Originally Posted by
CantStayAway
Frontier Airlines just announced a PHL base yesterday. Before anyone starts to reconsider coming to Frontier right now here are some things you’ll want to be aware of...
1. They don’t appear to be anywhere near a contract.
2. The company has canceled pilot vacations every month since August (including November).
3. If people keep applying, numbers 1 & 2 will continue.
4. PHL will most likely be a co-domicile with TTN (nothing officially announced about that yet but it already is for FAs and the pilot contract allows it).
5. The company has fired several probationary pilots already this year.
6. The union is actively involved in helping current Frontier pilots move on to better paying airlines because they have conceded that a contract is not in the near future.
7. Hotels are NOT paid for during training.
8. Most PSA pilots would take a pay cut year 1 at Frontier (1st year pay is only $39/hr).
9. You will not likely break guarantee when you’re on reserve at Frontier. Reserves are NOT allowed to pick up trips on days off.
10. You’ll lose your guaranteed flow to a much better airline.
Don’t believe everything a recruiter tells you. Friends don’t let friends go to Frontier.
Thanks for your union work (unofficial or not) to advance the profession for all of us.
Those not yet jaded by the industry need to understand that the staffing (or not staffing) of an airline is the primary source of pilot bargaining power.
It is only when an airline cannot appropriately staff its flights (now or in the near-term future) that they really feel the crunch to improve pay and work rules in order to attract more pilots...
While it's not exactly crossing the picket line, going to F9 these days is almost as bad. Even if you want to go to Frontier, do your union brothers and sisters a favor: wait until they get a contract.