Spirit Airlines hires pilots and flight attendants in hopes of recovering Covid

Spirit Airlines plans to start training new pilots and flight attendants as early as next month, as the low-budget carrier positions itself for a resumption of travel after the pandemic crisis.

“We’ll be a big tenant again,” CEO Ted Christie said Thursday. “The growth of the airline industry will be on the leisure side, and we are the main server for this guest.”

Christie said the airline plans to hire for other positions this year as well. Spirit last trained a class of new pilots in May and new flight attendants last February, a spokesperson said.

The carrier declined to say how many employees it plans to add this year. It ended last year with 8,756 employees, including 2,497 pilots and 4,028 flight attendants, according to a securities filing.

The airline is also recalling some workers who have taken time off, programs that have helped avoid involuntary leaves of unionized workers, who make up the bulk of its workforce. Some of these employees, such as pilots, will also need to meet federally mandated training requirements before returning to work.

“Our training footprint can only handle so much, so it needs to be staggered,” Christie said of the company’s hiring plans.

Spirit lost $ 428.7 million in 2020, its first annual net loss since at least 2007, according to FactSet data. U.S. airlines together lost more than $ 34 billion last year to the pandemic, which executives are calling the industry’s worst crisis.

Spirit, like others, is now hoping that the deployment of vaccines will help revive air travel. The airline plans to return to 2019 capacity levels by mid-year, he said.

“The deployment of vaccines, the reduction in the total number of Covid cases should lead to greater confidence of the traveling public and relaxation of restrictions,” Christie said.

Recovery will take time.

Spirit and other airlines saw weaker-than-expected demand, as Covid cases spiked late last year and early 2021, along with a slow start in vaccine distribution. New travel restrictions such as Covid testing requirements for international flights to the United States are also hurting bookings.

Cowen & Co. airline analyst Helane Becker predicts Spirit’s first quarter revenue to be down 46% from pre-pandemic levels and estimates a loss per share in 2021 plus significant than expected, in part due to the higher costs associated with “preparing operations for growth during recovery.” “

Spirit shares fell more than 8% Thursday to $ 30.01, but its stock price is still up nearly 23% this year, more than most US airlines.

Late Thursday, the House financial services committee put forward a proposal for $ 14 billion in additional federal payroll support for airlines, which have already received $ 40 billion from the government during the pandemic to pay workers . The new round of aid would require airlines to keep their employees until September 30 and be part of the Biden administration’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief program.

Unions, American Airlines and United Airlines have backed another round of aid as the threat of further leave threatens up to 27,000 employees when the current package runs out after March 31.

When asked if he supports additional help even if the airline hires, Christie said, “Our industry has to be fair in all cases, so there cannot be selective help. where the government decides to extend or extend the current one. schedule it or change it, then I think it’s to be expected that all airlines will benefit. “