Southernpilot

That's a great way of putting it Gloopy. Good food for thought. Thank you

bruhaha

I'd keep that tidbit to yourself. Spirit is a bit sensitive towards those looking at spirit as a stepping stone or 121 currency builder.

About half of the new hire classes at Spirit are non-121 pilots. So a 135-only background isn't a disqualifier.

Southernpilot

Good to know. Thank you

Herman

I remember a light bulb being burned out on this enormous Spirit sign in Detroit on night. It read..."Fly Spit"!

gloopy

We had a bunch of lightbulbs burn out in our signs on the west coast. For years they said "Fly Alaska!" They've finally been replacing the burnt out bulbs though.

ManFlex

You presume you'd get hired at Spirit quickly if your intention is to build 121 time for a legacy carrier. If you need 121 time to advance your career and you need it now, perhaps look for a jet regional with a base where you live?

Timing is everything and for someone with your qualifications, 121 jet SIC is mostly all the same. You could be in class on a CRJ or E Jet within a month. Spirit or JetBlue or Southwest could take much longer to get hired and that defeats the point of using them as a stepping stone.

Southernpilot

The more I think about it I don't think I was being very accurate with my statement. I understand Spirit to be a very nice place to work. I would imagine that I'd be happier there then where I am now. If they would have me, I would build 121 time, and therefore would be more marketable. However, when ever I go to work for a company I'm always respectful of the investment they have made in me and I always consider that investment when planning future moves. With that said, I'd imagine most the people at Spirit are happy they are more marketable with their 121 time. As would I.

Southernpilot

Thanks for your input. Every bit of constructive input helps with my decision. I've struggled with the thought of going to work for a regional for a while now. I currently feel that I could be happy at Spirit for the indefinite future, if the dream job never called. However, I don't think I could say the same for a local regional. Unless the upgrade times drop down. Which I'm watching.
With that said, I'm only thinking Spirit because I feel that is as high up the "ladder" as I can realistically reach. I understand they hire competent 135 pilots regularly. Some years ago they hired someone from my department (no 121). Also, by the third year I'd be making what I make now.

I didn't think of Spirit as being in the same league as South West and Jet Blue. I know they are all low cost carriers but I thought SW and JB where harder to get on with.

I'm probably clogging up the thread and getting in the way of all the real airline pilots celebrating their victory. Thanks for all the info. If anyone else has some more feel free to PM me.
Sincerely, Southernpilot

ManFlex

Southwest is harder to get hired at as I'm sure their volume of applicants is higher than both Spirit or JetBlue. I would say Spirit and JetBlue are probably equally difficult to get hired at right now.

I get where you're coming from and I think you could find Spirit a good place to stay for a career or at a minimum a good place to wait until one of the Big Three (DL, UA or AA) calls. My main point was that IF 121 SIC time was what you were after to be competitive for the legacies, there are easier and quicker ways to get it than to get hired at a LCC. Especially for someone like yourself who already has lots of TPIC time.

ghilis101

From an economic standpoint, does Spirit honestly care if theyre a revolving door? Theyre the #1 airline in the US in profit margin by a long shot. If they can get an FO to fly for them on first year pay for 6 months and then bail to a major, they would take that deal any day of the week. Their training costs are fixed costs and essentially irrelevant. Don't worry about using Spirit as a stepping stone. Their management secretly LOVES it!