CEO's Fireside Chat Promising, Combined Airline Expected to Offer "Mainline Carrier" Treatment to Pilots

Frontier Master Executive Council (MEC) chair Capt. Alan Christie and Spirit MEC chair Capt. Ryan Muller of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) released the following statement in response to their respective chief executive officers’ comments today at the 2022 Barclays Industrial Select Conference. 

The Air Line Pilots Association has commented on the proposed merger mentioned by the CEOs of Frontier and Spirit Airlines, affirming the group's stance that the resulting pilot contract should reflect the increased size of the combined company, looking more like a mainline carrier contract than a regional one. In a short statement addressing the recent talks between the two, ALPA said: 

“In speaking about synergies of the proposed merger, we are pleased to hear that the Frontier and Spirit CEOs Barry Biffle and Ted Christie recognize the need for the merged pilots’ contract to be on par with the pilots who fly for the mainline carriers. Pilots have many career options. Spirit and Frontier pilots who are currently contemplating their career choices in this hot hiring market are pleased to know that our CEOs understand that pilot compensation needs to be in line with the top of the industry in order to attract quality pilot candidates, and that this will be critical to the success of our combined carrier.”

To be fair, it's hard to say anyone in the airline industry hasn't seen the looming pilot shortage as a large group of captains steadily approach 65 each year. ALPA's constituent 62,000 pilots at almost 40 airlines have been feeling the changing temperature in the airline waters as they watch increasing compensation for previously stagnant operators and carriers, with hungrier recruitments schemes being put into place for those pilots early in their careers. For the merged Frontier/Spirit Airline, there is little choice but to compensate their pilots well - if they don't, then their pilots can jump ship to someone who does. Hammering out the mesh is no easy feat, integrating two disparate networks with their own seniority and home bases, but it's possible that the combined company can offer pilots from both sides a better mainline-flavored deal than their older regional one. Without the details in hand, it can only be guessed at. ALPA appears to approve of the groundwork laid so far, which is always a good indicator for the pilots. 

FMI: www.alpa.org, www.flyfrontier.com