Spirit Questions

[SAABaroowski]

Got the good word this past week, class beginning of March

 

[Sherpa]

Congrats!

 

[Flyer1015]

Timing is about right. Does his last name rhyme with Nixon?

No, but his last name is pretty close to a character in Family Guy.

 

[Flyer1015]

go to job fair..no job fair=98% chance of no email/interview

I went to a Spirit-only job fair they had in FLL, I had a couple internal recommendations, and met their minimums. Not even a "thanks for applying, but no thanks." I heard nothing.

 

[SAABaroowski]

I went to a Spirit-only job fair they had in FLL, I had a couple internal recommendations, and met their minimums. Not even a "thanks for applying, but no thanks." I heard nothing.

Who did you speak with? Hiring is going to pick up and continue for a while. I would head to another one if you really want to work there. What are your times like? What are you flying now?

 

[Flyer1015]

Who did you speak with? Hiring is going to pick up and continue for a while. I would head to another one if you really want to work there. What are your times like? What are you flying now?

This experience was back in 2011. I don't know the name of the person I saw, but I do know he was a FO with about 6 months at the company. I had pretty much the bare minimums, ATP 4000 at the time. I'm now at the other A320 LCC on the west coast, and with 2nd year pay it'd be hard to make a lateral move.

 

[woog315]

I think when one actually takes a minute to really take a good look at Spirit, one would be crazy NOT TO GO. The company makes more profit than any other airline (profit margin)ZERO debt, $400,000,000.00 in the bank, new A/C, seems like a no brainer.

crews all seem great as well.

You have a really simplistic understanding of Spirit's situation.

http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...tor-beware-hidden-debt-at-spirit-airline.aspx

I am not picking a side in regards to Spirit- they do have an interesting business model- but it's important to realize they aren't some miracle cash flush ultra money printing machine, and it could in fact come crashing down very quickly if we have a significant economic slowdown, or if people just get fed up with their atrocious customer service.

 

[ROSWELL41]

That motley fool article says nothing new. Spirit leases all of its airplanes. We are in bad economic times and Spirit is doing fine. Spirit has been in business far longer than B6 or VX. No business is immune from downside risk, but to say that because Spirit leases their aircraft they have greater risk than if they owned the planes is a joke. In fact, hard economic times push more customers into Spirit's market.

 

[woog315]

That motley fool article says nothing new. Spirit leases all of its airplanes. We are in bad economic times and Spirit is doing fine. Spirit has been in business far longer than B6 or VX. No business is immune from downside risk, but to say that because Spirit leases their aircraft they have greater risk than if they owned the planes is a joke. In fact, hard economic times push more customers into Spirit's market.

Spirit's business model completely changed about 5 years ago, they essentially aren't the same company anymore- so "they've stood the test of time" arguments don't really fly. They are a RyanAir clone now and, like I said, I'm really not suggesting that they are doomed to failure- I'm just pointing out that calling them "debt free" is not accurate or useful as having lease payments instead of debt payments is not any sort of meaningful advantage. We are not in bad economic times right now, we're in mediocre times. Spirit's model works as long as they don't have to park planes... if they do, their cost structure is going to skyrocket much faster than companies who own their planes. That's just a fact. They're small right now- and that works to their advantage, but they are looking to expand pretty aggressively.

 

[SAABaroowski]

You have a really simplistic understanding of Spirit's situation.

http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...tor-beware-hidden-debt-at-spirit-airline.aspx

I am not picking a side in regards to Spirit- they do have an interesting business model- but it's important to realize they aren't some miracle cash flush ultra money printing machine, and it could in fact come crashing down very quickly if we have a significant economic slowdown, or if people just get fed up with their atrocious customer service.

First of all, people don't purchase tickets based on Customer service, they purchase them based on price, except for business travelers which aren't Spirits target consumer anyway. Secondly, I understand Spirits situation fairly well. They may have some large bills in the future, but there is nothing to indicate they will have problems paying them. It is fair to say that Zero debt was a poor wording? yes ill give you that.