MIRAMAR, FL—Today, the pilots of Spirit Airlines, as represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), responded to statements made by Spirit CEO Robert L. Fornaro on the April 26 quarterly earnings call. During the call that announced better than expected pretax margins of 21.3 percent, Fornaro was asked about ongoing pilot negotiations and the rapid rise of pilot compensation at other carriers. Fornaro responded that the industry is tiered, and Spirit is firmly in the lowest tier along with Frontier and Allegiant. He suggested that this lowest tier is Spirit’s “peer group.”

“Based on these statements, Mr. Fornaro seems to imply that Spirit pilot compensation must also remain in the lower tier and tied to carriers whose pay rates and working conditions were either diminished by bankruptcy or unilaterally set without bargaining,” said Capt. Stuart Morrison, chairman of the Spirit unit of ALPA. “Simply put, this is a bogus assertion. Spirit’s profit margin—a much more relevant metric than ticket pricing—puts the company well into the industry’s upper tier.”


Bob was 100 percent correct. We will be on the lowest tier with Frontier and Allegiant for the next 8 years. Remember how angry this made people? What a difference a year makes. Not so bogus after all.