Some former Spirit pilots are temporarily back to work ferrying the now-defunct carrier’s aircraft back to lessors.
In an interview with CBS News, Bob Allen, managing partner of Nomadic Aviation Group, said the company has retained former Spirit pilots to fly the aircraft to storage facilities.
Nomadic operates ferry flights for the aircraft leasing industry.
“The airline shuts down, they leave airplanes stranded all over the country, and then my company comes in and we get pilots and we get them to the airports where these airplanes are,” Allen said.
The effort involves coordinating with airports, leasing companies, and the FAA, which ultimately grants permission for the company to fly the aircraft back to their owners.
Allen said Nomadic is using all former Spirit pilots to relocate the failed carrier’s fleet.
“It helps a lot, not only putting some money in their pocket, but when you have this situation, some people need the closure,” he said. “They need to feel, ‘OK, I’m on this last flight, I’m putting this airplane away, then I’m going to continue on to some other part of this career.’”
Spirit folded May 2, leaving over 17,000 people out of work. Attorneys for the airline placed the blame squarely on the recent surge in the price of jet fuel, brought about by the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. A potential last-minute bailout from the Trump administration, reported to be worth up to $500 million, ultimately failed to materialize.
Allen said he’s seen several airline shutdowns, and noted that the process can be extremely disorienting for laid off workers.
“It’s a huge impact on the people at the airlines,” he said. “Everybody who works at Spirit has a lot of pride in where they work, they’re attached to this place, and when something like this happens, it feels like it’s a death in the family.”
