Spirit Pilot's
Strike Affects
Flights To Costa
Rica
All flights to
and from Costa
Rica and other
destinations on
Spirit Airlines,
the American
budget carrier,
are on hold
until today as
the airline's
pilots continue
their strike
action. None of
the airline's
440 pilots have
crossed the
picket line,
according to
Paul Hopkins, a
union
spokesperson.
 
Spirit, which is
privately held,
carries around
one percent of
US passengers.
Spirit's labour
relations have
long been
contentious. The
company has been
negotiating with
the union for
three years, and
the two sides
recently spent a
week in
Washington
trying to strike
a last-minute,
government-brokered
deal. Spirit's
business model
relies on low
labour costs, so
it's no surprise
that things came
to a head.
“We are
frustrated and
disappointed
that our pilots
have turned down
an over 30
percent increase
at a cost of
over us$70
million over
five years while
disrupting
thousands of our
customers and
jeopardizing the
livelihoods of
our over 2,000
employees,”
Spirit Airlines
President and
CEO Ben Baldanza
said in the
statement.
Spirit began
canceling some
flights Friday
(June 11) and
advised
customers of
alternative
travel options.
The strike is
the first at a
U.S. passenger
airline
operating on a
regular schedule
since 2005, when
mechanics walked
off the job at
Northwest
Airlines Corp.
Spirit’s pilots
said they are
seeking pay on
par with
low-fare
competitors
JetBlue Airways
Corp., AirTran
Holdings Inc.
and Southwest
Airlines Co.
Spirit flies
daily to Costa
Rica from Fort
Lauderdale.
And although the
pilots are not
flying, in Costa
Rica, Aeris -
the manager of
the San José
international
airport - still
shows flight
NK336 arriving
on time at 11:40
and flight NK756
leaving on time
at 12:34pm
today, as it
does everyday.
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