Thanks zoooropa, that's good info. to have. I've sent in my resume, keeping fingers crossed.

 

One thing you can be sure of......F9 pilots will eat their young or push them out of the nest way early if there is any chance that their precious DEN domicile is in jeopardy. And the above mentality is about par for 75% of pilots here.

 

Yet somehow still managing..... maybe your a natural?

 

I don't think we have to worry about that anytime soon... especially considering that all new-hire pilots are being sent to the DEN domicile.

Any current FO that wants DEN can hold it.

 

Be careful, I think a reduction in Denver service is a certainty (this being aviation nothing is certain). We may keep the GO in Denver but we DEFINITELY will not be operating 85-90% of our block hours out of DIA in the not too distant future.

Franke and Indigo Partners want a minimum margin, and that margin is simply not attainable with a Denver-centric ULCC.

Will Denver be larger than other focus cities? Yes.
Will Denver be as large as it is today in three years? Highly doubtful.

They want to grow the airline but even if they grow at a significant rate they still can't support the negative yield pressure in Denver.

We will see at least one new domicile in the next 24 months and that domicile will be fed with new aircraft along with existing lift that isn't making enough money in Denver.

Bugaboo's post is inaccurate, nearly half of F9 commutes. Denver isn't the holy grail to Frontier pilots.

If you are interviewing at F9 with the intention of being based in Denver you need to reevaluate. Denver will remain but it will be a senior base.

 

Any idea what class dates they are currently interviewing for?

 

In 2008-2010 during BK and restructuring DEN was the only domicile and the percentage of commuters was much less than is today. There were decisions made by FAPA during that timeframe (without polling/voting of FAPA membership) that absolutely threw the majority of pilots at F9 under the bus....these actions were taken by top percentage pilots who were elected to represent the WHOLE pilot group and what was best for that group. Their actions and decisions at that time represented THEIR best interests as senior pilots who live(d) in the Denver area. This stuck in the craw of many pilots at F9.
Times have changed since and most have put all that behind them and are looking forward to better things going forward....I have. I was just laying out a little bit of F9 history as history seems to repeat itself......especially in this industry.

 

Thread drift...and honest question, to what are you referring? I assume it probably is the SWA event but I am not sure. I won't elaborate on what actually happened unless that is what you are talking about. I do know that the FAPA BoD at the time consisted of a pretty junior FO and a fairly senior FO along with three Captains. There was also an MA committee that was two FO's and two junior Captains so I don't think it is entirely fair to say any actions were taken by "top percentage pilots".

I am curious (and I promise not to rehash/argue spilt milk) what happend backin 08/09 that rubbed you the wrong way. Thanks in advance for the info.

 

Not really thread drift....I was talking about your position that 50% of F9 pilots commute. That may be the case now...but not 6 years ago.
Yes.....that was when friends got furloughed and the debacle with Republic and SWA occurred. The FAPA leadership that made the decisions turned on the majority of the pilot group and scuttled a viable option to Republic. All for the sake of seniority and domicile. Its all in the past and im done with it. Like I said, history does have a way of repeating itself. Spirit/Frontier is a real possibility.....hopefully cooler heads will prevail if that happens.
Frontier is good place to work and has some great people. Good luck to anyone trying to get aboard!

 

For anyone who thinks Bugaboo has any idea about what he's talking about: he/she doesn't.