The Main Squawk: Spirit is furloughing an additional 330 pilots on January 31
Spirit’s latest effort to cut costs involves yet another round of furloughs effective January 31. The Company’s first round of furloughs became effective earlier this summer and has prompted a new slogan amongst its pilot group: “Business as Miserable.”
The Airline successfully reworked a deal with some of its creditors last month, in part by maxing out a $300 million line of credit with Citibank. Key to the carrier’s success is renegotiating terms on over $1.1 billion of debt held by bondholders, however.
In addition to furloughs and bargaining with lenders, the Miramar-based ULCC is also cutting capacity by over 20% in 2025. The drawdown will help the Company reduce its overhead to the tune of $80 million by the end of next year. Spoiler alert: it’s not enough.
Of the 3,400 pilots on the Company’s seniority list, nearly 17% will be off property by the end of Q1 2025.
Boeing has a new deal on the table for aerospace workers at its Washington State factories. The deal is the latest in a series of four offers that have been presented to workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local 751.
The previous three offers were turned down by Union members on hopes the Company would increase retirement benefits. Let’s see how the offer stacks up:
- 35% increase in wages over four years, broken down as:
- Year 1: 12% increase
- Year 2: 8% increase
- Year 3: 8% increase
- Year 4: 7% increase
- Reinstated incentive pay program with a “guaranteed” minimum annual payout of 4% starting February 2025
- 401(k) matching of up to 8%, alongside an automatic Company contribution of 4%, and a one-time contribution of $5,000 to each member’s 401(k)
- Ratification bonus of $7,000
- 38% increase in wages over four years, broken down as:
- Year 1: 13% increase
- Year 2: 9% increase
- Year 3: 9% increase
- Year 4: 7% increase
- Reinstated incentive pay program with a “guaranteed” minimum annual payout of 4% starting February 2025
- 401(k) matching of 8% without exception, alongside an automatic Company contribution of 4%. No one-time contribution of $5,000 to each member’s 401(k).
- Ratification bonus increases to $12,000
Looking at it analytically, the October 31 deal weasels out another 3% from the aerospace giant, and rolls the one-time 401(k) contribution of $5,000 into the ratification bonus. There really isn’t much of a gain here.
Regardless, the membership votes on the proposal today, and according to some, the history of Boeing depends on it.
American plans to increase service to London-LHR next summer by operating up to forty-eight flights on peak days. The expansion will include a fifth daily flight from Dallas/Fort Worth with the Airline’s aging Boeing 777-200 aircraft, and a second daily flight from Miami on the Airline’s more desirable Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
The overall increase in service to London-LHR is notable for American. The Fort Worth-based carrier has been decreasing the size of its footprint at Heathrow for the past three years. According to AirlineGeeks, “even with these additional flights, American’s U.S.-London summer schedule will be slightly smaller year-over-year.”
Lufthansa and SWISS expand their codeshare agreement with United with a total of eleven new routes. Lufthansa will now be able to sell tickets on four new routes, including Houston-IAH to Sydney, and San Francisco to Brisbane, Christchurch, and Melbourne, while SWISS will be able to sell tickets on a half-dozen new routes, including:
- Los Angeles – Melbourne
- Los Angeles – Sydney
- San Francisco – Auckland
- San Francisco – Brisbane
- San Francisco – Christchurch
- San Francisco – Melbourne
- San Francisco – Sydney
The expansion of the codeshare agreement began on October 27 and will roll out gradually throughout the winter 2024/2025 season, as reported by AeroRoutes.
Aer Lingus is planning to reduce the size of its aging Airbus A330 fleet to make room for Airbus A321XLR deliveries in 2025.
airBaltic and Air Canada inked a new codeshare agreement.
Air Canada is bringing its Boeing 767s out of retirement.
Alaska is increasing the cost of access to its lounges, finding a loophole in Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s request.
Breeze is extending its Embraer 195 operation through early-December 2024. The low-cost carrier was planning to end services on the E195 fleet in September, but has since pushed back decommissioning the aircraft.
British Airways is telling its employees to stop apologizing to its customers for… well, apparently anything.
Lufthansa is backing out of Minneapolis. Its subsidiary Discover Airlines will pick up the slack.
Iberia is pushing back its Airbus A321XLR debut to November 5.
LATAM is placing an order for ten Boeing 787s with options for five more.
Southwest is switching to bamboo cups and wooden stir sticks in lieu of plastic. Founder Herb Kelleher is rolling over in his grave.
United is making it harder to get Premier status, but once you earn it, it’ll be easier to upgrade yourself into a higher cabin with PointsPlus perks.
Virgin Atlantic is cutting a surprising amount of capacity between London-LHR and Boston, Los Angeles, New York-JFK, and Washington-IAD in its winter schedule.
Editor’s Note: I usually draft these recaps throughout the week while I’m on the line. Every day, I’m scouring the web for the latest news, lending an ear to conversations in the crew room, and listening to only the best rumors in the hotel van. I’m always tuned in, and I really enjoy it.
But next week, I’m taking a break: I’m getting married. For two weeks, I’ll be free of the sky, removed from the operation, and off the grid.
While I’m gone, check out Cranky’s work at The Cranky Flier, or tune into TAC’s podcast The Air Show. Both are great sources for the latest news and serve as major inspiration for stories on this blog.
My next recap will drop just after the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
See you in a few weeks.
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