Originally Posted by
PossibleDeviation
Commuter policy is great - 2 flights by report time (with no stipulations). You miss the first, company will buy you a ticket, release you from trip (NO PAY) or release you from trip and put on reserve for length of trip (WITH PAY).
Spirit, as it is now, is a known entity. Everything there is to know is on this forum. Unmatched lineholder QOL. What the merger will bring.... Hopefully the best of JB's and our CBAs. I'm at 1.5 years and have decided to gamble with the merger as QOL is my number 1 priority and even with the new contracts at legacies they don't match what we have here.
Thanks for the information. ATL and FLL seem pretty commutable from where I am based on the number of flights/carriers operating to both from the DC area, so that's a plus. Probably takes less time to fly to ATL than it does to drive to ACY for me, so there's that. I've family in both FL and TX so I'm flexible on the basing concepts.
Originally Posted by
RemoveB4flght
<snip great write up re: hub and spoke>
Attrition tells only part of the story while in the middle of an unprecedented hiring climate. Obviously those on the upper third of the seniority list have less to be gained from going to another carrier when taking into account their current schedules, the financial hit of starting over, and less time to recover seniority in their career span. Those in the bottom third tend to have more to gain based on those same considerations. The more interesting question would be those in that middle third, who would be more qualified legacy applicants based on 121 and narrow body experience. Do some of them leave, sure, but of those I’ve spoken with the reasons trend more towards either basing or widebody opportunities vs. lifestyle unhappiness. The other intangible for some is that we aren’t a fancy company and the nature of the operation and its clientele carries a stigma both with the general public and other pilot groups. Some pilots aren’t able to see past this and despite their contentment with work rules, and feel the need to seek employment with a carrier that more aligns with their perception of this career, and so be it.
TL/DR: If you need a bullet point argument for why Spirit pilots are happy with their QOL, a legacy pilot could easily list a number of counterpoints why they are. What matters more is if you can see yourself happy flying in our type of operation.
This is a terrific write-up - thank you. You're the first person I've seen acknowledge the "perception of the career" with respect to whom you fly for - I appreciate that perspective. I personally don't have an issue with the "discount airline" connotations but I do know folks who do. It doesn't get talked about much.
I didn't realize that it was a point-to-point system, but that's good to know.