Spirit Furloughing

This is actually a brilliant move (still very scummy) from management to lower the JCBA when they merge with Frontier.
 
jhugz said:
This is actually a brilliant move (still very scummy) from management to lower the JCBA when they merge with Frontier.
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I hadn’t even considered that….brilliant, and scummy. Hope its incorrect, but thanks for priming my brain.
 
I mean, I think every BOD and C suite has been doing the same thing. These guys just f***ed it away too. And by that, I mean that they did nothing at all like every other BOD and C suite, but the business model that they were cruising on autopilot on was flawed. People will look at them (these ones) as being worse, but they are all this bad. They should all be in prison on RICO charges.
 
jhugz said:
If I was the MEC chair:

“You just gave yourself 5 million dollars worth of executive bonuses. Full pay to the last day. GFY.”

Which is why I’ll never hold a position like that.
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Unfortunately, I believe this is a case of you can vote for what you want cut, or the judge chooses for you.
 
just on a whim, when Spirit declared bankruptcy the second time, I applied for the Direct Entry Captain position with WhizAir.

Wizz Air UK Roadshow in USA

careers.wizzair.com careers.wizzair.com

wizzAir is one of Franke’s private equity airlines. Which includes Frontier, Volaris, WhizAir and one other. Working for whiz means you’re just working for the European version of Frontier.

It appears around 500 people from the US/Canada have applied. They’re scheduling interviews in November and they’re looking to bring people over to the UK starting in the Spring 2026.

They are looking for FOs and Captains in the U.S. and Canada who have the right to work in the UK…. for Direct Entry Captains they are offering to sponsor a work visa if you don’t have right to work in the UK. You’ll be able to fly on your FAA / TC pilot certificate for 12-months and you have to obtain a UK ATP within those 12-months. After 5 years you can apply for “indefinite leave to remain” to obtain residency and eventually citizenship…

Pay is nowhere near anywhere near what the US pays. $210k for first year captain. You have to live within 90 minutes of Luton or Gatwick. It appears trips are mostly day turns. The 90 minutes to those two airports means you’re living in London which is not the cheapest place to live.

I’m not really sure if they’re just bringing in DECs until they get their locally grown FOs spun up and upgraded to captain and then they’ll just let the imported DECs go to go back to the country they came from.

Probably not the smartest thing to do…. But crickets from American and United…

I guess I’ll just do the interview just to do it and not worry about it unless they actually give me a job offer.
 
woodreau said:
I guess I’ll just do the interview just to do it and not worry about it unless they actually give me a job offer.
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I get where you’re coming from but keep in mind Wizzair is an experience (well any EU ULCC) unlike anything in the US. The quality of life and compensation is on par with the regionals, keep that in mind. As someone who converted their FAA ATP to a UK ATPL, don’t think the 12 months to knock it out will be a breeze. You’re looking at hundreds of hours of study to do the 14 written exams and the UK class 1 medical is way more in depth than the FAA.

But a chapter of your life living and flying in Europe would be a blast. Keep us updated!
 
Skåning said:
I get where you’re coming from but keep in mind Wizzair is an experience (well any EU ULCC) unlike anything in the US. The quality of life and compensation is on par with the regionals, keep that in mind. As someone who converted their FAA ATP to a UK ATPL, don’t think the 12 months to knock it out will be a breeze. You’re looking at hundreds of hours of study to do the 14 written exams and the UK class 1 medical is way more in depth than the FAA.

But a chapter of your life living and flying in Europe would be a blast. Keep us updated!
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Well that was interesting, the potential interest pool was broken into small groups of 15 and of the group of 15 that were in the session today, all but two are current Spirit captains. several of them were way more senior than i was. i was around mid-pack from all of the names i recognized.

They just dont have the pilots, especially Captains for expansion. They just can't get qualified DECs because to bring a EASA pilot from the EU is the same process as bringing a TC or FAA pilot from Canada and the US.

The presenter seemed to poo-poo the 14 ATPL exams. he said that we already have an ATPL and 320 type rating with 320 PIC time and that we are not initial ATP applicants. You just "merely" need to score a "pass" / 75 on all 14 of the exams not the 99-100 that an initial ATP applicant needs that is looking for a frozen ATPL, and you "only just" need to memorize all of the answers you have experience and context unlike someone who has 250hrs who is taking the ATPL exams according to him.. I am skeptical of that, but we have 12 months to get the UK ATPL and until we get the UK ATPL, the airline is limited in what they can do with us.

They did want us current (flown an A320 within 12 months) because a current 320 type rated pilot could be put into their 6-week training program, do their 10-days of supervised flying / OE and then released to the line fairly quickly instead of someone who hasn't flown a 320 within the previous 12 months - non-current 320 type rated pilots would need to go through the full flight training program and so it appeared they weren't as interested in non-current pilots unless they couldn't get current pilots.

We would have to get the UK Class I medical on our own dime, but after getting the UK ATP it would be reimbursed.
 
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