NK/F9 Merger Announced
 

First dance move has been made.

You quick...

Now comes the hard part, how will they integrate everything and everyone? Mergers seem to rarely go well for all parties involved. I couldn't tell, but I wonder who is taking over who? Are we buying them out or vice versa? Lots of details to be had for sure.

According to CNBC, they own the controlling share of 51.5%. Spirit owns 48.5%. Not sure what that is going to mean moving forward.

Been calling it for a few years . Short term pain but I think long term gain

That’s what she said.

Let the meme war begin

Please let Pebbles the Hamster be our first Spirit Animal.

Time for us all to brush up on that merger section of the contract.

Both pilot groups are ALPA so that should help.

Better than getting AirTranned.

Gotta keep Red/Green. Non negotiable. 😂

Well it beats getting Air tranned I guess.

hope we stay yellow. Love the color

Howdy
 

..new friends. How long is upgrade currently running at NK? It’s ~3 1/2 years on the Bearside (?) but I imagine they’ll be a scramble for the left seat at both companies…

We broke ground on that new Hq , and Florida is tax friendlier state ..
my bet is headquarters is in Fort Lauderdale. I’m betting Ted stays CEO. As for the name and color I’m not so sure . Spirit has spent a lot adding yellow to everything .. so I’m leaning staying yellow. But I wouldn’t put money on it .

Does this mean we won't get the yellow pants anymore?

Animal print.

Fantastic opportunity to rebrand and lose the rep, though

Indigo partners has been on a mission to dominate the ULCC market. The Frontier executive culture is not in favor of many of Spirit's labor agreements.
I would expect with F9 holding a controlling interest, their will be some very difficult Union integration discussions particularly issues such as scheduling.

F9 management does not want a scheduling flexibility program like that at NK and I would not be surprised if they refuse to adopt such amongst both unions unless both unions come together strong and demand it is preserved.

As far as the upgrades and growth/movement potential, I don't know that it will have much benefit in the near term. It may take upwards of one to three years for a full integration and operational synergies to be established.

Going to be very interesting.

So.. should I not attend my MTC event tomorrow?

It may not be popular, but as an F9 guy l Look forward to this. I have always been treated great by spirit crews. Seems like two like minded pilot groups that I will be proud to stand with.

You need a CBA prior to an integrated seniority list. So if the new management wants to play “hard ball”’on scheduling, it delays the SLI, which delays those operational synergies you speak about

Ditto. From a long-term standpoint, I am happy to hear this news.

The CNBC article says Franke will be the chair, but the CEO is still to be determined.

I just heard all 3 on CNBC 30 minutes ago. They were all
asked who CEO would be . They said they have no answer to announce . So unless that changed In 30 minutes I still like Teds chances

yes. Unless you don’t want to work for a i airline

Definitely go. It's not a done deal yet, as it still needs federal approval. It will take years for the merger to fully happen.

DOJ not withstanding I’d imagine it could proceed much faster than mergers of the past. We’re much more similar than different internally.

if you’re serious with this question then yes. Skip it.

Agree, same fleet type and nearly identical business models. This will go quicker than any in the past.

That is in the eye of the beholder. ALPA sucks and will look out for their best interest only

I stand corrected. I still think somebody from Frontier will take the helm. I mean, has Christie really done such a bang up job where they would give an outsider the position?

They may well find someone from outside. Barry for the interim.
.

No need to get offended, of course I’m still attending!

You’re ridiculous

Us being ALPA helps the merger process vs a merger with say, SWA. ALPA merger policy requires other things to be considered as well as us needing a CBA prior to the ISL, which helps the pilots with achieving a new CBA faster.

SWAPA…haha…ok man

Hopefully no bases will be closed after the merger???

and hopefully the new airline “The Spirit of Frontier” will have the majority of Spirit managment. No cost cutting measures of Frontier.

This merger plus pilot shortage will create major gains across the board in your new joint contract.

Sun County plus hourly rates plus.

We still getting that base announcement? Ha

yeay yeah. the problem is your management sounds awful.. didnt you guys just kick everyone out of ORD with no warning whatsoever.

sounds like a great deal for F9 and a not so great deal for NK minus we all keep our jobs now.

yeah ORD closure to follow F9's closure

They also immediately fired pilots who submitted their two week resignation notices moving onto a different airline.