Airline Pilot Central Forums - Spirit for the older guy?

Airline Pilot Central Forums (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/)

- Spirit (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/spirit/)

- - Spirit for the older guy? (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/spirit/144574-spirit-older-guy.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asiabound (Post 3698747)

The only negative thing about what you asked above is overtime. OT is tough to come by here unless you're based in MCO or FLL, guys might argue with me and there are exceptions, but it works a little different at Spirit. You can pick up open-time trips on days off IF you are a lineholder, but it's only at straight-pay. In order to get 200% you need to list for what they call X/Y list and if they call you and you take it? Then you get 200%. Not the best system IMO, but you can still easily pick up to about 90 hours credit once you are a line-holder. Other airlines you can pick up OT willy nilly at 200%, at Spirit they have to call you.

I don't know what's going on lately, the last few months the MCO FO Open Time pot has been absolutely barren except for the 14 hour 4 day red eye trips... I take a peek at FLL as well since its in driving distance and same story. I know October/September are slower months but there's not even an option to pick up a straight time trip. First time I ever thought that B6's no picking up in other bases was a good idea... I'd still rather have it our way but seriously it's a wasteland in open time. I showed it to the Captain on last trip, plenty of stuff in their open time, he couldn't believe how it was on the FO side.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asiabound (Post 3698747)

I've met a few guys that fit your profile here, your expectations seem to be in line with what you will get and I think you will enjoy it. From day 1 indoc to checkride will be about 60-70 days, I'm not sure how long the wait to start OE is, but probably plan another month. I did my training over Thanksgiving a few years ago and we got five days off, not sure if that is normal or not. Operating Experience (OE) is done system wide so the company will deadhead you around the system to where the check airman is to complete it. While all this is happening you put in a system bid for what base you want, availability is driven 100% by seniority. By the time you complete OE you should be able to at least hold IAH, maybe ORD if you're lucky. Plan on 6-8 months reserve in IAH, once you hold ORD probably up to 1.5 years of reserve.

The only negative thing about what you asked above is overtime. OT is tough to come by here unless you're based in MCO or FLL, guys might argue with me and there are exceptions, but it works a little different at Spirit. You can pick up open-time trips on days off IF you are a lineholder, but it's only at straight-pay. In order to get 200% you need to list for what they call X/Y list and if they call you and you take it? Then you get 200%. Not the best system IMO, but you can still easily pick up to about 90 hours credit once you are a line-holder. Other airlines you can pick up OT willy nilly at 200%, at Spirit they have to call you.

We have a lot of ZED fare partner airlines to choose from worldwide.

Hope that helps.

Other airlines you can pick up willy nilly... if you have a bot or are super senior. At least here every one has a shot at OT. I think you're the first person I've heard speak negatively of the X/Y system honestly, which is fine to each their own I'm just a bit surprised... and some what new, in one of those bases you mentioned.

Quote:

Originally Posted by golf59 (Post 3701915)

I just wish that anything posted in open-time automatically paid premium. The premium pay column is rarely checked on Flica. Anything picked up out of open time only pays 100%, I think JetBlue pays like 125% minimum. That said, I'm Texas based I rarely get called for X or Y, and I do list for it usually 5-10 days per month depending. My FLL and MCO friends get a ton of calls, we rarely get them here.

But... first world problems I guess. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asiabound (Post 3702067)

“Hey Bob, it’s Tom. Captain grid is green. Are you on Flica? I’m going to drop my 4 day, you pick it up and get the 125%. Then, you drop one of your 4 days an I’ll pick it up for 125%”

If only it was that easy

Quote:

Originally Posted by golf59 (Post 3701915)

Yes and no. I'm a captain in FLL, and after the bots crash flica during DOT open at 1200 there isn't much leftover for everyone else.

There is a notorious brazilian CA here in FLL who has nabs up all of the day turns right at the strike of DOT. He bids weekends off with red eye turns and other garbage junior pairings, drops all of it in IOT because it's normally green during the week, and then somehow manages to suck up most of whatever day turns are available at the start of DOT despite flica crashing.

i would love to know his secret but I have a pretty good idea of what it might be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asiabound (Post 3702067)

List for the Xlist every single day of every month. Crew scheduling regularly makes mistakes (calling out of order, missing info on VM, etc…) and you can take advantage of those and file NCCs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asiabound (Post 3702067)

I don’t know a single airline that pays pilots more than 100% straight pay for normal open time pickups.

Frontier does pay 125% for credit over 85hrs(?) I think.

Thats a pittance but the *****s would gobble up even more open time than they do now and there would be zero x/y 200%

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asiabound (Post 3702067)

I just wish that anything posted in open-time automatically paid premium. The premium pay column is rarely checked on Flica. Anything picked up out of open time only pays 100%, I think JetBlue pays like 125% minimum. That said, I'm Texas based I rarely get called for X or Y, and I do list for it usually 5-10 days per month depending. My FLL and MCO friends get a ton of calls, we rarely get them here.

But... first world problems I guess. :)

No we don't. It's either:

1. Straight - 100%
2. Premium - if the X is beside the trip, 150%.
3. RSA - sit reserve, paid at 150%/175% if used. They send an email out when offering RSA, you request to accept it in Flica.
4. VDA - 200%, you list and they call you if they need you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bgood (Post 3702501)

Worse than NK...

Quote:

Originally Posted by CincoDeMayo (Post 3702664)

Worse than NK...

Yep. NK's X/Y system is pretty awesome. The way they divvy up who gets called makes premium flying accessible to everyone, not just the super senior. And it's plentiful. I've been called for 200% trips and wasn't even listed on the X/Y list, lol. The comment earlier in the thread about there being no premium flying here is not accurate.