Excargodog

I think there is an added factor. The B6 CEO was concessionary from the get-go in an investor chat about the pilot shortage being real, and that B6 was going to have to up the ante for a working CBA. Neither NK nor F9 have shown any indication they are willing to share any of the money they are going to save from all those “synergies” with their pilot groups. So what does F9 think it’s really buying?

It’s increasingly difficult for anyone to leave a major after they make CA. Even F9 and NK CA pay is pretty fair money, but it’s also the seniority that has been accrued that will be lost by starting over, both in going back to the bottom of the bidding and going back to ~$90K (or less counting training pay) at a legacy. Not impossible, and yeah, if you are young enough even economically worth doing. But nonetheless a real grind for a number of years, just to break even.

I think that the B6 plan is to actually compete with the Big Four, both domestically and narrow body internationally, and to be a career airline for pilots that go there. I think the intention was for Sprontier to keep the CAs they’ve got and largely fill their FO ranks with wet-ink ATPs who will be paid just enough to keep them until they have the bonafides they need to move on, keeping only enough to fill their own few retirements and condemning the existing CAs to eternal unpaid IOE instructors.

B6 knows that to make their plan work they are going to have to negotiate a competitive CBA with the Big Four. F9 and the NK BOD hoped to be able to get people on the cheap through a never ending stream of newbie FOs and bottom of the industry CA pay. And absent B6 intervening, I think they would have pulled it off.

DEM1933

Good take Excargodog. For the senior captains at Frontier and Spirit, even those that like to teach, it could very well lead to frustration. Some may not be interested in sticking around until 67 or even 65.

CincoDeMayo

So true, a concern of mine. Luckily most of the new pilots we have at NK are still pretty solid, can’t blame the “newness,” we all had to still learn the plane. But not looking forward to a time where we are literally hiring guys that let’s say, “should be in another industry”.

SirHelios

This is exactly dead on. Be ready and make plans.

keysersose

I believe this too. I do believe the short term will be tough. Even Delta doesn't have enough pilots right now.

I expect Jetblue to park all the 190's immediately on the closure of the merger. That will solve the pilot problem for the short term. I do not see this part as a positive if you are wondering.

usmc-sgt

Update:

This thread has also run it course. New content goes here —->

Frontier/ Jetblue/ Spirit