From the AAI message board blast email / message to airtran pilots:


And so it begins. Looks as if AirTran management plans to steal some customer loyalty and make some money in the process.


I hope this is a wakeup call for Spirit management. Act fast, or other airlines will.

 

So, for us ignorant folks.....

Understanding that the MECs have approved this, why is this not "struck work"?

 

because Spirit recieves no financial gian from the flight. Any flight operated for Spirit is struck work. This was operated for AT, with no financial connection to Spirit. If a company wants to go out and operate their own flights for their own profit along Spirits routes that is ok, and is the direct result of the stupidity of spirit mgmt.

 

From my understanding, it's a way for the Spirit MEC to put pressure on management.

By allowing other airlines to pick up the routes, Spirit risks losing MORE business the more they delay giving the pilots a contract and getting back to work.

Bringin' the heat. Nice job Spirit MEC.

 

Not sure this is from the MEC of Spirit. Scroll down to highlighted.
As Spirit Airlines strike drags on, pilots negotiate and passengers wait

June 14, 2010|By Sara K. Clarke, Orlando Sentinel
Spirit Airlines canceled more flights this week because of a pilots' strike, though the two sides have been called back to the bargaining table as stranded passengers continued scrambling to find alternative routes home.
At Orlando International Airport, a steady stream of travelers lined up at the Spirit check-in counter Monday, though few reported getting much help. Other passengers, aware of the problem ahead of time, said they had rebooked themselves on other airlines at their own expense.
"We figured over the weekend nothing would get resolved," said Diane Desrosiers, who heard about the strike from another passenger on the flight into Orlando on Friday and booked return tickets on JetBlue Airways for $149 each. "We knew ahead of time. We were proactive."

Spirit's pilots said Monday afternoon they had been called back to the negotiating table by the National Mediation Board, offering stranded passengers a glimmer of hope.
Orlando-based AirTran Airways, another low-cost carrier that said it has an agreement with Spirit to offer assistance whenever possible, added a last-minute flight from Orlando to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Monday. That flight quickly filled up, with some passengers paying as much at $444 for a one-way ticket.
AirTran said it was considering adding another San Juan flight today. A spokesman said the airline's flights used a tiered-pricing system that raise the price as demand rises and seats become scarce.
Rosa Hernandez and her husband, Jose Santana, paid $2,888 Monday for six one-way tickets on AirTran. The couple had driven up from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Spirit's home base, in hopes of finding a way home to Puerto Rico. Their original fare on Spirit: $134 a person.
"We're going first class [on AirTran] because they're all sold out," Hernandez said in Spanish.
Spirit's planes have been grounded since early Saturday, when the airline's pilots walked out after failed contract negotiations. Despite initial vows to keep flying, the discount carrier has been forced to cancel flights at least through Wednesday.
Spirit carries about 16,000 passengers on an average day. Of those, about 1,100 fly out of OIA, where Spirit accounts for only about 2 percent of all passenger traffic

 

ass to that the fact that passengers inconvenienced by having their flights canceled with no ability to rebook on other carriers will more than likely never give their $9 to Spirit ever again.

YouTube - Spirit Pilots' Strike Forces More Cancellations

Got a kick out of the lady at that end;
"For me, it's unfair for me, you know the passenger because I no agree wit the amount they ax them. Because now the economy is in bad sape"

I get special little warm feeling in my heart with that little gem of an excuse.
Just goes hand in hand with the ongoing undeserved sense of self-entitlement that passengers get when paying $9 for a seat.

 

I'm guessing that Spirit, like many other carriers has some sort of inter-airline agreement to carry passengers that are displaced due to mechanical failure, overbooking, etc. Airline A (Spirit) cancels the flight and redirects reservations to Airline B (Air Tran). Airline A ends up losing the revenue (or at least part of it) and pays airline B to carry their passengers.

The nature of the agreement means that this wouldn't be struck work since Spirit has no financial gain during the process. Air Tran would be the whole beneficiary.

 

If the strike is prolonged (IE into the next revenue planning cycle), expect to see other carriers increase their capacity along the routes overlap the segments that Spirit served. The other airlines will do all they can to gain Spirit's market share.

 

I believe that if a carrier already flys the route then it's not struck work. But if we ADD FLL to anywhere Spirit flys, then that is struck work.

Good job noticing the added flight in the first place and making sure it's right!

 

this is taken from spirits contract of carriage under section 7 regarding delayed and cancled flights

7.2. Rebooking

When a customer holding a confirmed reservation on a flight will be delayed because of a schedule
irregularity (including but not limited to, a missed connection, flight cancellation, omission of a
scheduled stop, substitution of equipment, a different class of service or schedule change), Spirit will
rebook the customer on Spirit's first available flight on which seats are available to the customer's
destination without additional charge.

Spirit will not reimburse customers for flights that they take on other carriers.

I dont think they are offering any sort of help to their passengers.