ORLANDO, Fla. — A growing number of Spirit Airlines workers are beginning to figure out how to earn their wings again – or transition to a different industry after they were suddenly laid off Saturday morning.
CareerSource said 1,600 workers were based in Orlando between Spirit and its contractors, which included positions ranging from pilots to janitors.
Some will face easy paths back to employment, such as maintenance workers who are in high demand.
Others, such as customer service workers and flight attendants, are staring down an industry that is cutting back because of high jet fuel prices brought about by the war in Iran.
“That was my retirement job,” a ticket counter agent, Elhan, said. “That was my dream job.”
Like many, Elhan worked for a third-party company that contracted with Spirit and other airlines. She said she was shocked to be laid off from her job of two years instead of suspended and offered the opportunity to transition to another airline.
Don Reno Intreglia, president of the Orlando Spirit flight attendants’ union, said airlines regularly get tens of thousands of applications for open positions.
For attendants who find their way into a cabin again, they’ll lose their seniority and longevity bonuses, meaning they’ll get the worst schedules and significantly lower pay than they received with Spirit. Some, who were days or weeks away from retirement, will miss those benefits.
“In the meantime, a lot of us are turning to anything we can like hospitality,” Intreglia, whose spouse was also a flight attendant with Spirit, said.
However, other industries could seek to poach those workers. In addition to hospitality and customer service positions, flight attendants could work toward nursing licenses because of their medical training.
One company at the CareerSource office Tuesday said they were seeking baggage handlers and janitors. They estimated the airport had a few hundred positions available across all contractors, including theirs.
Still, some said aviation was their dream, and hoped to find a way back in.
“We need to be strong and we need to have faith,” Elhan said. “I have faith. I have a lot of faith.”
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