Yes new hire classes in the same email that mentions the word furlough and reduction of force. Makes so much sense. This place is run by monkeys at least the other airline CEO’s have been honest


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The also mentioned any reduction of force would first be mitigated by the voluntary leaves and early retirement packages.

We have 50 people scheduled to retire in the next 5 years, I don't think anyone younger than 60 wil take an early out, so that is not going to have any impact. The VLOA is unpaid, so the only ones taking that are going to be the bottom of the list just to avoid furlough and keep benefits.

I’d like to see tiered options in line with what AA has offered - those seem a lot more likely to be accepted by a useful number of pilots than straight unpaid LOAs & early retirements (which, as previously mentioned, don’t really apply here). Not sure how realistic that is, but heck I’d be willing...

AA has an option for early retirement at 50hr/month pay at 62, but only 30 pilots would be eligible if that was offered here. Their VLOA pays 50hr/month, so that is a lot more attractive.

what are these tiered options at AA you speak of?

1. Unpaid LOA up to 12mo, retaining seniority & all benefits.

2. Paid (55hr) LOA of 1, 3, or 6mo, retaining seniority & all benefits.

3. Paid (50hr) Permanent LOA for ages 62+, retaining all benefits.

The reason AA offers paid leave is because of their diverse fleet. They have parked all the wide bodies, so all their senior people are now without work. If they want to furlough, they would have to retrain many people. We don't have to do anything but re-qualify some people for the right seat if we furlough.

This is so on point. The downside of having a limited fleet is that it makes it very easy to just shed a bunch of FOs give one to Sim to your captains to make them FOs and continue along. That’s why most likely Southwest and spirit would not offer any type of stay at home pay.

Its also that single fleet type that will help SWA and Spirit survive this, by not having massive training costs in displacements.

I can’t imagine people taking the VLOA with no credit. When they don’t get enough takers, I’d imagine they would have to strike a deal for paid VLOA; its the easiest way to shed near term
costs, without the costs of furlough.

Just curious but what are the costs of furlough? As well no bennies with a furlough?

it costs the company a lot to furlough. Hard to put an exact number on it, but it’s a lot.

Can you take a voluntary leave and request the first class once available?

Can you explain how did you come up with “a lot”? I don’t see how furloughs can cost NK money. Downgrading captains for us would require some sim requal, but we own them and they’ll be underused anyways.

Because downgrade causes displacements. I was displayed once at my last airline. It cost the company almost $10,000 for a commercial company to move our stuff and broken lease fees.

And if I get downgraded and they furlough a second year FO they save $20K per month just in salary, never mind healthcare and other contributions.

Let me guess, that was a regional right? Just basic numbers will tell you how much 500 downgraded captains will save the company on a 3-month period. Again, I’m not saying furloughs are happening, but they would save the company lots of dough.

Yes that was a regional, it still doesn’t change the fact that displacing pilots still has a cost which I pointed out. Furlough and downgrade may or may not be the best outcome for the company. It depends how long they want to do it for.

I’d bet not many displaced would actually move. Also, my guess is they will not pay the furlough pay in the contract. Furloughs at a single fleet carrier aren’t that expensive and if you bring guys back relatively quickly my guess is it’s a short course

Why do they even need to do a short course? Warmup and PC for up to 1 year furlough. At least that's how it was done last time around.

landings at least

How does Spirit view second-time applicants? I applied and interviewed just before the shut down of our lives and received a TBNT letter nine days later. I'm confident, or at least hopeful, things will turn around for the better in a matter of months to a couple years.

I can apply again in six months (mid September) and am counting down the days to when I am eligible to do so. But what are my chances the second time around assuming all is well (enough) with the industry? Do they like the persistence of an applicant, or is it a red flag to them when they see that you were not hired the first time around?

Thanks for any insight.

Absolutely they like persistence. I went through the same thing, kept applying, and was hired eventually. Face time with a meet and greet will help a lot as well. Good luck!

Fantastic news, thank you! I will keep at it until I get it then.

Yes persistence is a good sign. A friend of mine got the TBNT the first time, but got an offer for a class date the 2nd time. Attending 2-3 job fairs to talk to a Spirit recruiter was normal in the past.

The guy I flew with today got it on his second try. He went to a "Meet the Chiefs" the second time, and was hired on the spot. Good luck!

Excellent news, thanks guys. I attended WAI in March and received an internal recommendation from one of your senior Chicago captains. Hoping I can do a meet the chiefs sometime in order to show more interest before or around September.

Rumor is September hiring? Maybe we will find out tomorrow on the town hall!

Funny I heard a similar rumor the other day. Who knows, I would be happy with an official we are not intending on furloughing.


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This would obviously be amazing news, but wouldn't we expect that they would play these cards close to their chests until right up to the last moment?

Obviously an intent to hire would also indicate an intent not to furlough, but with so many sociological and biological threats floating around at the moment, I would think they'd be wise to give it as much time as possible, in order to go in either direction?

Amen to that. I feel we have the potential to weather this better than many of our peers & watching the TSA numbers continue to climb is encouraging, but an official announcement would go a long way for my peace of mind!

you are correct! Big announcement at the town hall...

first they are going to announce that we are getting WIFI for the 3rd time. (Restart)

Second, we are going to be hiring 36 pilots a month, and do 14 CUG/month.

Third, new routes

If I remember correctly some include;

EWR-YUL
EWR-OKC
EWR-DFW
SEA-ANC
ORD-GJT (seasonal)

and some others that United and Southwest are abandoning.

just make sure you wear your black and yellow whilst listening in.

Plane Rumors

I have also heard that the name “Spirit” is now considered racist in some loose way like apparently everything else now in this country and they are going to announce we are changing our name to “Essence Airlines”

Plane Rumors

1."Big News"
2.See long post and think "oh this could be good"
3. Double check person just in case it's...
4. Dagummit

They could announce new hire and upgrade classes for September and then turn around and furlough in October. Ask me how I know...

this second wave of the ‘Rona kinda scares me. But doesn’t seem to be slowing us down...yet. Guess we shall see how it shakes outs.

Plane Rumors

Some people are ignoring what our MEC said in its last update. They’re actively working with the company to come up with a furlough mitigation plan and basically said “keep planning as if a reduction in workforce will be necessary”.
The spike in cases in almost half of the states can easily dampen the returning demand we are seeing. A new lockdown won’t happen, but public’s traveling desire could swing either way. Too much uncertainty to be looking into hiring (in my opinion). I don’t think we’ll hear much on this town hall meeting. I’m sure the same repetitive questions will pop again.
It’s my opinion that we’ll still be a over staffed by October, hopefully not by much.

Not to crap in your Wheaties, but this is still the first wave.

On the town hall call today they pretty much laughed at the idea of hiring a single pilot more in 2020.

in fact, sounded like downsizing was coming, just that they’re hoping it’s voluntary, although “it would be great if we don’t have to do anything involuntarily”

not where I live...


and I eat corn flakes