Pilot Furlough Recalls!
 

Email out today stating all Pilots will be recalled for Summer. Great news for all!

Let’s hope it’s a long term thing and they don’t recall just to furlough again later in the year

Congratulations!

I bet less than 10% actually return. The ones that were experienced most likely have moved to a better company by now, and the low time ones are at the regionals and have more seniority now than they would if they returned to spirit. Unless they are sub 2500 hours and live in Lauderdale, they will stay gone.

The risk they face is to give up whatever flying job they have moved on to so that they just get furloughed again or the company shuts down and they have to start over again. Nobody that's moved onto a major is coming back. What's still puzzling is that they haven't released December monthly operating report because most leases were rejected in October and November so December should be a good idea of company finances. They aren't releasing it for a reason and that can't be a good sign.

NK will be happy if there is a low uptake on recalls especially mandatory recalls. It means they will forfeit their unvested 401k. Thats a lot of money going back to Spirit which can subsidize training new hires. Getting first yr pay FO's on the books will bring down their labor costs.

Over/Under on how many go back? 10%? 20%?

If it was me and was gone, I'd stay gone. Good luck NK bros & sis.

Lowest pay scale pilots are good, yes. The problem is the people who come (if they even can get people) as a new hire and leave within months. That's a lot of training costs. There needs to be a training bond. We lost so much money, I bet, on the people who got the A320 type and left within a few months after.

I flew with a new hire FO a couple years ago that said as soon as he got his A320 type rating at Spirit he updated his United app and got an email within a week to start the process. He spent a total of 4 months at Spirit. I've heard the same from those that came from Frontier and Allegiant as well. Most were there less than 6 months.

Unless unemployed with nothing to lose, taking a class date with a company that is in a fight for survival already comes with significant risks. Add a training bond to that and you’d likely find it extremely difficult to find people willing to take the job. Unless Spirit can return to profitability, they appear to be in a damned if they do, damned if they don’t situation.

Bendo? Is that you?

You want to take concessionary wages, an airline future in question, and now tack on a training bond like regional airlines do?

If someone wants to come and leave, thats on them. NOBODY owes anything to Spirit after those in the glass offices derailed everyone's career at the airline.

You really want to hire pilots who are willing to sign up for servitude with an airline that won't let them leave but will furlough their behind in a blink of an eye?

I think if training bonds were implemented at Spirit new hire pilots would accept it believing that the airline isn't going to make it and that it won't matter because the airline can't enforce a training bond when they close their doors. Also if someone under a training bond was offered a job at United or Delta I believe the training bond would not be a big enough incentive for them to stay and they would leave anyway because the lifetime benefit of getting to your final airline instead of waiting for a training bond to expire and give up 3-5 years of mainline seniority isn't worth it by any stretch.

Their rationale would be it got them the type rating and helped them get a quicker job at their destination airline, so its just a cost of doing business.

A training bond would just be another huge step backwards for the pilots of Spirit. We worked very hard to get rid of things like a 15 year pay scale, $38/hr, and a 401k match; replaced with 12 year pay scales, livable starting pay, and a real DC on par with the big boy airlines. Some of this has already been chipped away with concessions, to have pilots on here advocating for training bonds, is insanity.

Stoked to hear recalls are happening!! I really hope this is a good sign for things to come!

Whats this training bond I keep hearing about? Is that really going to be a thing for those recalled/hired?

They can issue a training bond only if Spirit guarantees employment to them during the duration of said bond.

Factor in how spirit new hire training is Un-appealing getting paid only 1500 per month is huge gamble if the airline is on shaky ground

There are a bunch of CFIs out there past 1500tt still trying to get on with the regionals. Spirit won’t have a hard time finding new hires.

No it isn't. It's just being tossed around as a hypothetical to keep new hires from leaving.

While perhaps true.. I often wonder how much "guaranteed flow to XYZ Legacy!" keeps CFIs "thinking about XYZ regional" and away from F9, Allegiant, Spirit.. etc..

No need to debate the history of flow, and the success rate of people getting what they're promised.. if a CFI doesn't know any better, I wonder how many will "wait"..

Don't forget our first year pay rate is now lower than the regionals 1st year rate. So even when they finish training they’ll still be making less than their buddies at regionals.

Wait. Your 401k has a vesting schedule?

6 years to fully vest

So...pretty much like a training bond without all the stigma.

Dunno if the soon to be flows will read this but it's much more favorable to be an A320 typed pilot at a legacy than a flow. Why wait in line when you can jump it with better experience?

Whuuuuuut? 6 yrs? My previous frac was only a year.

Wow that’s really interesting. Thanks for taking time out of your day to share that with us.

Oh I agree, and that's what I've seen my whole life.. people spent 10 years at a regional (maybe I'm exaggerating) and they say they're still years from flow... But they REALLY wanted to be at that airline they have flow to.. but they give up, come to Spirit, get the type.. boom.. phones ringing..

But I guess I just wonder.. half of CFIs? More than half?? Will say something like "I really want to go to [DL, UA or AA] so why go to Spirit when I'm in the pool for an airline that will flow me there in three years!"..

91 flights cancelled this weekend. These recalls can’t come soon enough.

Not really, just a fake benefit. You can still take your contributions with you.

Not trying to stir the pot but what percentage does your union expect to accept their recall notices?

[QUOTE=flynd94;4011295]Not trying to stir the pot but what percentage does your union expect to accept their

The union doesn't know, management doesn't know, hell...some of the recalls might not even know themselves yet if they'll take it. Even if all of them miraculously returned though, staffing would still be break-even at best at the end of Q1 when compared to the beginning of Q1.

I accepted the recall. I wonder how quickly they can train us up.

Assuming Vegas is now a senior base for those of us on the west coast?

LAS FO plug is #1272 on the April bid pack. July 2019 hire.

Congratulations, happy to have you back!

I'm curious how the flying will be, I'm hoping I can get a ton of time to make up for the year i was furloughed. Reserves still always in the red?

yes - actually many days are negative numbers - like not just red but reddest hahaha! Welcome back!

Wow, I was an Oct 2019 hire and I held Vegas as a CAPTAIN 3 years ago. That's nuts.

It takes a 2011 hire or older to hold a CA line in Vegas...