Spirit March 24 Opening

[Alcatraz]

I've been waiting for Spirit to open for a while, as I have ties to Florida and want to be there, however reading through these forums is incredibly unsettling. Is it really as bad as it sounds?
Does anyone have anything positive to say at all? So far nearly everything I have read is 100% negative.

 

[who'swho]

I've been waiting for Spirit to open for a while, as I have ties to Florida and want to be there, however reading through these forums is incredibly unsettling. Is it really as bad as it sounds?
Does anyone have anything positive to say at all? So far nearly everything I have read is 100% negative.

My connections there don't have anything good to say about it. They've described it as rats leaving a sinking ship.

 

[Rhewster]

ill say the 4 on 4 off rotating schedule is pretty nice for QOL. and MCO isn't as bad as FLL for finding a good apartment for a reasonable price.
sure things could be better for us, but in my experience during contract negotiations all you ever hear in negativity and lack of knowledge with things due to all the NDA's signed till the new contract gets signed. There is good people here that i enjoy working with, and a contract will come eventually. its up to you if you want sunshine and beaches and umbrella drinks on your days off. i know i do. lol!

 

[fsxflyhigh]

It is quite difficult to make living in South Florida work when management seems dead set on refusing to raise the pay scale, even with 8 people leaving within a month.

Supposedly, there's a "big announcement" coming that will stabilize the airline, but as per usual management won't be transparent about it, so once again the people who are patiently waiting to see if we'll (1) have jobs and (2) be paid properly are sitting on their hands twiddling their thumbs to see what the panacea will be.

I had a conversation with a person who's been here for the better part of a decade and they said it best: "The only thing that's certain about Spirit is its constant state of uncertainty."

Ahhh yes the "big announcement" move... Now the big question, is there actually an anouncement to be had or is it just a futile attempt to slow the abondoning of the ship while there is a giant hole in the side of the ship's hull. Compass was saying the same garbage in 2019 after they lost the Delta flying.

 

[ijustworkhere]

I've been waiting for Spirit to open for a while, as I have ties to Florida and want to be there, however reading through these forums is incredibly unsettling. Is it really as bad as it sounds?
Does anyone have anything positive to say at all? So far nearly everything I have read is 100% negative.

I’ve been waiting for spirit to open up as well, but I can’t afford to live with the pay scale. I rather stay at my regional. COL is very low and I actually love management here. Not going to throw all of that away to be dissatisfied at Spirit.

 

[iono]

ill say the 4 on 4 off rotating schedule is pretty nice for QOL. and MCO isn't as bad as FLL for finding a good apartment for a reasonable price.
sure things could be better for us, but in my experience during contract negotiations all you ever hear in negativity and lack of knowledge with things due to all the NDA's signed till the new contract gets signed. There is good people here that i enjoy working with, and a contract will come eventually. its up to you if you want sunshine and beaches and umbrella drinks on your days off. i know i do. lol!

this is a good point. i remember hearing how low the morale was at my current airline during the extended negotiations. then once we got a new contract, everything was right again (for most people). granted, we weren’t dealing with the kinds of issues spirit is facing now with the p&w issues and the failed merger, so a new contract could be a little further away than everyone is hoping

 

[Rhewster]

this is a good point. i remember hearing how low the morale was at my current airline during the extended negotiations. then once we got a new contract, everything was right again (for most people). granted, we weren’t dealing with the kinds of issues spirit is facing now with the p&w issues and the failed merger, so a new contract could be a little further away than everyone is hoping

its my opinion the we are going to see something with Frontier again.. it just made too much sense. and it always had a better chance of getting approved than the JetBlue waving loaned cash at us in the first place..

 

[Yurie158]

I’ve been waiting for spirit to open up as well, but I can’t afford to live with the pay scale. I rather stay at my regional. COL is very low and I actually love management here. Not going to throw all of that away to be dissatisfied at Spirit.

You would probably save more money staying at your regional than trying to get a small bump in pay that inevitably will be gone due to higher COL in MCO FLL

Their training program leaves a lot to be desired. Their Classroom teachers are all very new last time I checked and it felt rushed and just zipping through PowerPoint

OJT is very quickly done as well and it was fairly common for people to fail their first CC. You really have to ask a lot of questions and be aggressive in taking charge of the desk while your OJT instructor makes sure you are releasing legally

Like others have mentioned if you don't have major ties to Florida like family or really love Florida, it's mostly an airline to avoid or an airline that most dispatchers will not see as a final destination.

The pay at the 3rd year and overall scaling after that isn't terrible but it is still outdated, if you can handle eating Ramen for the first 2 years

 

[Bustedcropdusta]

At their current base pay, you'd be better off just promoting to a coordinator / system controller / superintendent at a regional instead of trying to finance a move and starting new at NK. At least at a regional you get mainline flight bennies and a lower COL than FLL.

 

[CRJ200NEO]

its my opinion the we are going to see something with Frontier again.. it just made too much sense. and it always had a better chance of getting approved than the JetBlue waving loaned cash at us in the first place..

While I agree that the Frontier merger made more sense, and had a better chance to be approved, I wouldn't be so sure of an imminent merger now.

Just this week Frontier's CEO didn't seem too high on another attempted merger -

“On Possibility of Reengaging with Spirit Airlines for a deal, Frontier CEO says we don’t have time to even spend energy thinking about it.”

-JP Morgan Industrials Conference

 

[IamNegan]

I would never discourage anyone from applying but I have been in this business a very long time. With the events that have transpired over the past month, working for Spirit might not be the best move because of how unstable the company plus except for the regionals, hiring is starting to slow.

From my perspective, the company was hedging its bets with a merger verse looking ahead in the event this did not fall thru, you know plan for the worst and hope for the best – grant it they did make some small changes but not enough to make a dent into their recovery. Spirits debt is quite high, over 1 billion in debt – creditors want their money sooner than later, their stock price keeps on falling day by day, it’s dropped over 29% in the last month and 73% in the last 6 months – that is not a good indicator plus their losses of 495 million and 598 million over the past two years which mean bankruptcy is on the horizon even if the CEO says they will be fine. When it comes to any bankruptcy comes layoffs - who do you think will be the first to go? The company thinks they can be profitable by expanding in cities like BOS and NYC – they can’t.

The environment is very toxic there from what I hear and this is coming from both junior and senior folks saying management is in the “I don’t care mode” and making people fear for their jobs plus the pay is not that great among other things including not having a contract.



To sum it all up, Spirit will not be the Spirit of today in the coming year, they will have to rebuild their whole business concept, return airplanes back to the lease-holders to having a fleet of 100 planes, and layoff 30-40% of their current workforce.



Like I said, not trying to discourage anyone but I would take to see someone uproot their life to FL only to be let go.



Anyone from Spirit want to validate my points?

 

[IamNegan]

“On Possibility of Reengaging with Spirit Airlines for a deal, Frontier CEO says we don’t have time to even spend energy thinking about it.”

Biffle isn't wrong, he also is a former Spirit CMO.

Frontier is more stable but they are not where they want to be financially. It's a lot of debt that they would have to take on and I do not think right now, there is not an airline who will make a push for Spirit.

 

[IamNegan]

Supposedly, there's a "big announcement" coming that will stabilize the airline, but as per usual management won't be transparent about it, so once again the people who are patiently waiting to see if we'll (1) have jobs and (2) be paid properly are sitting on their hands twiddling their thumbs to see what the panacea will be.

That rumor seems to have been going off and on for the last year...

 

[MiguelGracias]

I’ve always wanted to work for spirit or national airlines as I’m a florida resident around orlando, but I can’t be a chooser if I’m a beggar. (I was a bit resentful after spirit opened position the day after I accepted offer…)

I took the first offer from one regional recently to start my dispatcher career until I can build enough flight time and get a job for small charter or cargo company as a pilot.

 

[BigGuy4U]

I've been waiting for Spirit to open for a while, as I have ties to Florida and want to be there, however reading through these forums is incredibly unsettling. Is it really as bad as it sounds?
Does anyone have anything positive to say at all? So far nearly everything I have read is 100% negative.

1) The 4-on, 4-off rotating schedule is great. Definitely one of the best in the industry. Zero complaints there.
2) Management, to their credit, is more than willing to let you tailor your schedule to your liking with another dispatcher as long as both sets of shifts are covered. There's a few dispatchers who do 7-on, 7-off shifts via trades. Personally, they're not for me but it's appreciated that the option is there.
3) Florida weather is great during the winter, autumn and spring, although the summer months can get quite brutal.
4) The workflow is easy on most shifts, even if the flight loads for certain hours blocks can be a bit much at times.
5) My fellow dispatchers and co-workers in other departments are a joy to be around.

It has its perks to be sure, but we are so behind in compensation compared to the rest of the industry (to the point regionals are starting to catch up) that almost every other positive point is rendered moot.

 

[Justanotherdispatcher]

1) The 4-on, 4-off rotating schedule is great. Definitely one of the best in the industry. Zero complaints there.
2) Management, to their credit, is more than willing to let you tailor your schedule to your liking with another dispatcher as long as both sets of shifts are covered. There's a few dispatchers who do 7-on, 7-off shifts via trades. Personally, they're not for me but it's appreciated that the option is there.
3) Florida weather is great during the winter, autumn and spring, although the summer months can get quite brutal.
4) The workflow is easy on most shifts, even if the flight loads for certain hours blocks can be a bit much at times.
5) My fellow dispatchers and co-workers in other departments are a joy to be around.

It has its perks to be sure, but we are so behind in compensation compared to the rest of the industry (to the point regionals are starting to catch up) that almost every other positive point is rendered moot.

2) Contractual right. Management has nothing to do with it.

 

[ijustworkhere]

I’ve always wanted to work for spirit or national airlines as I’m a florida resident around orlando, but I can’t be a chooser if I’m a beggar. (I was a bit resentful after spirit opened position the day after I accepted offer…)

I took the first offer from one regional recently to start my dispatcher career until I can build enough flight time and get a job for small charter or cargo company as a pilot.

I believe you dodged a bullet. You got this. Continue to work on your goals. You will get there. I am too working on my hours while working at a regional.

2) Contractual right. Management has nothing to do with it.

Looks like someone from management has just entered the chat.

 

[iono]

he’s right though. but they actually don’t let you trade shifts cross-domicile, unless that changed after i left

 

[MiguelGracias]

I believe you dodged a bullet. You got this. Continue to work on your goals. You will get there. I am too working on my hours while working at a regional.

Looks like someone from management has just entered the chat.

Thank you. I have question for you if you don't mind me asking...

 

[flynryan692]

I've been waiting for Spirit to open for a while, as I have ties to Florida and want to be there, however reading through these forums is incredibly unsettling. Is it really as bad as it sounds?
Does anyone have anything positive to say at all? So far nearly everything I have read is 100% negative.

Most internet forums can quickly become a hive mind that create a narrative and Spirit is an easy target right now. The dispatchers desperately want a new contract, and they absolutely deserve it, so they are frustrated and venting. The recent events with the merger do not help anything at all. If you're interested in Spirit, you should apply and do the interview if offered. You can ask management the tough questions and get their own take on it. After that, you can take everything you've read and everything from the interview into consideration on whether you want to accept an offer if they give you one. Do your due diligence and make a decision that is best for you.