Spirit Furloughs

AnnaRose · 06-24-2008, 07:30 PM

I don't know if we talked about this yet, but my bf said that Spirit will be furloughing 45 pilots soon. He should be okay through this first set of furloughs, but the slow Fall season is coming and there could be more. Apparently, SA expected to get more planes (I think A321's) and had to cut back orders due to the recent decline in the economy and industry. Spirit hired too many pilots and unfortunately a lot of the new guys won't get to stay long

45 pilots doesn't seem like a lot, but Spirit is a very small privately owned airline. There is a total of about 520 pilots so its about 8-9% of their pilot base. I was talking to one of my bf's friends about another company buying Spirit possibly. His friend said there's really nothing to buy because Spirit rents their planes and gates. Spirit recently changed their computer systems and all the gate agents are complaining because it went from Windows to Dos! The gate agents hate it and it is not as efficient as the old program. What is this ultra-low-cost airline doing?? I hope they can get their act together...

roz · 06-24-2008, 08:32 PM

Hi AnnaRose,

You joined since I left last fall--but many members have sent me messages asking that I return.

Hola!

Your information is not entirely accurate. While fall was traditionally slow with vacation destinations (and NK has asked for voluntary loa's in the fall before), NK has now added destinations that are geared toward people in the US with family in the home country. There are now more Columbians in south Florida than Cubans. So adding Bogota in July is a natural fit. Add to that Trinidad, more flying to Puerto Rico, PAP, etc and you see what I mean.

NK has 320's on order on top of the 319's. What I have been told is that Jacob was a terrible negotiator and that some of the leases for the 319's are way too expensive and Oaktree is balking. So, they have to create a hardship scenario to force a renegotiation. The 321's are less desirable because they can't haul them to Lima, etc.

The new registration system went into effect earlier this month. It is the same registration system Jetblue and others use. There were glitches getting it installed. So, the training the agents had was 8 months ago. They are rusty and frustrated because they can't remember what they are supposed to do. That is the source of their frustration, not that it is DOS.

It's bad a lot of places now. Fortunately my husband's cousin, who was 7/99 hire at United did not accept recall three years ago. He's living on his Air Force pension and working as a special ed teacher (getting another pension when he retires) and gets home at 2 PM every day. With 950 to be furloughed to 2/99, he would not make the cut. By the way, a lot of the NK new hires replaced those that left to go to United--some were even Captains! The United seniority number used to be golden. Who knows where those that think they are sitting pretty now at other airlines will be in 20 years? None of us know!

Keep planning for the future and don't let the worry bog you down. It's not worth killing yourself over something you can't control.

AnnaRose · 06-30-2008, 03:01 PM

Thanks for the info. I think it was 320's. Word at Spirit is that they will be parking seven aircraft and furloughing 100 pilots now. I don't know if this is true. Has anyone heard anything?

roz · 06-30-2008, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roz

What I have been told is that Jacob was a terrible negotiator and that some of the leases for the 319's are way too expensive and Oaktree is balking. So, they have to create a hardship scenario to force a renegotiation.

If they can't renegotiate, they are going to use the hardship scenario to abandon the leases. It would be 90 more in addition to this latest round of 7 voluntary leaves and 38 furloughs.

AnnaRose · 06-30-2008, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roz

If they can't renegotiate, they are going to use the hardship scenario to abandon the leases. It would be 90 more in addition to this latest round of 7 voluntary leaves and 38 furloughs.

Oh, I see what your saying. Any idea when this might happen? I know my bf will definitely be included in the next round

He seemed really bummed out today when he told me.

06-24-2008, 07:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
AnnaRose Jetgirls Plus Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 312 Recipes: Thanks: 6 Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts	Spirit Furloughs I don't know if we talked about this yet, but my bf said that Spirit will be furloughing 45 pilots soon. He should be okay through this first set of furloughs, but the slow Fall season is coming and there could be more. Apparently, SA expected to get more planes (I think A321's) and had to cut back orders due to the recent decline in the economy and industry. Spirit hired too many pilots and unfortunately a lot of the new guys won't get to stay long 45 pilots doesn't seem like a lot, but Spirit is a very small privately owned airline. There is a total of about 520 pilots so its about 8-9% of their pilot base. I was talking to one of my bf's friends about another company buying Spirit possibly. His friend said there's really nothing to buy because Spirit rents their planes and gates. Spirit recently changed their computer systems and all the gate agents are complaining because it went from Windows to Dos! The gate agents hate it and it is not as efficient as the old program. What is this ultra-low-cost airline doing?? I hope they can get their act together... __________________ "A person travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it..."

06-24-2008, 08:32 PM	#2 (permalink)
roz Jetgirls Ol' School Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Philly Posts: 2,267 Recipes: Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts	Re: Spirit Furloughs Hi AnnaRose, You joined since I left last fall--but many members have sent me messages asking that I return. Hola! Your information is not entirely accurate. While fall was traditionally slow with vacation destinations (and NK has asked for voluntary loa's in the fall before), NK has now added destinations that are geared toward people in the US with family in the home country. There are now more Columbians in south Florida than Cubans. So adding Bogota in July is a natural fit. Add to that Trinidad, more flying to Puerto Rico, PAP, etc and you see what I mean. NK has 320's on order on top of the 319's. What I have been told is that Jacob was a terrible negotiator and that some of the leases for the 319's are way too expensive and Oaktree is balking. So, they have to create a hardship scenario to force a renegotiation. The 321's are less desirable because they can't haul them to Lima, etc. The new registration system went into effect earlier this month. It is the same registration system Jetblue and others use. There were glitches getting it installed. So, the training the agents had was 8 months ago. They are rusty and frustrated because they can't remember what they are supposed to do. That is the source of their frustration, not that it is DOS. It's bad a lot of places now. Fortunately my husband's cousin, who was 7/99 hire at United did not accept recall three years ago. He's living on his Air Force pension and working as a special ed teacher (getting another pension when he retires) and gets home at 2 PM every day. With 950 to be furloughed to 2/99, he would not make the cut. By the way, a lot of the NK new hires replaced those that left to go to United--some were even Captains! The United seniority number used to be golden. Who knows where those that think they are sitting pretty now at other airlines will be in 20 years? None of us know! Keep planning for the future and don't let the worry bog you down. It's not worth killing yourself over something you can't control.

06-30-2008, 03:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
AnnaRose Jetgirls Plus Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 312 Recipes: Thanks: 6 Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts	Re: Spirit Furloughs Thanks for the info. I think it was 320's. Word at Spirit is that they will be parking seven aircraft and furloughing 100 pilots now. I don't know if this is true. Has anyone heard anything? __________________ "A person travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it..."

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