pilot group to be in the 40's, so retirement attrition, especially with the age 65 rule, is not even a factor.

 

[gatorbird]

Not trying to seed the rumor, just giving a clarification on what was heard from FLL MTC concerning return of a few of our aircraft.

I've heard the rumor morph into a/c coming from USA 3000, Virgin America, etc...

I wasn't on the MED flight last week, but a reliable friend was. He is who relayed to me the discussion of our planes coming back (JS and SM). Flew with him the day after.

Concerning the "I heard it from maintenance" version: I spoke with one of our APs in FLL last night; he gave me clarification to what info they had. Apparently, when they order parts on their PC, they use a drop-down window to select which aircraft (tail number) it's for. He told me a couple of weeks ago, 4 foriegn-registered tails showed up on the list. With a little research, they turned out to be 4 of our former aircraft over at Tiger. He said a few of them asked a supervisor and were told "yeah, they're headed to the paint shop soon...".

That's all I got, but I figured I'd give it to you as straight as I got it. Would we like something a little more solid? Of course, but we probably won't know for sure until we see one on H10.

gator

 

[huncowboy]

Not trying to seed the rumor, just giving a clarification on what was heard from FLL MTC concerning return of a few of our aircraft.

I've heard the rumor morph into a/c coming from USA 3000, Virgin America, etc...

I wasn't on the MED flight last week, but a reliable friend was. He is who relayed to me the discussion of our planes coming back (JS and SM). Flew with him the day after.

Concerning the "I heard it from maintenance" version: I spoke with one of our APs in FLL last night; he gave me clarification to what info they had. Apparently, when they order parts on their PC, they use a drop-down window to select which aircraft (tail number) it's for. He told me a couple of weeks ago, 4 foriegn-registered tails showed up on the list. With a little research, they turned out to be 4 of our former aircraft over at Tiger. He said a few of them asked a supervisor and were told "yeah, they're headed to the paint shop soon...".

That's all I got, but I figured I'd give it to you as straight as I got it. Would we like something a little more solid? Of course, but we probably won't know for sure until we see one on H10.

gator

This is exactly the info I log in for. It may not come true, but thanks for sharing it with those of us on the street. It keeps us going.

 

[McNugget]

Those aircraft are going out to other carriers. You heard it here, first. Expect more furloughs as the airline "right-sizes" to the economy!

 

[gatorbird]

After 5 years on FI, congrats McNugget...you have the honor as being the first and only person on my "ignore" list.

huncowboy- cool, glad I might put a little step in someone's day. I never understood the "I have info but you can't have it" mentality...if it's credible, share it IMHO.

Maybe we'll see them soon; marketing can't fly the schedule they have planned for the summer with the existing aircraft. We were delayed yesterday due to a mechanical/no spares, and it's only early March.

gator

 

[McNugget]

Awesome. Now I know how it must have felt, strutting around the terminal in your Gulfstream uniform....ignored!

 

[huncowboy]

This thread on pprune is talking about 4 A319s sitting on the tarmac. I am not quite clear weather the Australian Tiger has much to do with our former planes or not. Anyone? So this may have zero relevance but here it is:

http://www.pprune.org/d-g-reporting-points/360782-tiger-showing-strain.html

 

[huncowboy]

This thread on pprune is talking about 4 A319s sitting on the tarmac. I am not quite clear weather the Australian Tiger has much to do with our former planes or not. Anyone? So this may have zero relevance but here it is:

http://www.pprune.org/d-g-reporting-points/360782-tiger-showing-strain.html

Well forget what you have heard about Tiger. I was pointed to the direction of this website:

http://www.airframes.org/fleet/nks

This shows the airframes that got returned. It is not accurate and it is not official.

Then this website shows where the serial numbers are and have been.

http://www.airfleets.net/recherche/index.php?file=rechregis

After plugging in the serial numbers here is what I came up with:

We have lost serial:

2424 to Windjet
2659 to TAME
2698 to Windjet
2718 to Cyprus Airways
2723 to Windjet
2784 to Mandala Airlines
2797 to Mandala Airlines

Not a single one went to Tiger. Ouch... So much about rumors.

 

[critterair2]

Just spoke with myr mx. They confirmed the 4 airframes on the computer.

 

[McNugget]

http://news.cheapflights.com/airlines/2009/03/lucky-no-8-spirits-8-fare-sale.html

These w************************* are no better than SkyBus.