Congrats on jumping ship there are a few of us here from where you're coming from. I'm not going to lie it's not puppy dogs and rainbows here but I'll take it any day over where you are coming from. I will say be prepared for training here it's crazy, the instructors are good but the foot print and short number of sims is brutal. How long have you been at your current place?

In my time at Spirit I don't remember hearing a single person say "man I wish I'd stayed at my regional instead of coming to spirit". Likewise, very few of those who had upgraded to CA at 4-5 years were second-guessing their decision to not start all over again at the bottom of the payscale flying the MD or whatever.

I absolutely love it here. I applied a long time ago and always wanted to work here. Sure a few things could be better but I enjoy coming to work and the crews are great. I have no desire for leaving, do not have any apps in at legacies, and would only consider them if this place ceased to exist. This place has the potential to grow as big as Southwest. The only thing to worry about is a potential merger or sale. I believe the Spirit stigma is getting better, I defend NK when people complain (which gets annoying) but people complain about every airline. Nobody messes with you from management unless you do something stupid outside of the books. For me the quality of life, in base living, airbus flying, great crews, and decent pay outweighs an extra 20 an hour at the legacies.

Once you have a line, is it possible to credit 100+ a month? In other words, is there a lot of open time?

No way would I have stayed at my regional but I would start all over again for a Delta/United/FedEx job.


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Sure it’s possible. Just don’t plan on being home a lot unless you really score some sweet trip swaps.

To be honest, Spirit was never really in my radar until a few things happened and forced me out of corporate/charter life (selling of airplanes and changes in contracts). I knew I wanted to be DFW based but can’t stand the dynamics of an AA cockpit. I have been in too many that both pilots can’t stand each other and have a major chip on their shoulder. I know there are some good guys out there, but the majority of the time sitting in an AA jumpseat was less than comfy and cozy.

I love it here at Spirit, and have no intention of leaving. I’m a young guy (33) and definitely could go elsewhere, but Spirit checks all the boxes and I truly believe it will only get better. Trust me I know it’s not perfect by any means! Definitely has some flaws and kinks that need to be worked out. Would also be nice to get a sense of direction from the new CEO!

At 33, you're giving up multi-millions in career compensation that you could donate to your favorite charity or contribute to reducing the national debt. Have you considered getting an AA offer to make it more than a mental exercise? In order to get a complete picture, maybe talk to some of those that have left AA to go to Spirit..

Are classes full until fall?

I talked to a few guys that left AA to come to Spirit they told me it was the best decision they ever made.