Spirit Airlines May Cut Jobs, Close Crew Bases to Cope With Soaring Fuel Prices

MIAMI_Discount carrier Spirit Airlines says it may lay off or move up to 60 percent of its flight attendants and 45 percent of its pilots in an effort to cut costs and deal with soaring fuel prices.

The carrier told its unions it plans to close its crew bases in New York's LaGuardia Airport and San Juan, Puerto Rico, and shrink its main Fort Lauderdale crew base by Aug. 1, according to letters released Tuesday by union leaders. The airline is also closing its Detroit base for flight attendants.

Spirit, which is privately owned, flies to 36 cities in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. The carrier employs about 2,200 people and has flight hubs in Detroit and Fort Lauderdale.

The notification letters, required by law under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, were sent out Friday by Jeff Carlson, the airline's vice president of flight operations. Carlson wrote in the letters that the airline will furlough or displace up to 448 flight attendants and 242 pilots. It has about 540 pilots and 750 flight attendants.

"It was utter shock," said Sean Creed, chairman of the Spirit Airlines pilots union. "To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. We are devastated."

The exact number of jobs that may be cut has not been decided.

As many as 240 attendants will be affected in Fort Lauderdale, 141 in Detroit, 15 in New York and 52 in San Juan, according to letters sent to Patricia Friend, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants.

"These are the worst case scenario numbers," said Corey Caldwell, spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants, the union which represents Spirit's attendants. "It's likely the ultimate number will be less, but it kind of popped out of nowhere."

Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza said the letters were just precautionary steps, and that the carrier wanted to be prepared if it needs to make cuts.

"We are being very proactive," Baldanza said. "We are making sure we can be flexible so we can react to the market."

The company said it will monitor oil prices and profits through the hurricane season, which is typically a slow travel time for its Caribbean fleet, before making a final decision on jobs.

"If oil prices move up, you are going to see things move faster," Baldanza said. "If oil prices move down, things are going to move slower."

The proposed layoffs are the latest in an industry struggling to overcome with record fuel prices.