SoFla Spirit Flights Getting Off the Ground
Airline to send nine flights out of Fort Lauderdale Thursday
Getty Images
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - JUNE 12: Spirit Airlines Inc. pilots hold signs as they picket in front of the terminal at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport after the pilots went on strike in a dispute over pay and benefits on June 12, 2010 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Miramar, Florida discount airline is seeing the first strike at a U.S. passenger carrier in nearly five years. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Just hours after a tentative agreement was reached between Spirit Airlines and its pilots, the low-cost carrier is set to resume departing flights out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
The first flight will leave at 4 p.m., with eight others leaving the airport throughout the day, according to the Broward County Aviation Department.
Full service is expected to resume on Friday.
The airline reached a deal with the Air Line Pilots Association late Wednesday, the 5th day of the pilots strike. Flights for the Miramar-based airline had been canceled since Saturday, when the strike went into effect.
The pilots had been seeking salaries on par with what other similar airline pilots make, and union officials said yesterday that they got what they wanted.
"We're pleased to have a tentative agreement that acknowledges the sacrifices each of us made to ensure the success of Spirit Airlines," said Capt. Sean Creed, leader of the Spirit unit of ALPA, in a statement. "This agreement provides increases in pay and retirement benefits, protects our work rules, and ensures our job security at Spirit. After four days on the picket line, this agreement also gets this pilot group and this airline back where they belong-in the air."
Thursday's flights include:
710 FLL-LGA (LaGuardia)
371 FLL-BQN (Aguadilla, Puerto Rico)
439 FLL-MGA (Managua)
845 FLL-SJU (San Juan)
230 FLL-ATL (Atlanta)
626 FLL-MCO (Orlando)
394 FLL-DCA (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport)
174 FLL-LGA (LaGuardia)
436 FLL-ORD (Chicago)
Posted Thursday, Jun 17, 2010 - 11:35 AM EST
