KOA Headlines
11 13 24 Aviation Expert Steve Cowell on Frontier pilots poised to go on strike
But there's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one. #FDIC It is Ryan C. Chris here. People always say it's good to unwind, but that's easier said than done. The exception? Chumba Casino. They actually make it easier done than said. Or at least the same. Chumba Casino is an online social casino with hundreds of casino-style games like Slots and Blackjack. Play for fun. Play for free. For your chance to redeem some serious prizes, sign up now to collect your free welcome bonus at ChumbaCasino.com. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. No purchase necessary. BGW Group, void where prohibited by law, 18-plus terms and conditions apply. If you put aside 25 cents every week for a year, what could you get at the end? A few cups of coffee maybe? A candle? Or you could get a year of the best reporting from all over the world. Go to washingtonpost.com/bf24 right now. You'll get a Washington Post subscription for 25 cents a week for your first year. This is a Black Friday sale, so it won't last long. Washington Post.com/bf24. Pilots from Frontier Airlines and other members of the Airline Pilots Association's International Picketing outside of the Frontier's Denver headquarters earlier this week as they're continuing to negotiate a contract for compensation that's more in line with that of their competitors. And Frontier drops its bid to buy troubled airline spirit, both issues now with our next guest former pilot aviation expert, Steve Kal joining us here in the K-A-A-C. Comment Spirit Health Studio. My friend. Good to see you. Good to see you all. Let's start with the Frontier pilots efforts to negotiate a better deal. According to the spokesperson Alan Christie, I don't even know if you know who Alan Christie is. You probably do. They say that they are paid roughly 49% less than their industry peers. Do you know that to be the case? You know, I really don't know, but I can tell you every pilot is always underpaid. And I say that very tongue-in-cheek because during negotiations, you're always pointing out what everybody else is getting. Everybody leapfrogs the next carrier once that next carrier gets a contract. Suddenly, you're underpaid again. So when it comes to what we've been seeing with the Frontier pilots, how realistic is it that they could just hit the picket lines and Frontier flights would just be ultimately grounded? I think the chances of the Frontier pilots ever going on strike are next to nil. It's just not going to happen these days. Airline pilots don't go on strike. The last major real big strike was 1983. And that was the United pilots and actually continental pilots back then as well. But there are several steps involved with an airline during negotiations. The pilot groups and airlines have to obey this 1929 law called the Railway Labor Act. And basically it allows you to negotiate, go through mediation. Then there'll be a 30-day cooling off and it's during that 30-day cooling off at the very last steps that usually an agreement is made. But I believe in this case there will be an intervention. But the chances of any disruptions, especially during the holiday time, are just about zero. Have pilot compensation and pay changed in the last three decades or so? And does any of that coincide with training? In many ways, has the job felt cheap in many ways by how the industry shifts and the seismic ships when it comes to travel and flying? Well, the job hasn't changed, really, since the time that I was flying commercially. And fundamentally, you're getting on a large aircraft. You have to have knowledge. You fly the people from A to B. You're in charge of the safety and security of those passengers once you're up in the air. And you take a lot of joy in getting somebody to their destination safely. Fundamentally, the job hasn't changed. But what's changed is the perception that there was a shortage of pilots. But if you go back in time, there has always been a circumstance, an airline going under something happening to where there's a release of a lot of pilots or economic factors in that really make pilots more available. But pilots have had increases, steady increases in wages and benefits throughout the last three decades. Well, speaking of an airline going under, Steve, it feels like the spirit merger talks have been going on for as long as I can remember. Why do we keep seeing these talks fail with multiple airlines at this point? Well, the funny thing about the spirit airline, and it actually relates to frontiers, they have common roots in the Indigo partners who started really both of the airlines or they didn't really start the airlines, but the Indigo partners stepped in and bought frontier years ago. But that said, spirit is really, really in bad shape financially. I don't predict that they will be around the failed merger that they had with JetBlue or the failed takeover by JetBlue is going to also continue with frontier. Frontier is on a little bit more solid footing financially, but they don't have the resources. But what will happen once spirit shuts down, and I believe that they will, you've got airlines out there that are going to be grabbing up the airplanes, and that's the main reason that JetBlue wanted that airline. Anything else industry-wide with travel, with flying, that we should be looking at, we should be asking that maybe we haven't thought of to ask? Business-wise, all the airlines are doing fairly well. The prices of fuel, their main cost, is way, way down. Frontier is paying in the neighborhood of $2.87 a gallon. Pretty much what we're all paying at the pump right here in Colorado. But that said, wages now are increasing and number one, there isn't a shortage of pilots. There never will be a shortage of pilots. Number two, there'll be less consolidation in the future, but there might be one or two, like a spirit, dropping out of the industry, but that's really all that we're going to be seeing. When you talk about the possibility of spirit dropping out of the industry, you talk about how other airlines will be grabbing up their airplanes. Would we see mass layoffs, or would they try to grab up some of their personnel as well? What's going to happen, and characteristically what happens when an airline does go under and stops operation, their pilots are giving preferential hiring at the other airlines. But the bad news is, those pilots are going to have to start at the bottom of the seniority list. People that were captains at spirit airlines are going to have to start off as first officers again. Aviation expert, pilot, Steve Kal, thanks, Steve. Thank you. There's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado. There's only one. Remember FDIC. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest. Life comes at you fast, which is why it's important to find some time to relax a little you time. Enter Chumba Casino with no download required. You can jump on anytime, anywhere for the chance to redeem some serious prizes. So treat yourself with Chumba Casino and play over 100 online casino style games all for free. Go to ChumbaCasino.com to collect your free welcome bonus. Sponsored by Chumba Casino, no purchase necessary, VGW Group, void where prohibited by law, 18 plus terms and conditions apply. I have a way to make your morning more efficient. You can get caught up on the news in about seven minutes. That is my promise to you as the host of the seven podcast from the Washington Post. And in that time, I will run down seven stories, everything from the most important headlines to fascinating new information you might miss otherwise. My name's Hannah Jewell. Go follow the seven right now, wherever you're listening, and we will get you caught up. (upbeat music)