Originally Posted by NedsKid

maybe they like to wear hats, blazers, and pretend they don't see other pilots in the terminal? Some pilots want to fly really big planes to big cities in Europe and Asia. Some pilots chase whoever has the 'best' contract/highest hourly rates at the moment or over the last 5-10 years. Some pilots just always think the grass is greener somewhere else, probably b/c they read some of the stories spun on this forum about how great another carrier is (we all want our chosen job to seem like its a good choice, since its the choice WE made). Spirit, as an ULCC, will never be the highest paid pilot group, nor will any job that doesn't mess with your circadian rhythms and maybe shorten your lifespan. But, if you're content to be a relatively senior Captain in 2021 making $300k with 15-18 days off each month for the next 2 decades and good QOL, you probably can stomach life at Spirit. If you need to one day close to retirement make the equivalent of $350-380k in 2021 $'s with 15-18 days off flying wide bodies to Paris and Shanghai, then you leave Spirit for airline XYZ and hope that things pan out for you (not everyone can retire in the left seat of the 777 holding holidays off, even if you don't medical out first). My guess is that Spirit's contract will slowly catch up to just slightly less than 'the big 3', just as Southwest's has, over the long term (or 'the Big 3' will regress to ours!), and attrition will eventually be a smaller thorn in the side of our HR Department for the next 2 decades . . . or we'll merge with someone and there will be winners and losers. But for now, some junior pilots are leaving Spirit for other carriers, but not enough to cause any issues.

Good luck to us all!