Originally Posted by Irishblackbird

I'm a No voter, but certainly not angry as Flyguy suggests. I do agree with him in that the reasons to stay or go are as varied as the individual's wants and needs. The fact of the matter is that every contract out there has something that the other guy wants, be it it pay, work rule, or some percieved benefit that maybe a contract is lacking. There is no perfect contract.

In terms of Spirit, it is a great airline and I enjoy the crews I fly with in my base and what our product was. But, post covid this place has seem to lost its direction, identity, and the wheel house in terms of management is empty. Repeat problems never get corrected, bases are downsizing, upgrades have slowed, constant changes to the FOM, procedures or our ****ty manuals, and attrition will always be present, but has continued to increase to unmanageable levels. The place now has the feel of a big "Giong out of Business" sale since the merger was announced.

So the uncertainty of what we will become adds to the reason why many choose to leave. The ones who seem most at risk are the pilots who cant/won't leave. Namely, yes voting Captains. Those adverse to uncertainty are most likely drawn to the big 3 because of pay, benefits, and the likelihood that they will be around for the remainder of thier careers. I would hate to be a younger pilot and invest 7-10 years in a failed Blue/Spirit venture and then be looking for a job at the big 3 past peak hiring.

For me, I'm undecided. If I'm to believe what our negotiating committee has presented, then it sounds like Spirit is in dire straits financially, and if this merger doesn't go through I'd be very worried.