Spirit Pilots Push for Better Wages, Work Conditions

Feb. 28 -- With contract negotiations set to begin in earnest in two weeks, Spirit Airlines' unionized pilots signaled a push for better pay and improved working conditions during a Fort Lauderdale rally Tuesday arranged by the Air Line Pilots Association.

"We're not asking for anything outrageous. We want a fair wage within the industry -- and to come out of the basement and into the pack," said William Russo, a member of the Spirit pilots' negotiating committee. "Right now, they're trying to run the airline with as few people as possible, and that puts a tremendous strain on all of us."

The negotiations to amend a contract signed in 2003 mark a pivotal point for Miramar-based Spirit, which is rapidly growing its fleet and adding destinations. Keeping costs under control while keeping flight crews happy remains a major challenge as the airline strives to achieve profitability.

Some 60 Spirit captains and first officers attended the rally, coordinated by the 60,000-member Air Line Pilots Association, at the Comfort Suites hotel on Southeast 17th Street. Association President John Prater, the keynote speaker, met with Spirit's senior management on Monday and set the stage for the negotiations.

"We expect to be in full swing by late spring, and we want rapid progress," Prater said before the rally. "If we're not happy with the pace, we could conduct informational picketing at airports, publish advertisements to present our views and hold demonstrations and rallies to generate unity and support."

Spirit's chief executive, Ben Baldanza, said he wants to increase pilots' salaries and to promote first officers to captain through growth of the airline. Baldanza joined Spirit after the last contract renegotiation.

"I want all of our pilots to make more money," Baldanza said. "I'm optimistic we'll get a deal done. It's unfortunate that Spirit is getting lumped into the Air Line Pilots Association's national agenda" that seeks to regain lost wages and benefits for pilots at the larger, more-established carriers, he said.

"Our guys never took a pay cut. Their pensions were never reduced," Baldanza said.

But salaries remain a sticking point with many of Spirit's 400 pilots, who say they are among the lowest-paid in the industry.

"I made $115,000 last year as a captain responsible for as many as 144 lives on my flights," said Matthew Nowell, who heads the Spirit pilots' union. "By contrast, a friend of mine flying for Southwest Airlines made $220,000 last year. And they're both low-cost airlines."

There are 31 sections in the contract up for renewal, and those dealing with pay rates, international pay, scheduling and a procedure called "junior manning" -- calling in off-duty pilots to work when reserve pilots are not available -- are among those with the highest priority for the union.

"Reserve pilots are supposed to be used for abnormal operations, like when they are needed because of a weather delay or illness," Russo said. "But more and more, they are using reserve pilots for normal operations."

Countered Baldanza: "The current agreement places restrictions on how we use reserve pilots. And we hire 12 pilots for every airplane we have -- that's more per plane than most other airlines."

Pilots also complained that Spirit's management has shortened turnaround times at the gate to 30 minutes from between 45 and 50 minutes. Pilots say that virtually traps them in the cockpit without enough time even to get a bite to eat.

Baldanza admitted that the 30-minute turnaround "is putting pressure on all our operations." But, he added, "Southwest has been doing it in 25 minutes."

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