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Spirit Airlines Chaos

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Spirit Airlines Chaos

Old 9th May 2017, 17:38
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Spirit Airlines Chaos

Mass confusion and full and frank debates at KFLL. Multiple flights cancelled etc.

Spirit Airlines Cancellations at Fort Lauderdale Airport Cause Chaos - NBC News
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Old 9th May 2017, 17:44
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The mentality of "our" customers went along with ticket prices...
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Old 9th May 2017, 17:57
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Get ready Europe. This is the way things will look like in a few years for you.

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Old 9th May 2017, 18:33
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Good for the pilots and cabin crew. As for the "outraged" passengers, well they cannot expect a proper service for the price of their tickets.But many of them are too brainwashed by promotional campaigns to understand that they may be being sold a lemon.

The revolution is almost here in UK and Europe.The abhorrence of airline employees towards their management is reaching fever pitch in a number of carriers. It is the line managers who carry the can, but the real blame lies with the bean-counters in senior airline management.

Airlines are no more managed by pilots than medical care is governed by doctors. Its all about margins, and the airlines have only themselves to blame for the stupid expectations of the self-loading freight.

And although this might sound somewhat retro, airlines should have pilots at the forefront. Simply because they understand what the business is all about. Safe and efficient air travel, not cheap and unpleasant air travel.
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Old 9th May 2017, 18:36
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Absolutely right. Perfect analyzed.
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Old 9th May 2017, 19:17
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For all you Railway Labor Act sea lawyers, here is the lawsuit Spirit filed yesterday in District Court against ALPA and the Spirit MEC:

https://3rxg9qea18zhtl6s2u8jammft-wp.../05/Spirit.pdf

There are predictable cites of social media postings of threats and listings of those who do not share the same vision as the MEC of the open time and JA ban.
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Old 9th May 2017, 19:27
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Spirit wins restraining order against pilots union

Spirit wins restraining order against pilots union

09 May, 2017
| SOURCE: Flightglobal Pro
| BY: Ghim-Lay Yeo
| Washington DC


A US court has granted Spirit Airlines' request for a temporary restraining order against its pilots union, preventing the group from taking any action that will interfere with the airline's operations.

The order comes after Spirit cancelled more than 300 flights during the past week, which it blames on an intentional "work slowdown" organised by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which is in contract negotiations with the carrier.

ALPA says Spirit's pilots will comply with the court order, saying: "Spirit pilots are committed to helping impacted passengers and the company restore normal operations."

The Spirit flight cancellations have led to frustration among passengers, some of whom ended up fighting with airline staff and police at the Fort Lauderdale airport.

Spirit says its pilots have intentionally turned down junior assignment and open time flying in an effort to disrupt the airline's operations.

The temporary restraining order granted by the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida prevents ALPA and its master executive council from calling for, instigating or encouraging any sort of action that could disrupt the airline's operations.

A hearing for a preliminary injunction against the union will take place on 15 May, says Spirit.

Under the US Railway Labour Act, airline employees must be legally authorised before they can carry out a strike. Spirit and its pilots have been in contract negotiations since 2015.

Story updated with ALPA comment
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Old 9th May 2017, 21:15
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I'm sure that the pilots are not leaving the ticket desk and check-in staff to front up for the disruption. Being such fine folks I'm sure they will be on the front line explaining to these angry and violent passengers the merits of their case.

Or perhaps not.
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Old 9th May 2017, 22:34
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Originally Posted by surely not
.

Or perhaps not.
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn...good on the Pilots.
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Old 10th May 2017, 02:35
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Originally Posted by RoyHudd
Good for the pilots and cabin crew. As for the "outraged" passengers, well they cannot expect a proper service for the price of their tickets.But many of them are too brainwashed by promotional campaigns to understand that they may be being sold a lemon.
Roy, long time no write! Glad to see you back.

You're completely right about ticket $$ vs pax. Loved flying in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Now, not so much. Rather take a bus -- bigger windows, more frequent stops, same crowd, don't have to get beeped because of "mah belt buckle, dammit!"

Shame, all that. You'd think that even the lowest common denominator would realize when they're boarding and riding a vehicle that likely cost more to produce than all their immediate relatives have ever earned.

Part of this is tongue in cheek, so don't think I'm being sarcastic.

Well, maybe I am, but it's sarcasm directed at the trailer trash that now invades air travel.

Put proper clothes on, don't get stinking drunk before you get on the damn thing, and once you're on, behave.

Is that so hard?

Hell, we used to do it all the time.

Cheers!
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Old 10th May 2017, 06:48
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Spot on - maybe you should script pre flight safety briefings!
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Old 10th May 2017, 08:54
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From Spirit's 'Join our Team'

UNIQUE CULTURE

Headquartered in Miramar, Florida, we pride ourselves on being open-minded and creative, and you can see it in our culture. It’s relaxed, friendly and fun. We’re always looking for unique thinkers to challenge us and help us challenge the status quo. We call it "The Spirit Way".
I don't see anything about working for less because we charge less or maybe that's hidden in the small print elsewhere? And they appear to get upset when their employees challenge them. I must be missing something?

To any budding airline execs: Low cost is fine but please don't expect to get staff on the cheap. Cheap people = below average staff = rubbish service = poor performance = unhappy customers = bankruptcy.
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Old 10th May 2017, 09:07
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Piltdown man
To any budding airline execs: Low cost is fine but please don't expect to get staff on the cheap. Cheap people = below average staff = rubbish service = poor performance = unhappy customers = bankruptcy.
Appreciate this is concerning Spirit, but other's have mentioned Europe for some reason. I believe that Cheap people = below average staff has been happening in flight deck recruitment in some EU operations for some time now. Rubbish service = poor performance has been prevalent in many EU carriers in other roles for considerably longer. Bankruptcy doesn't appear to be on the horizon for any of them however.

I flew with an ex-Spirit Skipper a few years ago - I was under the impression they didn't make great money for flying large aircraft?

Last edited by Reverserbucket; 10th May 2017 at 09:22.
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Old 10th May 2017, 10:15
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Originally Posted by aviationluver
Get ready Europe. This is the way things will look like in a few years for you.

some airline or ATC industrial actions stranding passengers is not exactly new to Europe, we have a civilized way of dealing with it by paying compensations, providing food and hotels for the stranded

I've been stranded myself, I honestly don't know what needs to happen for Europeans to behave the way you see in the video..
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Old 10th May 2017, 10:31
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Are we forgetting that most companies exist to make money?

Making profits usually means cutting operating costs and attracting lots of customers and selling lots of the services or things your company supplies.*

The company owner does not really care how unhappy or tired their employees are, they only care that the product is made as cheaply as possible and is sold to as many customers as possible - to make ever bigger profits to keep them (the owner) on their yacht with their huge pension and share options.

Your manager does not really care who you are, or if you are unhappy or tired, as long as you turn up to work and do your job properly.

The company does not really care how satisfied the customers are as long as enough customers keep buying the product.

Customers who are dim or stupid, or who don't know how to behave, do not by definition, realise they are being dim or stupid or are behaving badly. Many customers will choose a product or a flight or a company that is cheaper - even quite literally £1 or $1 cheaper - than another with no thought whatsoever about the quality of the product or of the company supplying it. This relentlessly drives down profits, so operating costs have to be squeezed ever harder until ultimately, the product starts to suffer. In extreme cases, the company can fail, but the owner doesn't really care - they own their yacht and have their huge pension to fall back on.

*Companies supplying to the rich and super-rich need to adopt a different approach, where high quality of service or product is needed to attract those customers, but these companies still make profits.

Food for thought?
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Old 10th May 2017, 11:51
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...These pilots have put their quest for a new contract ahead of getting customers to their destinations and the safety of their fellow Spirit Team Members."
In other words, if Spirit's customers can not fly they will get so aggressive that they will threaten and attack and company employees. They sound like lovely customers to me. Does this also mean that Spirit's pilots have to consider the safety of ground staff when deciding to accept an aircraft with deficiencies or depart in marginal weather? It sounds like they need danger money to fly these passengers.

Regarding the race to the bottom, it will be the company with the best ability to raise cash when the economy it serves takes its next inevitable nose dive. And that will not necessarily be the most profitable airline at the moment. People who buy on price have no allegiance to their supplier. They go where they believe things are cheapest and chop and change at a whim. Employees and suppliers of these companies will do the same. Their loyalty lasts until the next pay check. I stand to be corrected, but we need an economic crisis to prove me right. I don't fancy one of those at the moment.
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Old 10th May 2017, 16:27
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I wonder if these aircrew voiced their rights when they were begging the airline to take them on during the recruitment stage? I am sure they focussed more on behaviours, how they can attach themselves to the company strategy and how they could help keep the business sustainable!
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Old 10th May 2017, 18:14
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Don't blame it on the companies. Blame it on the "shareholders". There is much less "buy and hold" these days, and your friendly local broker relies less on their own savvy than on supercomputers running complex mathematical algorithms buying and selling at the speed of light. Some positions are held only for microseconds, all in order to squeeze the last drops of liquidity out of the market and into their own pockets.

In order to remain attractive, companies have to cut costs to the bone and beyond - there is no room in the market now for companies who care about their employees or their working conditions. The job market is volatile and employees are essentially disposable tools - who cares?

The trade unions who once protected employees have effectively been neutered and play little real part in the game anymore.

It is capitalist heaven for the 0.1% and for all the rest of us. And I don't see an answer.

[ I believe that HST is sucking the blood out of the World economy - one solution would be that you have to hold a share for at least 24hrs before you can sell it again - I wonder how that would work out?]

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Old 10th May 2017, 18:25
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Originally Posted by RoyHudd
Good for the pilots and cabin crew. As for the "outraged" passengers, well they cannot expect a proper service for the price of their tickets.But many of them are too brainwashed by promotional campaigns to understand that they may be being sold a lemon.
Nonsense. There's nothing special about airline pilots - you're no different to bus drivers. Your job is to get the vehicle from A to B safely.

It's not a passenger's job to judge when they book the ticket whether or not the Sky Gods will be sufficiently rewarded. Dispute your deal with your employer, drive the ******* bus, and the SLF will pay the going rate that results.
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Old 10th May 2017, 18:29
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@ MAC
Hedge funds are the worst and attacking the foundation of capitalism. Shareholders used to be very loyal to a company, but when hedge funds arrive they just surrender. They already brought down the economy with the oil prices. They are the real danger and their arms are long, very long.
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