Originally Posted by
shogun
Those 12 recalls will probably be the last ones for this year. May 1st is already the high season and they probably won't need additional crews just to cover for June-Sept.
I don't want to be pessimistic but without new A/C for this year, what will happen in November? Will there be a seasonal furlough. Usually this is when the schedule shrinks a little for NK. I hope not but unfortunately for the guys who got recalled this time, there might be some unemployment time again for the end of the year. I hope not though....
The rumor about getting new planes is just a rumor, like we were supposed to get 10 A320 for this spring and finally nothing happened. What I would really like to know is when are we supposed to get those 25-30 new A320s ordered 2 years ago. Nobody seems to know the answer. Those will be the a/c that will trigger a massive recall.
Actually the schedule gets reduced after Labor Day in Sept and increases again mid November for the holiday travel season. So, will there be a furlough again this fall....I doubt it. The last round of recalls was just to cover the six lines that will be created by returning the 4 days off to the schedule. We have not increased our staffing level at all for the summer schedule, so there should not be a need to reduce in the fall. Remember, it does not pay for the company to furlough for just a few months, and Spirit's slow season is too short to warrant a furlough for six months or longer. Also, while attrition has been very light, I do know of 3 that have gone back to AA recently and 4 that have class dates overseas this year. Im not sure when AA will recall again but I know that we have quite a few more that will go back when they get the call.
Unless something unforeseen happens I would think we will avoid a furlough here this year. After all, our schedule gets reduced every fall and we do not furlough simply for that reason.
As far as more airplanes, keep an eye on one of the business channels. When you start to hear that the banking industry has hit a bottom and loans are being written again, we will see more airplanes....a lot more. Until then, unless someone just gives them to us, we are stuck with what we have.