Sure it's relevant. The reasons for ups and downs at fee for departure vs ULCC vs whatever else may sometimes be different, but that doesn't make them any less impactful to the employees. That's the only point he was making.

Ignorant troll is trolling! :rolleyes:

Hi Tom, I was in your boat this past January. I spoke with both and ultimately went with F9. If it helps, here were my considerations:

1) Both F9 and NKS are hiring about the same number of pilots per month, but NKS is about 50% bigger. Simple math says F9 is going to be a faster upgrade. (but they are both still WAY faster than legacies).

2) Though the airline industry as a whole is growing at the moment, the LCC's are operating more profitably and at cheaper margins, thus making them more resistant to market shocks... meaning I believe the chance of furlough is less there.

3) Despite what many may wish, the ULCC trend will, I believe, continue to take market share from the legacy carriers' domestic operations. As example, look at the European distribution of seat-sales between ULCC and their older names in the business.

4) NKS has a much better contract than F9, but I expect the latter to have a very significant compensation adjustment in their next contract (starts March 2016).

5) The pilot group at NKS and F9 is much younger and less bitter than... other larger carriers.

6) Pay is great, up to a certain dollar value. Then that "next dollar" of pay is worth less than a bit more quality of life. Find what makes you happy and choose from there.

7) Finally- and this is in hind-sight- I only had to sit reserve two months at F9 before getting a line. I'm not sure what it is at the legacies, but I imagine that's hard to beat.

This is just my opinion- hope it helps. Good luck to you.

Oh, and don't mind all the trolls here. Once you've "made it" to our career destination, sometimes there's nothing to do but complain. Some people look at the down side of everything. Stay positive :)

+1 Joey. You just earned yourself a new fan on APC for this.

Thanks for the thoughtful post.

I think both are great prospects. Yes, both are growing rapidly, but growth for growth's sake requires caution. Wall Street seems to be overly sensitive to capacity/demand changes, and both airlines have proved that consumers enjoy a la carte pricing structures.

Franke molded Spirit just the way he wanted- it didn't require Circle K-esque changes or draconic America West house cleaning. He sold his stake and took over F9- things seem to be getting more and more similar to the Spirit model. I feel like F9 needed drastic changes, and Franke exercised his might bringing in 3rd party agents. The dust is still airborne, but hopefully things will settle down and F9 will continue to provide it's solid product.

Can't say I'd be surprised about a F9/Spirit relationship down the road- it'd bolster F9 financially while giving Spirit a strong western footprint.

Window Seat seems to have gotten to everyone- guy was probably just having a bad day- likely went home and kicked the dog. Ultimately we're all in this industry together. Sharing our knowledge and support with each other helps us to stay informed and make smarter decisions for us and our families.

For the record...ive been here 3 and a half years (NK)....been in the left seat for almost a year and will make over 150k this year. QOL is top notch here and if your a family man its the best gig around. Highly doubt id be making this much coin at a legacy in the right seat. As far as retirement and LTD go, we desperatley need changes made in the next contract. Cant speak for f9 but upgrades at NK are still below the 3 year mark with no signs of slowing....for now

Nice figure. 150K comes out to be 95+ hours a month. Seems like you have to work for it to earn that much coin.

FYI F9's most recent CA award went 9/2007. Still not 2-3 year mark...yet. FOs bypassing is a huge drive behind the upgrades right now.

What's LTD?

You can make $150k/year at a legacy as an FO with the same longevity. You'll also have a 15-16% direct contribution plan that allows for better retirement while at the same time allowing you to keep your own monthly earnings instead of spending it to receive a meager 401k matching.

I'd equate what's going on at Frontier and Spirit to what we saw in the mid-2000s at regionals. Fast growth and folks incorrectly correlating a quick upgrade with QOL and high compensation. Obviously a fast upgrade is nice, but at a ULCC it's a necessity because the FO pay is so terrible and there really aren't any other compensation package benefits worth mentioning. At a legacy a quick upgrade is nice too, but upgrade is not a necessity to achieve a high income and retirement. Therein lies the difference.

On the other hand... The big question is how long will the pay-leaders of the industry go before their next house-cleaning. It's a crappy industry and you're rolling the dice anywhere you go.