We have reservations for the week of July 4th. Our airline reservations are on Spirit Airlines. If you also have reservations on Spirit you might want to keep track of the situation.
D&D
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Spirit Warns Of Permanent Shutdown In Battle Over New Pilot Contract
Aviation Daily May 19 , 2010 , p. 02
Andrew Compart
Spirit Airlines is warning employees that the airline might have to “shut down operations permanently” if its pilots union goes on strike, as it is threatening to do as early as June 12, adding more tension to what could become a high-stakes showdown.
In a letter dated May 12 and sent to the president of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) as part of the airline's federally required notice of pending mass layoffs — and a similar New Jersey state requirement — the Florida-based low-cost carrier said it remains committed to reaching an agreement. Spirit said it is seeking a deal that will ensure “long-term stability and growth for the company” and “rewarding careers for our pilots.”
Spirit, however, warned that a strike could have severe consequences.
“If ALPA strikes, we cannot predict how long ALPA will be on strike, but we can foresee that a strike could force us to shut down operations permanently,” the airline said. “Accordingly, the first day that ALPA goes out on strike could possibly be the last day of employment with Spirit for our pilots in Atlantic City and systemwide.”
Spirit also has filed federally required notices to a Florida government agency warning it could lay off as many as 1,583 employees in the state (DAILY, May 18). The low-cost carrier has about 2,300 employees nationwide, including about 500 pilots.
Spirit and its pilots have been trying to negotiate a new contract for more than three years, including more than six months in mediation, but without much progress. After the union rejected a National Mediation Board offer for binding arbitration, the board on May 12 started the 30-day cooling-off period for the union and the airline, after which the pilots will have the legal eligibility to strike.
Ill will has been building between the pilots and management.
In 2008, management and the union fought over sick-leave usage (DAILY, Aug. 18, 2008), and the union later filed a lawsuit that accused management of repeatedly violating the contract (DAILY, Sept. 8, 2008). The judge dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice last June. But a year ago, union members voted nearly unanimously to authorize a strike once it became legal to conduct one (DAILY, May 20, 2009).
Spirit considers ultra-low fares to be its brand, using ancillary revenue and industry-leading low unit costs to help fuel its profits. But the leader of the Spirit union, Sean Creed, says pilots want the new contract to bring them closer to parity with pay at carriers such as JetBlue and AirTran, which he says is 20% to 30% higher.
Creed says the primary sticking points now are over pay and scheduling, including proposals to increase the maximum flying hours and reduce vacation time. On May 7, Creed vowed that “should the cooling-off period end without a fair agreement, make no mistake, this pilot group will strike.”
