Possible displacement/furlough

[AnnaRose]

Hey Girls,

My BF works for Spirit. He received an e-mail today from the pilot group union saying how the airline may have to displace/furlough 242 pilots. This is crazy because his airline has been hiring like mad and all of a sudden they come out with news like this. If they furlough up to 85 pilots he should be okay, but anymore than that, and he will be sending out resumes Spirit only has about 540 pilots in total. He said they are also closing their bases in San Juan and LaGuardia. He left for a trip earlier and was talking to some of the guys at work and they said that it could be a 'scare tactic' to get the pilots to agree to a contract since they are in negotiations. They also said that even if there was a furlough it probably wouldn't be until late August.
He used to work for ASA and left a few months before upgrading to fly the airbus at Spirit. He hasn't even been there a year and they are already talking furloughs. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Has anyone heard anything about this?

[madlibs]

I hadn't really heard anything more than what you've said. Just had read the note online. I really hope that it is just a scare tactic. That just sucks.

Here's what I had seen:

May 31, 2008

Greetings fellow pilots,

At 1744 EDT Friday evening our Vice President of Operations, Jeff Carlson, sent facsimile copies of three certified letters to ALPA President Capt. John Prater. These letters were notices pursuant to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). Spirit Airlines gave the minimum required legal notice of potential base closings in LGA and SJU, and of a potential reduction in base size in FLL. Capt. Creed, upon hearing of the notices, spoke directly with Ben Baldanza. Ben indicated Spirit would be finalizing decisions concerning these bases in the next week, and merely wanted to have the legal notification in play for that eventuality.

Under the WARN Act the Company is required to provide an accurate number of those employees who could be affected by these types of decisions. Spirit has indicated 242 pilots are exposed to displacement or furlough. We hope their plan includes the growth of other bases but it’s hard to imagine the economic benefit of such realignment in these times of cost control.

Your MEC was not warned of these letters, and these letters represent a significant departure from the “State of the Industry” address Carlson, Lancelot, and Baldanza presented to us a short, 10 days ago.

If this is a tactic to win concessions or undermine our resolve in negotiations, then shame on Spirit. If however, this is a sign of the times, and the future, then the hard-working Spirit pilot who:

1. Saved this company after 9/11;

2. Made the fleet transition as smooth and inexpensive as possible;

3. Kept Spirit safe in the expansion into Central and South America;

4. Has sacrificed financially to provide the growth opportunities and the record low CASM Spirit now enjoys;

should have as much advance warning as possible of ANY potential furloughs. We will also work closely with ALPA National’s Strategic Preparedness and Strike Committee to formulate plans to protect our pilots against any potential outcome of these letters.

We will keep you updated on the situation as it develops. We encourage you, as always, to FLY SAFE, and FLY OUR CONTRACT.

[SWAFOWIFE]

I know you must be on egg shells....you are in my prayers! HUGS!!!!!

[madlibs]

Well, I just came across this...


Spirit Airlines President Says No Layoffs Planned


POSTED: 3:19 pm EDT June 3, 2008
UPDATED: 8:48 pm EDT June 3, 2008



MIAMI -- The president of Spirit Airlines said Tuesday the carrier has no plans for layoffs, despite reports that implied it is laying off half of its employees.
According to letters released Tuesday by union leaders, the airline may lay off or move up to 60 percent of its flight attendants and 45 percent of its pilots in an effort to cut costs and deal with soaring fuel prices.
The Miramar-based discount carrier wrote in the notification letters that it plans to close its hubs in New York's LaGuardia Airport and San Juan, Puerto Rico, and shrink its main Fort Lauderdale hub by Aug. 1. The airline is also closing its Detroit hub for flight attendants, according to the letters.
Spirit told NBC 6 no layoffs are planned. The airline's hub will stay in Fort Lauderdale, but the carrier may relocate crews to different cities to save money.
The letters, required by law under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, were sent out Friday by Jeff Carlson, the airline's vice president of flight operations. Carlson wrote in the letters that the airline will furlough or displace up to 448 flight attendants and 242 pilots.
"It's kind of unfortunate that it got put out that way," said Spirit President and CEO Ben Baldanza.
He said the letters began as a precaution to keep the airline alive and then became a rumor that the carrier was dying.
"The Spirit management team, the owners of Spirit and all of the employees of Spirit are completely committed to working through a very tough economic environment with high fuel prices, doing what it takes to keep the airline stable, solid and growing over time, and that's exactly what we're all here to do 24-7," he said.
Baldanza said the airline will not raise airfares and has no plans to cut any routes. He said the carrier is even adding new destinations.
"If we make the actual decision to shrink at all -- to reduce one frequency on one route or return some airplanes or do anything -- if we made that decision, which we have not made yet, we would absolutely talk to all the employees affected directly about that change and what that meant for them," he said.
But the letters sparked concern from the pilot and flight attendants unions.
"It was utter shock," said Sean Creed, chairman of the Spirit Airlines pilots union. "To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. We are devastated."
Spirit has about 540 pilots.
As many as 240 attendants could be affected in Fort Lauderdale, 141 in Detroit, 15 in New York and 52 in San Juan, according to letters sent to Patricia Friend, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants. Spirit has about 750 flight attendants.
"These are the worst case scenario numbers," said Corey Caldwell, spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants, the union that represents Spirit's attendants. "It's likely the ultimate number will be less, but it kind of popped out of nowhere."
Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson said the notices were necessary to comply with the WARN Act.
"We have made no final decisions about reductions, if any, but to maintain flexibility, we will need to continue to evaluate our overall flying this fall during our lowest demand period of the year if fuel prices remain at record levels," she wrote in an e-mail.
Creed said he has been flooded with calls from concerned pilots, who were listed by name and title in the letters.
"It's very difficult, as a pilot, if you lose your job to go find another one," Creed said. "Pilots are worried about their future."
Baldanza said the airline is getting ready to make changes to deal with the tough economic times but has not committed to anything. He said the carrier plans to grow over the next few months.
"In a fast-changing economic environment, generally the people who survive and the people who win out of that environment are those who are the lowest cost producers of their product," he said. "And Spirit is the lowest-cost producer of its product everywhere we fly, and therefore, if you're going to bet on any airline for the fall, Spirit is the kind of airline to bet on."
The airline industry is struggling to overcome with record fuel prices.
"Fuel is pushing up to be 50 percent of our total cost and that compares to less than 20 percent just a few years ago," Baldanza said.
Last month, American Airlines said it would cut domestic flight capacity by 11 percent to 12 percent in the fourth quarter, after the peak summer season is over.
Delta Air Lines said in March that it would offer voluntary severance payouts to roughly 30,000 employees -- more than half its work force -- and cut U.S. capacity by an extra 5 percent. The Atlanta-based carrier said last week that more than 3,000 people took the package, and Delta will accept all the volunteers.
Spirit, which is privately owned, flies to 36 cities in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. The carrier employs about 2,200 people and has hubs in Detroit and Fort Lauderdale. Spirit is one of the largest carriers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

[ccbegay]

wow, just amazes me how 'news' travels, luckily Spirit employees are safe...

[AnnaRose]

My BF got a letter in his mailbox at work from Ben Baldanza saying all of this today, so we're going to not worry too much until something actually happens....

[Mrs.Alchemist]

Originally Posted by AnnaRose

...we're going to not worry too much until something actually happens....

Hard to do, but a GREAT idea!!!

[Amanda]

Originally Posted by Mrs.Alchemist

Hard to do, but a GREAT idea!!!

It's the only thing you CAN do! If not you'll just go nuts with the worrying!

[AnnaRose]

Originally Posted by Amanda

It's the only thing you CAN do! If not you'll just go nuts with the worrying!

This is very true.