Spirit planning on Doubling in Size

[atpcliff]

Hi!

Here's an excerpt from the "Detroit Free Press":

"...
Detroit's biggest low-cost carrier said it is meeting investment bankers and money managers that invest in privately held companies and expects to finalize a deal in the next three to six months, said Ned Homfeld, Spirit chairman and cofounder.

The goal is to offer consumers more flights and increase the number of destinations the carrier flies to, he said. Spirit wants "to get to the next level," Homfeld said, with "a brand new generation of airplanes" and almost doubling the size of its fleet from 27 to 50..."
http://www.freep.com/money/business/spirit28_20030628.htm

Interesting...

Cliff
DTW

 

[enigma]

Still dangling carrots. Ownership has been promising growth for the last x years. If you read the entire story, it says that Spirits average seat costs equal that of SWA. In itself, that fact probably makes it hard to attract investors, because our labor costs are about 60% of SWA's. Using that number, our costs should be lower than SWA, which indicates mismanagement in other areas. Yet we keep our fingers crossed for our success. The workers at Spirit are doing our best to help in the companys success and we hope more than anyone that the FreePress story will come to pass. I don't understand airline managers , but I'm glad our owners continue to attempt to keep the doors open... and even to attempt expansion.

regards,
8N

 

[U-I pilot]

funny to see this post as my mom saw the article and is about to mail it to me at school.

 

[WrightAvia]

I got one of those news airticles from

...my mom. It was taped on the inside of the cupboard door by the phone. It was an article about how there is going to be this pilot shortage and it listed the numbers of Northwest Airline pilots that were due to retire because of age 60 and that was going to create a hiring glut. It also had lots of other figures about other airlines hiring because of age 60 and how much turn over there was going to be. That article was published about 9 years ago. I just threw it out the other day.

Here is an article that I would tend to believe over any articles that pop up concerning ADDING CAPACITY.

 

[U-I pilot]

great bedtime story! got a moral to go along with it?

 

[WrightAvia]

Hahaha...no. I used up all my morals when I dropped out of high school and joined the Navy at age 17.

 

[Tailwheel]

Spirit hiring? Bullsh1t!!!

Spirit is NOT hiring as the article eluded to, at least not pilots. And these "expansion plans" have been talked about for years! I'll believe it when I see it!!!!!
They still have 22 pilots on the street!!!!!!

 

[enigma]

Re: Spirit hiring? Bullsh1t!!!

Spirit is NOT hiring as the article eluded to, at least not pilots.

If you make a new VP position and hire a pilot to fill the position, you ARE hiring pilots, or at least a pilot. '

Spirit, the only airline with more VP's than airplanes.

We actually have something going on worse than that, we have an FO who gained a management slot, and now flys as a Captain. He doesn't have the seniority to be left seat, and we have 19 Captains downgraded because of a furlough, but the management dude gets to fly left seat. I believe that the union is filing a grievence, at least I hope so.

regards,
enigma

 

[enigma]

Correction

I need to clarify one point. The VP position I alluded to was filled by an outsider, but it was not developed just to be able to hire a pilot. He was hired in as an assistant manager, then gained a pay raise by taking a VP position. The bottom line is still this: Spirit has not hired a class of pilots in a long time and we still have about 8% of our seniority list out on furlough. Unless you are well connected with upper management and they find a management slot for you, you probably won't get hired at Spirit anytime soon.

Later,
enigma