Spirit Airlines billboard near Atlantic City airport warns pilots may go on strike !

[mickey2000]

Spirit Airlines billboard near Atlantic City airport warns pilots may go on strike
By The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
May 14, 2010, 1:02PM
MAYS LANDING -- A billboard posted in Mays Landing near Atlantic City International Airport is warning that pilots from Spirit Airlines may go on strike, according to a report by PressofAtlanticCity.com.

Passengers are encouraged to check future flights in case pilots go on strike due to a union disagreement with a federal panel, said the report. Spirit is Atlantic City International Airport's main carrier.

 

[ibcnu]

Spirit says it will keep flying if pilots strike
(AP) – 16 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Spirit Airlines said it will work with other air carriers to keep flying if its pilots strike on Saturday.

Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson said on Tuesday that the airline is "partnering with other air carrier providers to continue to serve our customers." She declined to identify whom Spirit planned to work with, or to say how much of its schedule it will maintain in a strike.

Spirit is negotiating a new contract with its pilots, who are in a 30-day "cooling-off period" mandated by federal law before they can strike or the company locks them out. If there's no deal, the pilots have said they will walk out when the cooling-off period ends at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. The talks are being held in Washington and are guided by the National Mediation Board.

Spirit is a small, privately held carrier based in Miramar, Fla. It operates about 150 flights per day, many of them from the eastern U.S. to Latin America.

Sean Creed, a Spirit captain and the head of its Air Line Pilots Association unit, doubted that the airline had arrangements that would keep it flying through a strike.

"Obviously they're free to replace us according to the law," he said. "I think if they were going to have a plan to continue operation, it would need to have some specific details."

Creed and the airline both said the final issues are pay and work rules.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iglNcRUwvDlJfDT51gGN8SkmxOPQD9G7AL104

 

[mickey2000]

This was posted back in May,,,,,,

 

[mickey2000]

Guess you can't believe everything you read ?????
Article from May ...

Spirit says it will keep flying if pilots strike
(AP) – 16 hours agoWASHINGTON — Spirit Airlines said it will work with other air carriers to keep flying if its pilots strike on Saturday.

Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson said on Tuesday that the airline is "partnering with other air carrier providers to continue to serve our customers." She declined to identify whom Spirit planned to work with, or to say how much of its schedule it will maintain in a strike.

Spirit is negotiating a new contract with its pilots, who are in a 30-day "cooling-off period" mandated by federal law before they can strike or the company locks them out. If there's no deal, the pilots have said they will walk out when the cooling-off period ends at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. The talks are being held in Washington and are guided by the National Mediation Board.

Spirit is a small, privately held carrier based in Miramar, Fla. It operates about 150 flights per day, many of them from the eastern U.S. to Latin America.

Sean Creed, a Spirit captain and the head of its Air Line Pilots Association unit, doubted that the airline had arrangements that would keep it flying through a strike.

"Obviously they're free to replace us according to the law," he said. "I think if they were going to have a plan to continue operation, it would need to have some specific details."

Creed and the airline both said the final issues are pay and work rules.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iglNcRUwvDlJfDT51gGN8SkmxOPQD9G7AL104

..................................

 

[Donut23]

Bloomberg Businessweek.


By Mary Schlangenstein

June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Pilots walked off the job at closely held Spirit Airlines Inc. early this morning after failing to reach a contract agreement in more than three years of negotiations.

The company worked until 5 a.m. to try to reach an agreement with the union, the airline said in a statement today.

“We are frustrated and disappointed that our pilots have turned down an over 30 percent increase at a cost of over $70 million over five years while disrupting thousands of our customers and jeopardizing the livelihoods of our over 2,000 employees,” Spirit Airlines President and CEO Ben Baldanza said in the statement.

Spirit began canceling some flights yesterday and advised customers of alternative travel options.

 

[fla4fun]

According to the news last evening, they've already cancelled pretty much all of their Sunday flights as well.

While I understand wanting a higher salary, I think a comment I read on another website sums it up pretty well. To paraphrase, these pilots went to work for a low cost airlines and now they want a salary comparable to pilots who don't work for a low cost airlines. That's like taking a job at Walmart and demanding the same pay as someone working at Neiman Marcus.

While the usual comment would be "if you don't like where you work, get a job elsewhere", I hope these pilots have already given that a try so they know what they're up against. With airlines cutting back on flights just to stay solvent, they may strike themselves right out of a job if Spirit goes under. One newspaper report said that was a possibility if the strike lasted longer than 30 days. I'm not privy to the balance sheets of any airlines, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you're to the point of charging customers for carry on bags, you're probably not in the best financial shape.

I feel sorry for the stranded customers, and the frustration they are dealing with. Hang in there!

 

[DebbieB]

They are asking for pay comparable to AirTran and Jet Blue. Those are both low cost carriers.

 

[princessfionasmom]

fla4fun, my DH and I were saying the same thing last night. I'm sure these pilots deserve some if not all of what they are asking for but the reality if it is they chose to work for a discount airline And right now they all have jobs but if spirit goes under they will be up a creek. No airlines are hiring right now so what will they do then.

 

[buzzmom3]

According to one airline analyst, in 2009 they made more than Airtran pilots. Maybe I am biased because this will directly affect me if this isn't settled soon but I would love a deal that gave me a 30% raise over 5 years and a better retirement plan. Right now, I am grateful to still be employed.

 

[princessfionasmom]

I just pulled this from the associated article posted this am

Airline analyst Vaughn Cordle said Spirit pilots made more per hour of flying in 2009 in wages and benefits than AirTran pilots, but less than JetBlue.

Looks like they weren't doing too bad with pay afterall.

Here's this mornings article:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iglNcRUwvDlJfDT51gGN8SkmxOPQD9GA94200