FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A strike by Spirit Airlines pilots has shut down the discount carrier, stranding thousands of travelers.
The walkout, which began Saturday, forced the airline to cancel flights Saturday and today. Its CEO said no talks were scheduled with picketing pilots.
Spirit carries 16,680 passengers per day - about 1 percent of the U.S. total - mostly between the eastern U.S. and the Caribbean and Latin America. But its shutdown is causing major problems for its fliers.
Spirit tickets are only good on a handful of other carriers, and only if there's space on the flight. The airline said it was refunding fares for Saturday flights plus giving a $100 credit toward future flights. It was trying to get its passengers booked onto other airlines.
People who needed to replace their Spirit tickets found the cost of same-day fares on other airlines was two to three times more than their tickets.
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Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is Spirit's main hub, where it is the only airline to 14 international cities and five U.S. destinations, said airport spokesman Greg Meyer. Around the country, Spirit runs roughly 150 flights per day.
The Spirit terminal, usually the busiest in Fort Lauderdale, was full of angry travelers desperate to return home or start trips on Saturday. Extra Spirit staff and police were posted in the ticketing area.
Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza said he hoped to get some of Spirit's 31 aircraft flying soon with management pilots or others who cross the picket line, but no such flights took place Saturday.
He said Spirit has lined up one airplane from another air carrier - he declined to say which one - to complete a few flights. He was hoping to add other carriers.
Spirit pilots have said their pay lags competitors such as AirTran Airways and JetBlue. The airline and its pilots had been negotiating for more than three years.
Pilots "will not return to the cockpit until a fair and equitable contract is negotiated," Sean Creed, a Spirit captain and head of its Air Line Pilots Association unit, said in a statement on the union's website.
Airline analyst Vaughn Cordle said Spirit pilots made more per hour of flying in 2009 in wages and benefits than AirTran pilots, but less than JetBlue.
Baldanza, the CEO, said Spirit has made money over the past year and a half and that he knew its pilots would need raises.
The company offered to raise pilot pay by 30 percent over five years, although work rule changes mean pilots would have to fly more to earn that money.
Spirit's offer also kept a four-day break between every pilot trip, something the company said no other pilot union contract has. The offer also included a $3,000 signing bonus and a larger retirement match.
The strike is being closely watched because pilots at much larger carriers, including American Airlines, are also locked in tough negotiations.
At a glance
A look at Spirit Airlines:
Passengers boarded each day: 16,681
Rank by passengers among U.S. carriers: 21st
Flights per day: Roughly 150
Pilots: 440
Aircraft: 31 Airbus A319-320-321s
Source: The company; Airline Forecasts LLC
