airline

How the Spirit Bankruptcy Impacts Airports

/ niffer90 / 2 Comments

Spirit Airlines announced on November 18 that they have filed for bankruptcy. While the airline will continue operating as usual (for now) the filing will give it an opportunity to restructure its debt and improve its operations to (hopefully) be more profitable. This will have a big impact not just on Spirit, but on all the agencies and businesses that work with Spirit, including airports.

Before I dig into the airport side of this equasion I must first issue my usual disclaimer: every airport is different. Fee structures vary. Spirit may be a major player at some places and a bit player at others. As a result, how an airport is affected will vary.

At the airport where I worked, Spirit is a signatory airline. This means that they have signed an agreement to rent a certain amount of space (ticket counter, hold rooms, baggage areas, gates, etc.) for a specific number of years (I believe 5). In exchange, Spirit is given lower rates for things like landing fees, parking, terminal use, etc. Non-signatory airlines don’t sign contracts, but their rates are higher.

I dealt with multiple bankruptcy filings during my years in the industry. If I was still at the airport today, here’s what would happen once I receved the official bankruptcy notice. First I would record the date in the airline’s file. The date is important because no collections can be done on any open invoices from prior to that date. For this reason I paid close attention to airlines that were struggling financially. I would try to get them to bring their accounts as current as possible. The airport will only collect pennies on the dollar for each open invoice once bankruptcy is filed so the smaller the balance due, the less money the airport will lose.

The next thing I would do is send the bankruptcy notice to the legal department and copy the CFO. The legal team will eventually have to submit a list of all the airline’s outstanding balances to the bankruptcy court, so I would also send along a statement of account, as well as an estimate of when I expect all billing for the pre-bankruptcy period to be completed.

Several types of billings, like landing fees and fuel charges, are entered a month behind. Normally I would bill all the month’s landings together one one invoice, the month’s fuel on another invoice, and so on. However, when there is a bankruptcy I’ll enter two invoices – one for landings, fuel, etc that happened prior to the filing and another for items post filing. It is more work but it is cleaner. (I forgot to do this when Swift filed bankruptcy and they only paid the second part of their landing fee invoice. That left me with half an invoice hanging around. Ugh! Messy!)

Once everything has been billed I would then send a complete list of open invoices to the legal department for them to file with the court. I would also do a journal entry (fancy accounting magic) to record the total amount as a doubtful account – meaning it is money the airport is owed that it probably won’t get. The pre-bankruptcy invoices will eventually be written off to bad debt.

Filing bankruptcy should allow Spirit to renegotiate their contracts. The previous bankrupties I’ve handled were for non-signatory airlines so there were no contracts involved. However I can make some educated guesses about what Spirit’s options might be.

They could cancel their contract altogether and leave the airport. As of September 2024 they have seen an increase of nearly 200,000 passengers over the prior year. That translates to an increase of around 40%. That’s more growth than any of the other airlines. That’s way better than Frontier (a former potential merger candidate) who has actually had a decrease in passengers this year. Based on their growth I suspect Spirit will choose to stick around.

Another option would be to amend their contract by reducing the amount of space they rent. They could also assess their gate usage to see if there are any savings to be had. (They currently lease a single gate but they often pay extra to use an additional gate. Depending on how much they use the additional gate, leasing it might be cheaper.) One thing they probably can’t do is ask for reduced rates. The airport fees are calculated based on what it costs to run and maintain the terminal and the airfield. Those costs are fixed so there isn’t much wiggle room on the rates.

How much is all this going to hurt the airport? Well, Spirit accounts for about 9% of the airport’s total passengers, so the impact won’t be as bad as it would be if American or Southwest filed bankruptcy. However, the airport is planning to break ground on a new terminal next year. This is a big and expensive undertaking so every penny counts. Whatever they lose on unpaid bills this year will hurt, but ultimately they may be more concerned about Spirit’s future, whether they plan to stay and what the impact would be if they cease to operate.

I truly hope Spirit can pull through this and emerge stronger and better. Past experience is a bit of a toss-up – some airlines improved and contiued to operate while others floundered and eventually folded. To be safe I recommend you get those pictures of Spirit aircraft now while you still can!

Attention in the Terminal!

/ niffer90 / 7 Comments
Except where noted, all photos in this blog are stills from one of the best aviation movies of all time – Airplane!

If you have followed this blog for any length of time then you know that there are certain things at the airport I shouldn’t be given access to. The ATC tower, for example. If I could go up there whenever I wanted then I’d show up unannounced, commandeer a desk and refuse to leave. Some of my coworkers have clearly caught on, which is why the stairs trucks continue to be off-limits. But there are some co-workers who remain blissfully unaware.

A few months back there was a notice in the weekly staff email that the Customer Service Department was looking for volunteers to help them re-record the airport public announcements. You know the ones – they remind you not to leave bags unattended and to have your ID ready before you get to the checkpoint. We’ve had the same PAs for a very long time so the decision was made to refresh them.

I considered signing up. I mean come on – who doesn’t want to record airport PAs? I’ve been secretly plotting to access the system and page Captain Oveur for years. (And if you don’t recognize the reference then you haven’t seen the movie Airplane!, in which case we can’t be friends.) Unfortunately my job has been ridiculously busy and I completely forgot all about this golden opportunity until well past the deadline.

Then a couple weeks ago the fire alarm went off. This is not an unusual occurence – sometimes little kids escape from their parents and pull the alarm, sometimes one of the restaraunts burns someone’s lunch and sets off the smoke sensors. Any time the alarm goes off we are required to leave the office and stand out on the ramp near the tug drive. My coworkers congregated in groups. I hid myself around the corner where I could avoid small talk and watch airplanes.

But then I saw the Customer Service Manager waking my way. She said hello and asked how I was. Then she asked if I would be interested in recording some of the airport PAs. They had gotten several volunteers, but she was hoping to get someone from accounting. Of course I agreed to help out. I mean, we can’t let the accounting department go unrepresented, now can we!

The next day I got an email with a copy of the annoucements and a request to select a time slot to do the recording. I selected one of the last slots available. I then reviewed the verbiage I’d be required to read. *Yawn* Airport announcements are pretty darn boring. There has got to be a better way to remind people about all the things they should probably already know. “Yo! Listen up people! Keep an eye on your bags. Don’t take guns through the checkpoint. Find your ID. And for the love of God find your kids so they don’t pull the damn fire alarm again.”

One week later I showed up at my appointed time with a print-out of the announcements in hand. The Customer Service Manager was there. So was a tech who was in charge of the recording. They sat me in front of a microphone and explained that when I was ready the tech would start the recording, wait two seconds to capture the background noise, then he’d point at me to begin speaking. We would go through the announcements in order, beginning with the one about unattended bags and ending with the one about curbside lanes.

Things went pretty smoothly. The tech pointed, I read and we made small talk between takes until the tech was ready for me to read the next one. We worked our way through the list until we got to the last one. The curbside annoucement is supposed to be about lanes being restricted and unattended vehicles being towed. But I didn’t read it. Oh no. I was not about to pass up an opportunity to make the announcement I’ve waited my whole career to make. I took a breath, waited for my cue, leaned in to the microphone and said:

“The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the red zone.”

I watched the Customer Service Manager out of the corner of my eye as I was speaking. She looked confused. She checked the paper with the announcements. Then a look of recognition dawned and she began to laugh. Then the tech began to laugh. And by the end, I was also laughing. Bucket list item – complete!

Of course, I had to go back and record the actual curbside announcement. However, the decision was made to save the white zone announcement too, although I’m not sure what they plan to do with it. If you ever fly through a medium-sized midwestern airport late at night and hear an announcement about not stopping in the red zone, you aren’t imagining things. And if you need to use a courtesy phone, be sure to use a white one.

A Starship stopped by recently. So glad I happened to be watching when it left.

A World Away Close to Home

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As everyone knows by now, there is a war going on in Ukraine. It’s a war that affects us all to one degree or another. But I didn’t really expect it to impact me at work very much. After all, our traffic is mostly domestic, with a few flights to Canada and Mexico mixed in. At least that’s the case at the passenger airport where my office is. Just down the road, however, is our cargo airport. It accepts flights from all over the world – including Ukraine and Russia.

When it comes to airplanes, I do not discriminate – I love them all! I marvel at the engineering and their capabilities. Flying is magic! I love seeing the different liveries and configurations and people who fly them. This is why I love the cargo airport so much. And why I need to get down there more often.

The most challenging aspect of my job typically involves invoicing – figuring out who to bill and how to get the invoice to them. In this regard I’ve run into issues with Ukraine and Russia before. There used to be an airline called Ruslan which was run jointly by the two countries. It ceased to exist in late 2016 leaving me scrambling to figure out who to bill for their final charges.

Since then both Antonov (Ukraine) and Volga Dnepr (Russia) have been fairly regular visitors. I love to see them come in because they both fly the AN-124, which is an incredibly impressive airplane. I’ve gotten up close and personal with a couple of them and have been awe-struck every time.

During the pandemic, however, their visits stopped. Perhaps they didn’t have any cargo for our area. Or maybe covid restrictions kept them away. Whatever the cause, the plane spotting community missed them. So you can imagine the excitement in mid-February when Volga Dnepr returned.

Then Russia attacked Ukraine. And sanctions were imposed upon Russia. Suddenly things got complicated. And in the midst of it all I had to send an invoice for FBO services to a Russian airline. Um… awkward!

At most airports the FBOs are independent operators. At our cargo airport, however, the airport authority runs the FBO. How does the billing work? Well the FBO keeps track of all the flights and the services provided. This includes things like turn fees (the cost of unloading cargo and then loading the outbound freight), lavatory services, de-icing, GPU usage, pushback services and fueling. The FBO also arranges catering for outbound flights and transportation to and from hotels for the crews. The details are compiled into a spreadsheet and sent to me at the end of the month. I then create invoices and send them to the responsible parties.

In the case of Volga Dnepr, we bill them directly for FBO services, but their fuel billing goes through another provider. We received an email from the fuel provider last week reminding us that they are required to abide by all laws and sanctions that have been imposed as a result of the conflict.

So what does all this mean? Well… I’m not holding my breath on receiving payment from either Volga or the third party fueling company any time soon. Perhaps not ever. I put a poll up on twitter about this situation. The results suggest most people agree with my assessment. I’ll have to send another invoice to Volga later this month for landing fees. In the meantime, I’ll be praying for peace.

💙💛🌻💙💛🌻💙💛

Lessons from the Window

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It has been almost a year since I moved to my desk by the window. As expected, it has been AMAZING. Even though I’m no stranger to the activity on the airfield, there are still some things I’ve learned from this new perspective.

Yes, I CAN Get My Work Done

Let’s get this out of the way first. It has been suggested that I might be so fascinated by the airfield activity that I won’t get anything done. Nope. I’m actually a good multitasker – I can work and keep an eye outside at the same time. Plus I’ve perfected my camera grabbing technique so I can go from tedious spreadsheet to amazing airplane pics in just a couple seconds.

Airbuses and RJs and Boeings… Oh My!

My desk is right behind gate 21 and I can also see gate 19, both of which are leased by American Airlines. They mostly park A319s and E175s out there. However every now and then a CRJ shows up. The CRJ200 is probably my favorite because compared to the others it looks like a little toy plane. To connect to the jetbridge they have to lower the steps, which makes it look even more like a toy. As passenger numbers have increased American has started to bring back the 737s. It makes for a nice mix of planes through-out the day.

I Hope It’s Worth the NOISE!

It’s no secret that the airfield is a noisy place, but I have a whole new appreciation of what that means. Let’s start with the jetbridges. Every time they move, alarms go off that sound just like old fire alarms or school bells. Then there are the APUs. Most aren’t noticeable, but every now and then a plane shows up with a loud, whiny APU. Of all the airfield noises, this one makes me the most crazy. Ground support vehicles aren’t exactly quiet either. The Air Start Cart can make quite a racket. And did you know tugs have horns? Oh yes. Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeeeep!

Special Liveries

I see a lot of American and Southwest airplanes from my desk because both have gates on the south side of the airfield. By happy coincidence, both airlines also have a number of special liveries. Southwest has the most flights so it isn’t surprising that I see multiple special liveries a week. They have a new one called Freedom One that I’m quite fond of. My favorite thing, however, is when American’s PSA livery parks at gate 21. It’s hard not to smile back when there’s an airplane smiling in the window at you.

The South Side is the Best Side

My desk looks out at the south runway, which is the longer of the two and both FBOs are on this side of the airfield. This makes for a wide variety of airplanes for me to enjoy. Even when the south runway is closed, if 28 Right is in use then most planes will have to taxi by my desk to get to it. Win-win! This dramatically increases my ability to catch the resident P-51. Nothing makes a work day better than a warbird!

Mighty Military

When I combine a desk view with Flight Radar 24 or ADSB Exchange plus Live ATC, then not even the military can sneak by me. A few months ago I managed to catch a C-130 and a KC-135 doing practice approaches, followed by a C-17 and TWO C-5s which landed at the airport to pick up cargo. All this in ONE DAY!

Snow Cool

If you’ve looked at my older posts then you know I’m fascinated by winter operations. Now I have a front row seat to watch the snow warriors get it done. From plows on the runways to deice trucks to mini snow pushers on the ramp, I get to see all the action.

Upside Downside

If you ask my coworkers what they don’t like about being by the windows they’ll tell you two things – it can get very cold on cloudy winter days and every now and then it smells like jet fuel. They have a point about the cold. I keep a stack of extra sweaters, jackets and even gloves to wear at my desk. As for the jet fuel… well you know me – I love the smell of Jet A in the morning!

Working AT the Airport vs Working FOR the Airport

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E7831688-6818-4CEE-A322-9DFBAE7A72CCI saw a video on twitter recently of a baggage handler behaving badly. The person who tweeted the video tagged the airport to complain. Other people chimed in as well, demanding that the airport take action. The problem is, baggage handlers are not actually airport employees. They work AT the airport but they don’t work FOR the airport. The media often makes the same mistake. More than once I’ve come across a headline proclaiming “Airport Employees Accused of…” only to learn that the people in question are employed by some other company that just happens to do business out of the airport.

Unfortunately, if you don’t work in aviation it can be difficult to tell who works for whom. And even if you do work in aviation, the differences aren’t always clear. Further complicating matters is the fact that every airport is different. However, I think my airport is a fairly good example of how things are run at most airports in the US, so here’s how it is for us.

c2fbef0b-de48-4cf3-9b97-baa34ac049c0.jpegTicket Counter and Gate Agents

The ticket counter and gate agents at my airport are either airline employees, or they work for a company that has been subcontracted by the airline. These folks are almost never airport employees. I say “almost” because there are a few exceptions.  For example, some low cost and charter carriers that operate out of secondary airports will contract with the airport to use airport employees to handle ticketing. However, the vast majority of the time these employees are the responsibility of the airline.

Ground Agents/Baggage Handlers

Once again, these are airline employees, or they work for a subcontractor hired by the airline (with the same exceptions outline above). 

TSA/Security Personnel 

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

TSA agents are part of the Department of Homeland Security. They work at airports, but they are hired, trained and supervised independently by the US government. That said, some airports do have their own security teams and/or subcontract with another provider. At my airport we have both TSA agents who handle passenger screening and a private company which manages traffic flow and provides additional security support. 

Restaurant and Store Associates:

All the restaurants and stores at the airport are run by independent companies. These companies hire, train and supervise their own employees. 

36439472_UnknownCustodians and Building Maintenance:

Custodians and building maintenance personnel are airport employees. However, certain system specialists are independent contractors. For example, we bring in employees from outside companies to manage things like the baggage systems and the escalators and elevators.

Airport Police:

In airports that are run by cities, the airport police are usually city police. At my airport, however, the police are airport employees. So are the K9s. 

36438784_UnknownYou may be wondering: don’t airports have ANY authority over the people who work there, even if they work for another company? Well… yes. Sort-of. The airport is responsible for issuing SIDA (Secure Identification Area) badges to anyone who works in secure areas, regardless of who their employer is. If someone violates SIDA rules then the airport can revoke their clearance, effectively preventing them from being able to work. And, of course, anyone breaking the law can expect to spend some quality time with the airport police.

So, who do you contact if you have a complaint or concern while traveling through an airport? Well, if it relates directly to your flight (ticketing, baggage, delays, cancellations, etc.) your best bet is to contact the airline. If it relates to the building (leaks, trash, etc) then contact the airport. However, any time you are in doubt, go ahead and contact the airport. If they cannot help you directly, they can connect you to appropriate party to resolve the issue and get you on your way.  Happy travels!

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Going Where?

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July to Oct 2015 iphone pics 2703It may come as a surprise to learn that I haven’t flown commercially in nearly a decade. However, many years ago I worked for a company that required me to travel several times each year. During that time I had a couple of wacky adventures that I look back on with amusement.

Brown Paper Package

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Photo by Marcella, Creative Commons License

One trip involved a flight with a coworker I’ll call Jay. We weren’t scheduled to depart until later in the day, so we worked in the office that morning and planned to head to the airport in the afternoon. As we were preparing to walk out the door another coworker, Mary, appeared and handed us each a package. “Here! I made you guys care packages for the flight!”

I found myself holding a package that had been crudely wrapped in plain brown paper with the words: “DO NOT OPEN UNTIL PLANE IS IN THE AIR!” written on the top in bold, black marker. Um… What the hell? Mary was standing there, smiling from ear to ear. Not sure what else to do, Jay and I thanked her and hurried to catch our ride.

suspicious_mail_or_packages_posterOnce in the car I looked at Jay.

Me: Well, either she’s very sweet or she’s trying to get us arrested.

Jay: Did she just give us bombs?

Me: I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell not taking this to the airport, let alone onto the plane!

Jay: Me either!

Me: I suppose we should open them…

Jay: You first!

I cautiously opened my package to discover snacks, playing cards and other small trinkets. Apparently Mary had good intentions. Then again, maybe she figured the fastest way to a promotion was to get her coworkers indefinitely detained!

The Unknown Destination

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Photo by Adrian Arpingstone, Creative Commons License

In the days before 9/11 when air travel was a wee bit more relaxed, I flew to Jamaica to attend the annual company conference. In those days you could fly to most Caribbean destinations using a driver’s license for ID. However, HR insisted every attendee have a passport, which was collected from us immediately upon arrival at the conference. I figured they were using them to cross-check attendance or something.

Normally at these events we attended meetings during the day, and social events in the evening. However, as I reviewed the schedule I noticed that we had meetings Friday morning and then nothing until Saturday afternoon. This was definitely unusual.

Jamaica

Photo by RickPilot, Creative Commons License

At the conclusion of the Friday morning meetings we were gathered together, handed plane tickets and placed onto buses. An examination of the ticket revealed something strange – there was no destination! When we arrived at the airport we ran to the monitors to check our flight information. The destination for our flight listed as Dominica. But a second later the destination changed to the Turks and Caicos. Then it changed again to Cuba. It continued to display various destinations while we waited.

Finally we were called to board. The gate agents smiled knowingly and played along saying, “Have fun in Havana!” “Enjoy St. Lucia!” We walked out onto the ramp to find two Boeing 737s waiting for us. After we were seated and the cabin crew had completed the safety briefing, the Captain got on the PA. I thought we would FINALLY learn our destination. Wrong! The Captain welcomed us aboard and noted that we had great weather for our flight. He went on to say that he had no clue where we were going so he figured we’d just cruise around at 34,000 feet for a while. Doh!

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Photo by Torsten Maiwald, Creative Commons License

I have to imagine this situation must have been pretty amusing for the crew. I mean how often do commercial pilots get to pretend like they have no idea where they are going? (Actually, don’t answer that!) The flight attendants certainly thought the whole situation was funny! Soon after the Captain’s announcement we took off and a few minutes later found ourselves cruising above the Caribbean with NO IDEA where we were going. So, where do you think we ended up? Go ahead, take a guess!

 

 

 

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Photo by BeanZull, Creative Commons License

If you guessed Panama then congratulations – you’re a winner! As we taxied to the gate it dawned on me that I didn’t have my passport. In fact, none of us had our passports. Uh-oh! Fortunately somebody  must have done some creative “negotiating” because we exited the airplanes and marched right through the terminal – no customs, no immigration, nothing.

panama_canal_gatun_locks

Photo by Stan Shebs, Creative Commons License

We made our way out front where we got into open-air buses, each with a mariachi band in the back. They took us down to the canal where we boarded a party boat. We were wined and dined for several hours as we cruised up and down the canal. We returned to Jamaica in the wee hours of the morning with serious hangovers and one heck of a story to tell.

So, when will I fly commercially again? I don’t know, although I have a couple potential trips in mind. However, I’m pretty sure I will never get to jet off into the unknown again, which is why I cherish the Panama stamp in my passport. (Nope – I have no clue how it got there!)

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