I saw the referenced letter in the Nov/Dec ALPA magazine and thought the same as this letter writer from another forum:
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In the Dec issue of the ALPA magazine, a UAL pilot tells the story of jumpseating on Spirit Airlines. The gate agents made him buy a non-rev ticket for $24. When the Spirit Captain heard he had to spend money, he "nearly jumped" out of his seat and said "As an ALPA carrier, United has a reciprocal jumpseat with Spirit" and proceeded to the gate and got a refund for the UAL pilot . The United pilot goes on to say that this "reinforced my commitment to my ALPA work".
Now, as an airline pilot for a non-ALPA airline I find this odd. My airline has a reciprocal agreement with Spirit also. What the heck does both airlines being ALPA have to do with a 'brother' pilot helping a brother pilot from getting screwed by a gate agent? I'd like to think that the Spirit Captain would have done the same for me, ALPA or not. Actually I find it unlikely that the Spirit pilot would have mentioned ALPA but more likely said something like "you have a reciprocal agreement with us and shouldn't have been charged and let me look into this...". I think the letter writer is highly exagerrating the ALPA connection. I am sure the Spirit guy would have done the same for a UPS, AA, or SWA pilot.
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I agee with the letter writer. The Spirit guy should do the same for any airline pilot they have a reciprocal jumpseat agreement with whether ALPA or not. For this guy to be a cheerleader for ALPA because the Spirit Captain did what he should have done for any other airline pilot anyway was a disconnect in his thinking.
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In the Dec issue of the ALPA magazine, a UAL pilot tells the story of jumpseating on Spirit Airlines. The gate agents made him buy a non-rev ticket for $24. When the Spirit Captain heard he had to spend money, he "nearly jumped" out of his seat and said "As an ALPA carrier, United has a reciprocal jumpseat with Spirit" and proceeded to the gate and got a refund for the UAL pilot . The United pilot goes on to say that this "reinforced my commitment to my ALPA work".
Now, as an airline pilot for a non-ALPA airline I find this odd. My airline has a reciprocal agreement with Spirit also. What the heck does both airlines being ALPA have to do with a 'brother' pilot helping a brother pilot from getting screwed by a gate agent? I'd like to think that the Spirit Captain would have done the same for me, ALPA or not. Actually I find it unlikely that the Spirit pilot would have mentioned ALPA but more likely said something like "you have a reciprocal agreement with us and shouldn't have been charged and let me look into this...". I think the letter writer is highly exagerrating the ALPA connection. I am sure the Spirit guy would have done the same for a UPS, AA, or SWA pilot.
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I agee with the letter writer. The Spirit guy should do the same for any airline pilot they have a reciprocal jumpseat agreement with whether ALPA or not. For this guy to be a cheerleader for ALPA because the Spirit Captain did what he should have done for any other airline pilot anyway was a disconnect in his thinking.