Spirit Airlines tells pilots it wants to cut their pay and shave $100 million from their union deal

"The airline needs to save $100 million a year on its collective bargaining agreement with pilots, Chief Operating Officer John Bendoraitis told the pilots' union in a Tuesday letter shared with Business Insider. He said Spirit "must achieve significant cost savings" to "secure the company's future." "Given the challenges we face, time is of the essence," he added. The letter proposed daily meetings with the Air Line Pilots Association, or ALPA, starting on Wednesday."

"Airline pilots' pay varies depending on seniority. The contract, agreed in 2023, means first officers in their first year at Spirit make $97.15 an hour, while captains who have been there at least 12 years are paid $312 an hour. With a minimum monthly guarantee of 72 hours, that translates to annual salaries between roughly $84,000 and $270,000. With around 3,000 pilots, Spirit's proposed cuts suggest they could face salary cuts of about $30,000 on average."

Spirit Airlines needs $100 million in annual savings and aims to cut pilot pay as part of restructuring tied to a second bankruptcy filing within a year. Daily negotiations were proposed, and failure to reach a deal by October 1 could prompt a bankruptcy-court request to change or reject the pilots' collective bargaining agreement under Chapter 11. Current contract terms yield first-year first officers about $97.15 per hour and long-tenured captains $312 per hour, translating to roughly $84,000–$270,000 annually. With around 3,000 pilots, proposed cuts could average about $30,000 per pilot, and seniority considerations could affect mobility and pay retention.

Read at Business Insider