Payrates
 

Good Evening,

One FedEx gent keeps posting that Spirits Payrates greatly exceed FedEx 75 Pay

12 Year Capt Pay for Spirit is 242 on APC (not including the 321 override)
12 year FedEx is 262 (272 Nov 1st)

And tops out at 270 (282)

Wondering at the value comparison for a normal line holder at Spirit.
Does the 321 override make up that much ground?

No.
Filler....

12 year skipper here will top out at $259.6 at dos+4. Plus 1.015% override (diluted due to less proportion of 321 flying) comes to $263.49 on dos+4.
Hope this helps.

Less than 2% and dwindling as we continue to dilute 321 flying by buying/flying something other than 321’s.

The unlimited Oreos, M&M and cup of noodles makes up the difference

Don’t forget the blueberry muffins!

That’s 262 for the 757, 305 for the rest of the fleets topping at 313 @15 yr. not really apples to apples

Lol. At a roadshow, I asked our negotiators why they didn't just get us 2% more pay instead of the override. His answer was, " All airlines buy larger aircraft." Can't wait for those 220s! Not really.....

FedEx also has a pension on top of the DC retirement. Not to mention enough DH money in the travel bank to buy you and your family first class tickets so no nonreving ever.

Gent commenting was that 75 pay at FedEx inferior to that of Spirit folks.
Most people don’t even think of the A plan as compensation, but it’s essentially another 50k for 25 years that’s only taxed when you start collecting it. (No, FedEx doesn’t kick in 50k per person...that’s just the ballpark an individual would have to save to hit the wickets. Mortality tables have more of an impact than we’d like. And all too many of my brethren pass too soon in retirement, or don’t even make it that far)

DH $$. Only for the pilot. DH miles now, used for many a family trip

Time will tell about Spirit’s disability and mortality rate. We have a large amount of departures before the sun comes up and of course the red eyes. Most people wear the company headset which provides zero hearing protection. 10-20 years of that will have a large portion of us with permanent hearing loss. Let’s not forget the fume events, radiation, diet...

Diet?!?! Why I oughta...*places belly in wheelbarrow.

Plane Coffee

Just gonna say, I have yet to receive a single High-Five at FedEx and those mfr's are FREE at Spirit (but priceless all at once). Nor any inedible birthday cakes via company email. So.......:D

Curious if anyone has jumped ship to Spirit from another higher paying airline?

Was the first year pay cut worth it to go there?
Was it possible to pick up enough open time to try and reduce the gap in pay from former airline?
Is quality of life overall worth making the switch and having a painful year 1?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Why would you jump ship from a higher paying airline other than you live in a base?

No retirement benefits other than 5% match. As well as lots and lots of international long haul. Tough on a young family.

I’ve flown with a couple of ex Omni and Atlas guys. They said he first year was horrible, but the QOL to be home with their young kids made up for it.

Ok makes sense, I thought you were referring to a legacy or SWA, Alaska, etc.

Thanks guys appreciate it. QOL is big and the defined contribution is noting to laugh at (from my current point of view)!

Of course I’m sure the reserve life it will be for a while but on days off can open time be picked up and is it usually readily available?

I’d leave Alaska or any Atlas et al for spirit. That’s bout it.

Reserves can’t pick up open time, but you can put yourself on a list to be called for premium trips.

Is it possible to make $65k on year one? Working extra time of course. How likely would it be to bring in at least $5k a month?

It’s a little difficult to offset the first 2.5-3 months of training pay, $1800 isn’t much.

Some of your total depends on what the movement/hiring is when you get here. I teetered back and forth between reserve/line my first full calendar year. I put myself on the premium list during days off when on reserve and ironically sometimes made more than the months I had a hard line, (Premium trips go on top of reserve guarantee) but it’s tough to do that if you don’t live in/near base.

Yeah, those first months are brutal. But after that, crediting 90-95 hrs a month on year one could happen?

no.

filler

Occasionally if you are lucky with x/y list trips others wise no way.

A couple of months this year, I was able to do 90+ on reserve, by being used every reserve day, along with a few Move up with no X/Y. However, don’t expect it everyone month.

Thank you for the responses!!

Even as a line holder 90 is tough?

If you live in base it’s tough not to credit 90+ hours a month. 100+ is fairly easy.

If you live in an outstation, the Y list helps. Some outstations are more lucrative than others. I know a guy on Florida’s Gold Coast who credits 130+ a month, religiously, mostly off of last minute Y trip calls for RSW and TPA and the occasional MCO...

If you live in BFE, well then that’s entirely dependent on your willingness to work mostly for straight time I suppose...

When I started here, I had one week of unused vacation at my last job and 3 weeks of accrued vacation for the NEXT year they owed me. Between my last paychecks and the vacation payout, I took around 20k in payouts into my training pay months. If you save that to offset the training pay it’s not that painful. It sucks, but it’s easily doable.

I'm doing the same planning. By my math, min guarantee with no flying will be just enough to get by. I'll be eager to hold a line or at least fly on reserve and make some per diem.

I commute from a tiny city that's not going to be on Spirit's route map for awhile. It's still possible for me to do X list trips as they call with enough notice most of the time. I've had to turn down one or two for lack of a way to get there but that's the exception.

unless you live within driving distance of your base, its not realistic to do X Lists trips. occasionally they will call the night before but usually its for the next morning. not saying its impossible but its unlikely. best bet is waiting for “company designated premium trips” but those get gobbled up fast

I did one last month and two this month. All were commutable from my outstation home in the amount of time I had from call to show. Granted, the first two flights from my home airport arrive in Chicago before 8 in the morning Central Time so commutable for me is not what it is for many.

Depending on the base. Most of the trips in Vegas starts with a red eye. CS usually call around 8AM - Noon, for a 11PM departure. I would say 90% of there time those X list trips are commutable.

No matter how commutable these are or seem to be, these are NOT something to count on to make end's meet for a new hire.

For those who aren't here, premium calls are made based on the premium credit you've earned from premium trips for the year (if you've earned premium credit you go below someone who has earned less premium credit than you).

So just keep in mind that once you do one or two, your chances of getting picked up get lower and lower if you do more.

Have had three X-list trips in the last 3 months. Commute to work, had them buy me positive space every time (OAL twice).

Not that that really matters. Lineholders do 150+ hours X list in one summer month if they play their cards right. I agree it's not a way to try to make ends meet as a new hire though. You won't get enough months as a lineholder (better X list opportunities) to make a difference, especially at $57.

And this is the point, just because one guy is lucky enough to be off and X/Y listed on the right days and gets called often, it doesn’t mean another guy is sure to get called on his off days. A first year pilot might get lucky some months, but I wouldn’t come here with the expectation that I can pick up a couple thousand dollars of premium flying every month.

and not all bases are equal for frequency of calls!