www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Jazz you still fail to address the critical problem.

You can not hire a pilot from XYZ airlines who flys 737-800 hand him a uniform for ABC airlines and expect him to hop into the left seat of an ABC 737-800 an be good to go.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I have never heard of different cockpit configurations. The cabin is configured to the airline's spec, but the cockpits? A pilot who's certified to fly a 320-100, should be able to fly any 320-100.

THE critical problem is Spirit's management's failure to plan for this contingency. This was not an unforseeable situation; just the opposite--the Pilots had broadcast what they planned to do for months if contract demands weren't at least addressed if not wholly met. The Pilots have no interest in bankrupting the airline and doubtless had their economists and salary-advisor professionals run and re-run the data.
BTW, as this link shows, yes, their flight deck IS fairly standardized so new pilots can get up and running quickly. As I said Spirit got their planes from a wide variety of sources; not much if anything is Spirit-specific. Also included is the Spirit Air Pilots Pay Schedule so you have the baseline data the Pilots were asking to be raised from Thanks for spurring my research--I'd wouldn't have looked for this site otherwise:
http://www.aviationinterviews.com/pilot ... es-58.html

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

Okay, I will give you an actual incident. An Air Jamaica 727 had a flight engineer suddenly get sick and unable to fly the scheduled flight YYZ/PHL/MBJ. They tried to get an Air Canada F/E to sub for him because Air Jamaica had no other crews in Torontao at that time. At that time Air Canada had a 40% interest in Air Jamaica and also flew 727's. It did not work out because Air Jamaica flew 727-2j2 and only Delta and Air Jamaica flew that particular configuration 727's and the Air Canada F/E was not familiar with that version. That difference also applied to certain spare parts that were exclusive to certain configuration of 727's. Eastern was Air Jamaica's maintenance provider at most U.S. airports. On one occasion a Air Jamaica 727 needed a part at Miami. Even though Eastern was a 727 operator and it was a maintenance main base for EAL they did not stock the part as it was exclusive to 727-2j2 models which were different then the 200 series EAL flew. The part had to be sent AOG from Delta in Atlanta. As I said earlier a Honda Accord is a Honda Accord. A particular model aircraft is not necessarily the same from carrier to carrier.

You may not have heard of different cockpit configurations. Most people outside the industry have no idea that there are different versions of every model. So the question is how much actual job experience do you have in the airline industry?

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Oh come on Jazz give us a break. EVERY strike that occurs after years of unsuccessful negotiations is foreseeable. Every strike comes down to a game of chicken each side betting that the other will fold first. Neither management or labor wants to bankrupt the airline but at times personalities overcome common sense. Just look up the history of Charlie Bryant of the machinist union and Frank Borman/Frank Lorenzo of Eastern Airlines and the result of their epic struggles. Their respect egos killed Eastern.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I should point out you are missing the larger issue -- Spirit wouldn't do it anyway, as long as Baldanza the Scrooge is in charge.

mh

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mh

Just so everybody's clear on this--It's not an "I win/You lose" discussion. It's a difference of of opinion between (reasonably) civilized gentlemen.
Net result: a whole bunch of PO'ed, dispossesed customers, a serious revenue loss for the airline, soon to be followed by stock price drop, and a lot of airline folks, many of them not directly involved, losing a bunch of pay. We can dispassionately discuss this subject--the above very much have "a dog in this hunt.
Weren't the Boeing planes more custom-built than the Airbus Industrie equivalents? And wasn't this a prime selling point for AI in selling to 2nd tier 3rd World airlines? To introduce another type of airliner into the affray is specious logic.

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

Good luck to the pilots on their strike. The starting pay is ridiculously low. A rookie truck driver makes much more. Their top out is bad as well.
Unions are a critical asset in the transportation business. Without them, you would have pilots and drivers running 18+ hour shifts. Accidents and fatalities would be sky high. It takes union intervention in many cases to keep dangerous planes out of the sky and faulty commercial vehicles off our roads. They deserve better pay and equipment. Hopefully they will get it.

To back-up/add-to BrotherLV's cogent post--unions don't just enforce the pay-and-benefits, and seniority parts of CBAs (Collective Bargaining Agreements); they are also on the front lines and sometimes a lonely voice in enforcing safety edicts. I know this is especially true in the USPS with its blame-the-victim mentality and habit of turning a blind eye to machine safety and performance shortcuts, building defects and a host of other issues. We regularly call down OSHA on management, and at least in the last 2 years, are being taken increasingly seriously by them. What does this have to do with Spirit and the Transpo industry? Well, what's true for us quasi-Federal sector types has to be doubly/triply/XXly true in the private sector, especially those segments that out-source everydamnthing.
BTW, those who work in the industrial/big construction/brutal work sector know what I'm talking about by saying "...the last 2 years...". It was not meant as a smarmy back-handed political swipe but a pointing out of a different regulatory atmosphere due in part to things like mining disasters, other long unaddressed issues, etc that have happened recently. More reportage than opinion.

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

They did agree to get hired....right?

While their pay may be low, they do still have jobs...well until the airline goes bust!

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In honor of Jimmy V week, "Don't give up, don't ever give up!"

I have to agree...they agreed to the terms...if they don't like their job, they are allowed to quit....employment at will......it is a good start for some people, who might love to fly.

Spirit to resume flying on Friday, June 18...
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/spir ... 51673.html

strikes over yaaaaaaay

50 dollars off and 5000 miles for new bookings thru the 18th! Get em while they're HOT!

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Why settle for just one woman when you can enjoy them all?