spirit question

[sshrae]

hey guys and girls, im new to this forum and am wondering if anybody out there has any info on spirit, they seem kind of under the radar. I fly for f9 but am a little worried about our balance sheet. I hear sju is opening and am wondering how senoir will that go. I appreciate any info you guys might have for me, thanks ss

 

[troll565]

hey guys and girls, im new to this forum and am wondering if anybody out there has any info on spirit, they seem kind of under the radar. I fly for f9 but am a little worried about our balance sheet. I hear sju is opening and am wondering how senoir will that go. I appreciate any info you guys might have for me, thanks ss

SJU will most likely go junior

 

[Gearthrower]

It would be a safe guess that at least half the pilots eventually based there will be displaced to that base. The only people with any seniority who will bid it will be those who really want to stay in the left seat or want to upgrade from the right seat no matter what the base is. In other words, if you want it "its yours".

 

[sshrae]

thanks for the info on sju. but what about qol at spirit. i would hate to leave f9 just to end up at another sinking ship. is moral good?

 

[Gearthrower]

it is contract time and morale is always low during contract talks, but that could change in an instant you never know. One word of caution, our current operating model ULCC is really what has created the most strain between the employees and the company. The company is pathologically focused on cutting cost and doing everything a cheap as possible in the airline biz you got to have customer service and the ULCC model is thin on this, so we the crews get stuck saying sorry to much of the time. As for F9 you folks tend to be more customer friendly, thus this could lead to a stressful transition to our current business model for you. Just a thought, other than that our crews are great and the destinations are fun.

 

[Beetle007]

It might not hurt you to wait and see what happens with F9. Southwest has said publicly they want to buy someone in a "fire sale". Healthy airlines don't get sold in a fire sale.

 

[sshrae]

thanks for the info guys, that really helps.

 

[TheCheat]

Don't know a lot about Frontier or Spirit, but if the past is any indication, SWA was very helpful to those pilots who got furloughed from ATA. If F9 does fold or furlough, I'd be willing to bet SWA may extend some sort of preferential interview treatment. Not sure if I'd say the same about doing that for Spirit pilots.

But I don't know anything, so take that with an extremely large grain of salt.

Quackin Chicken

 

[Gearthrower]

Are Spirit Pilots the unwashed masses?

 

[cbeyw]

Who told you that Southwest helped ATA pilots on Furlough? Get informed please.

That never happened.

 

[njcapt]

Don't know a lot about Frontier or Spirit, but if the past is any indication, SWA was very helpful to those pilots who got furloughed from ATA.

Absolutely untrue. In fact, during the 'preferential interview' period the rate of hiring of ATA pilots went dramatically down. As soon as the program expired the rate went back up to historic 20 to 25% levels. Don't expect a handout from SWA and don't expect a DOH gimme if there is an aquisition of F9.

 

[Beetle007]

Don't expect a handout from SWA and don't expect a DOH gimme if there is an aquisition of F9.

Any aquisition would be handled by an arbitrator if the two unions don't come to a quick agreement on the seniority list integration (I think 20 days).

Garry Kelly's comments on megers

"At some point, I think we'll probably acquire somebody. That's just a reflection of my view that the industry is weak and that there'll be players up for sale, probably in a fire-sale mode, and we'll want to at least be thoughtful about that. We'll still have all the considerations – the fleet, the labor contracts, the seniority issues, the cost implications of it, the cultural aspects of trying to bring two work groups together and on and on and on. We would be concerned about that and always have been. "

 

[TheCheat]

Who told you that Southwest helped ATA pilots on Furlough? Get informed please.

That never happened.

Okay, I stand corrected. I got a different impression from a couple furloughed ATA guys that I talked to who are now at SWA. As I said, take what I wrote with a large grain of salt, but I certainly don't want to be spreading any false rumors.

Air Inc did put on a free seminar at MDW aimed at helping ATA guys with SWA, but I'm sure it was just to sell memberships.

Wonk

 

[flynryan15]

Hey guys,

What's quality of life like at Spirit?


How long is rsv?


Is it possible to hold FLL out of training?


What are your rsv call out times?


Any idea on delivery schedule of aircraft?


Thanks for any info you can provide me!!!


Ryan

 

[ThreeGreens]

What's quality of life like at Spirit?

average days off for a line about 15. Reserve 12-13. 4 days off guaranteed in between. (current contract)

How long is rsv?

If hiring continues 2-3 months.

Is it possible to hold FLL out of training?

Very likely until now. But with new bases in the future, things might change.

What are your rsv call out times?

3 hours until pushback

Any idea on delivery schedule of aircraft?

Official word. 2 this year the rest after fall 2009, with the target to double the fleet by 2012