Spirit Assistant Dispatcher Opening

kilo

kilo

Well-Known Member
https://re12.ultipro.com/SPI1000/JobBoard/JobDetails.aspx?__ID=*BE6065D48F0F1CA9

Did a search of the forum for prior info on Spirit, not a whole lot out there. The company seems to be in good shape, with good stock ratings and an expanding fleet of new aircraft and a decent list of international destinations. They also seem to be one of the most universally despised airlines due to the nature of the ULCC business model. Hypothetically speaking, is it a good career move for someone at a regional?
 
First of all, talk to @Mach82. He "was" our resident NKS guru (well, maybe Purple guru now... @PlaneFan82...hush).

NK peeps are kinda "special." Special in a way that whatever they're smoking, I want some of that! Talking to a NK crews, they'll brag about how their company is more profitable than DL. Ummm...yeah. Sure thing, pumpkin! If you're measuring table quantity, better not measure the kids table to the adult's table. They have a great business model, but if your business model derives on the misery index of people, go for it. Look at Ryanair in Europe, they're making money hand over fist, but are they making top awards on best loved airlines????

LCC's (& ULCC's for that matter) are not a bad model. If you can make a LCC with a great product/service, you'll succeed. Case point: B6.
 
I think I would rather stick my dingus in a beehive then work for BB. NKS is a little too "ghetro" for me. Hell, their government compliance manager admits that they just move homeless people to warmer climates.
 
Current NK employee here.

As with all companies there are positives and negatives. I can sum both sides up in two words: growing pains. We are growing fast, we are profitable, we have a great business model that will carry us for a long time and we've started to put a real focus on customer satisfaction. Pains include pinch points you would expect from a ULCC model. Staffing tends to be toward the "short" side, our IT infrastructure is only starting to catch up to our size of operation, outside of scoped positions everyone does 5+ jobs. There are very valid concerns from the dispatch group that are being addressed as quickly as they can be. But change takes time and trial-and-error.

We moved into a brand new OCC today which is designed to carry us through at least the next 5-10 years for staffing. This brings brand new computers with 3 monitor setups for dispatch, and 4 monitor setups for our ATC and shift coordinators. Pay is competitive with a 15 year top of scale and a scale that ranged from about 45k to about 90k without taking into account an override for coordinator positions. Schedule is 4/4, 10 hours. OT is 1.5 for first two days off worked, then double time. There is the potential to make a lot of money, even considering the location, and we're always looking for people who will pick up the OT.

If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to PM me.
 
PlaneFan82 said:
NKS is a little too "ghetro" for me. Hell, their government compliance manager admits that they just move homeless people to warmer climates.
Click to expand...

Who cares when you're sitting in the SOC though?

Sounds like a pretty good place to be for a dispatcher based on the above schedule/pay info. Might even be a good long term position if you like the location but its certainly a nice place to end up as a starting/intermediate career move.
 
I know that NK has a lot of bad press...but the only two times I have flown on them, I have had very good experiences. Once was on a regular revenue ticket (flying somewhere to go on a cruise, didn't want to chance a full flight) and my fare on them, for one of the "big comfy seats" in front, was still less than what Southwest charged...including the fee for my carry-on bag. The other time, it was total chaos getting out of DFW, and I jump seated on them. You're supposed to list in advance for NK jumpseats, just like with AA, but unlike the last AA gate agent I encountered when I tried a last-minute walk-up jumpseat, the Spirit gate agent was very nice and helpful in listing me, and I ended up getting a seat in the back. I have also talked to someone who works there in dispatch, and has said that since they got a union contract (a process that did take a while, but then don't they all these days) the work environment there has been much improved. I'm not saying they are a perfect airline or anything, but I think you could do much worse. Plus, the location of the SOC, while expensive, definitely doesn't suck.
 
I've flown NK a couple of times, both in front and in back. Agents are helpful but harried since the business model pretty much requires them to disappoint people, but if you give the a heavy dose of friendly and smiles they genuinely appreciate it. Front end crews seem to be ecstatic about their gigs. They love it there for the most part (bearing in mind that the baseline for a line pilot is mildly disgruntled). NK is making money at a sufficient rate to start the WN execs sweating a little, so they do seem to be doing something right. For a dispatcher, it looks like a decent place to hang your hat and with all the growth you should get seniority pretty quickly, which is always a nice thing.

Only thing that concerns me about Spirit is HOW they are growing. I get the impression that they are growing faster then they can keep up and this should make investors nervous. At some point you reach critical mass and if that happens before the execs realize it then what follows is a period of unprofitable quarters, draw down and (take your pick) concessions and/or layoffs. Here's to hoping the brains at NK are smarter then the analysts...
 
I'll ask my contacts over there about it.

Sorry folks, it appears that four were picked up this round. Not sure of when the next hiring round will take place
 
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M82, that is correct. Four were hired and start class tentatively on Aug. 3. I believe one was internal, the rest external. According to our manager, we plan to hire two more dispatchers sometime this fall. Then, going forward into 2016 and beyond, it should average 6-8 per year. That will continue even beyond 2016 since we have ordered so many aircraft (65+ already, almost 150 by 2021).
 
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