Lemonade

Now I'm confused. If you are scheduled off you aren't paid for that day. If you are scheduled on but drop that day of work, that money comes out of your vacation bank, right? That's money that could have been added to a pay check. Tell me again how you get paid to not work in your vacation scenario.

I will need to know for next year. I want to learn this trick or contract provision.

sandlapper223

Spirit is staffed at roughly 18 pilots to one Airbus. Why do you suppose that is? To support the giant gorilla in the room called their contract. Where's Delta's staffing level? Not even close. Spirit pilots have the opportunity to bank more clams by doing less and enjoying more at home time (ala FedEx style) than most if not ALL.

Comparing only pay rates as a function of job status or superiority is as foolish as letting your 6-year old manage your 401k portfolio.

There are many others, but here is just ONE example in the Spirit agreement: CONFLICTS. This provision alone is worth at least 25% of the listed pay rates, and that's without even turning a wheel!

So before you let the big carrier boys get you down, just remember, they are about to drop a galactic scope relief turd in the bowl. They have bigger problems then just Defending a simple pay rate figure.

skybolt

I'm not embarrassed to work for Spirit, although I am embarrassed for Spirit when someone mentions things like MILF ads. For all it's flaws, Spirit has managed to pay me every two weeks for the last thirteen years and thanks to ALPA we've almost doubled our pay in that time span. If we had not accepted an trip average vs a min pay per calendar day back in 2003, we would have actually doubled the pay. So, to all of the "spirit is dragging us down" legacy boys, we've done our part to bring up the bottom, get off your high horse.

With that said, agreed.................

But, why are we comparing hourly rates when hourly rates are only a component of our pay? I may never understand why we play "who has the biggest xxxx" with hourly pay rates.

At mid seniority rates, I make $154 an hour; and by flying my bid line (one third from the top) I made slightly under $150K last year while averaging about eleven FULL days at home per month. Actual days off were Thanks to our "4 min days off between blocks of work" rule, those days off were in blocks of three and four at a time. Were I not a commuter, or were I willing to work some of nightmarish mixed red-eye pairings, I would be able to be home 15 maybe 16 days per month.

skybolt

Well said but don't brag too much about conflict bidding. Conflict bidding is not available to pilots of all seniority unless one lucks into a line that packs flying into the end of a month. I'd guess that in aggregate, conflict bidding makes our contract less than ten percent better. But that is just a guess.

Additionally, I don't expect staffing to remain at current levels once the current expansion winds down. For all of their apparent (to us) incompetence, airline managers will find a way to utilize the fewest possible assets and that means fewer staff than current. They won't stop until they have us all working 82.3 hours per month at straight time. As most of us would were we in their position.

Hugh Betcha

Transition conflict was a total score. I suspect they won't make that mistake again. It appears they are optimizing the potential to bid conflicts out of the package as well.

For Lemonade - if the line awarded during your vacation month has a trip or two that on either of each ends touches your scheduled vacation block they have to drop the entire trip(s) and pay protect you for it.

Hence, being paid to do nothing.

However, it certainly isn't a trick. It was fought for by those that came before you. Welcome aboard.

Plane Ramrod

Negative on the pay protection.
You can either be paid trips missed (out of your vacation bank) or 28 hours. If more time is dropped than you have vacation time to cover, it is dropped unpaid.

Lemonade

Thanks Ramrod. I knew that made no sense. I had a feeling it wasn't possible to get paid for not working except for the occasional transition conflict or some other unusual event. But thanks for responding Hugh, this contract is confusing.

Hugh Betcha

Yes, thanks for the explanation and sorry for the confusion.

Dilbert

Yep. Touched trips on both ends so both trips are gone. Yes, I am charged vacation time for them. But I'm still getting paid not to work. No tricks involved. Hugh Betcha was correct.

Dilbert

Kinda breezey

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