Talks between Spirit Airlines and striking pilots resume; flights grounded through Thursday

Spirit Airlines and striking pilots resume talks

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Spirit Airlines and its striking pilots started negotiating again on Tuesday, looking for common ground to end a four-day-old walkout that has grounded the discount carrier.

Spirit canceled all of its flights through Thursday. It also furloughed its flight attendants until the strike ends, said Corey Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.

The strike began Saturday, when pilots rejected a company offer because they wanted larger raises than Spirit was offering. Spirit hasn’t flown since then.

The National Mediation Board asked pilots and the company to meet on Tuesday to see if there was anything for the two sides to talk about, said Andy Nelson, vice chairman of the council for the Spirit branch of the Air Line Pilots Association. He said it is progressing to an exchange of proposals and full negotiations.

“I’m assuming they’ll do it as long as there are fruitful negotiations,” he said.

The talks could still fall apart, and the union said the strike would continue until there’s a deal.

“We must remain prepared to be on strike for many more days if necessary,” the union told pilots in a hot line message. The message also said that the furloughs are aimed at increasing pressure during the strike.

A Spirit spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment on the furloughs or the negotiations.

Normally the airline carries roughly 16,000 passengers per day, or about 1 percent of the nation’s air traffic. Its biggest hub is in Fort Lauderdale, with flights to U.S. cities including Detroit and Atlantic City, N.J., as well as the Caribbean and Latin America.

Spirit is privately held, and based in Miramar, Fla.