I love your explanation of QoL benefits at NK, and would love to work under those rules. But there are two counter-points I'd like to make:

1) That will all end when JB takes you over.

2) Your QoL comes at a price... about 86.5% of what a Delta pilot enjoys, plus PS. So yes, you probably have more time off, but you're also making a lot less overall, working for about 75% of what the "big boys" make.

Money isn't everything, but it DOES pay the bills. As long as one has a separate source of income, your work rules would make for a great way of life!

The NK X trips and JB VDA trips are great, once one achieves enough seniority to hold them (requires more seniority at JB than is does at NK).

 

We all don't suffer from little dick syndrome..... I make plenty of money and choose when I work. I'm good.

 

These arguments are all very interesting. No one at NK is going hungry or homeless for that matter. Everyone enjoys money, but how do you quantify Christmas with the fam, anniversary with the spouse, new years with friends, etc..? Making all that money and no way to enjoy it when it matters most.

Not throwing shade, that POV always left me scratching my head

 

Exactly.

For me personally, I do not live to serve corporate overlords. The beautiful thing about Spirit is you have a choice, though. If you are after money, you can hustle and out-earn your peers at other airlines, or chill out and focus on other things in life. Credit a bunch one month, and go backpack around Europe the next.

Just about every pilot I've talked to wishes we'd just stay Spirit.

 

Give me a break. The percentage of NK pilots working Christmas or New Year's, or your wife's anniversary is the same at JB and NK, and directly proportional to the amount of flying each airline does on that day of the year. SOMEONE has to fly Christmas. SOMEONE has to fly New Year's. SOMEONE has to fly weekends. SOMEONE has to fly Oct 11th.

 

Of course, but with some seniority, you can play the game and to get those days off. Not even that much seniority either to be able to play said game.

I spoke to a retired UA guy and he said that in his 20+ years at UA, he never got Christmas off. Since only 4 lines had the 25th off, the top 4 pilots in base would get it. At Spirit, I’ve spoken to pilots who are sub 10 years on property holding the major holidays off.

I know how QOL is hard to see with all those Benjamins in the way, but it’s there, Bluedriver.

 

Here we go again, the same argument of "just trust me bro, you never have to work holidays because reasons and you can put earn your peers at other airlines" which I just don't believe.

 

My first year here, I was able to drop my reserve days over the Christmas holiday. 2 numbers from the bottom….

 

Until your base is shrunk and you're displaced. Ask the DTW, ORD, and DFW guys how much they enjoy being commuters now.

Wonderful QOL from the only airline to displace pilots in what, the last decade?

 

JB 12+ years. Have NEVER worked a Christmas or Easter. I've sometimes CHOSE to work a thanksgiving because I choose, for my own reasons, with my own strategy. I've never worked a 4th of July, although I screwed up my bid (didn't realize it would hit me with a carry-out from June) once and was scheduled to work one, but it was with a check airmen, and was bought.

Your own example proves my point. If only 4 lines had the 25th off for this United pilot, only 4 pilots got it off (not counting reserves). If that were ever true at Spirit, the same proportion of guys would HAVE to work Christmas. The flights WILL be covered. The proportion of JB, NK and UAL pilots with Christmas off is the same, and directly proportional to the amount of flying the airline does that day.

You're missing a basic understanding of airline scheduling.