Originally Posted by
thepilotswife
As a wife to an 11 year F9 captain, I hope you are wrong but I don't have a good feeling about this at all.
It just sucks for Frontier as they are an awesome airline and I believe SWA intent is to just take out the competition as they could careless about the empolyees. I read this in a newspaper article:
"Frontier has made Southwest's life miserable," Boyd said. "In virtually every market where Southwest and Frontier compete head-on, Frontier has more market share, higher load factors and higher fares. Their brand loyalty here in Denver is astronomical."
My husband LOVES flying for Frontier and before the credit card company forced them into bankruptcy, we thought he would retire with them. It is sad to think they probably won't be around as a company much longer. I know so many people that always say how much they LOVE Frontier and I personally think UAL will pick up more business as I know many people that hate and refuse to fly SWA.
It just sucks all the way around.
Nobody at a niche carrier, or even small major (Alaska, America West, Jetblue, Fronteri, ATA, etc) can ever rest easy. I know your husband loves Frontier and would like to retire from there...unfortunately yours and his wants are irrelevant. A fellow F-15 buddy refused to even consider applying for Fedex or SWA back in 2002-3....he wanted to work for a Denver based company and be home every night. He...and your family...might come out smelling like roses safe and secure as part of the SWA family. Or you might not... However, having seen this now with quite a few folks who I coached for ATA interviews, I urge both of you to get ready for plans B, C, D, and E.... Save money. If you (the loyal wife) aren't working, consider gettting a job if you can that has health insurance...even if it doesn't pay much. Airline jobs are tough to find now...corporate is also tough...but perhaps not dead. Re-jingle the old network and keep an eye on options, just in case. If you are a former military family, consider the options for ANG/Reserve work if its an option. Getting mad at SWA or RAH won't change the fact things are about to be drastically different. The sooner you make plans for tough times, the better prepared you'll be if they do come...and hopefully Mr. Murphy will rule and if you make such plans you won't need them.
I "chair-flew" this scenario a few years back with my buddy, but he was adamant about doing F9. I hope it works out for him...and your family as well. Good luck.