Dear Spirit Family,
There is no easy way to write this letter. On May 2nd, more than seven thousand of you—our brothers and sisters—lost your jobs, your healthcare, your security, and the daily community you built over years and decades. However, you remain our colleagues.
To the pilots who strapped on the jet with pride, to the flight attendants who showed up at o’dark:thirty to take care of strangers, to the mechanics, dispatchers, gate agents, and every employee at every base and every hub—please hear me as I say this: you matter. What you built mattered. And the way it ended was not what you deserved.
An airline is never just a logo on a tail. It’s the people inside the uniform, the friendships born on layovers and in the crew rooms that felt like a second home. To have all of that taken from you with barely an hour of warning is a wound the rest of us cannot fully understand, but we stand beside you as it heals.
You are not invisible to the rest of the aviation world. ALPA, AFA-CWA, and the leadership of every major carrier in this country has moved quickly to open job pipelines and preferential interview pathways. Aero Crew News will do its part too, publishing every hiring link we can confirm while amplifying your voices so this industry never forgets what happened. Below, you can access the list to date.
For everyone impacted, our sister company, Aero Crew Solutions, is offering a 20% discount on all their services (application review, résumé critique, interview prep and career consulting).
To my readers at every other carrier: when a Spirit résumé crosses your desk, extend your hand and more. That will show our airline industry at its best.
Fly Safe,
Craig Pieper
Publisher, Aero Crew News, LLC
Airlines With Dedicated Spirit Hiring Programs
MAJOR CARRIERS — CONFIRMED PREFERENTIAL SPIRIT PROGRAMS
American Airlines — “Supporting Spirit”
Dedicated microsite with postings prioritized for former Spirit team members.
jobs.aa.com/go/supportingspirit/9903300/
United Airlines — Spirit Employees Portal
Dedicated portal; United flags applications for recruiters to prioritize and has stated a preferential-interview pathway for displaced ALPA pilots.
united.com/SpiritEmployees
Delta Air Lines
Confirmed it is accelerating reviews of Spirit pilot applications to fill upcoming interview slots. Planning 2,400–2,600 pilot hires across 2026 with weekly new-hire classes.
delta.com/us/en/careers
Southwest Airlines
Does not have a dedicated landing page for Spirit professionals anymore.
JetBlue Airways
Publicly announced preferential employment interviews for affected Spirit pilots and flight attendants.
Avelo Airlines
Launched a hiring drive for displaced Spirit crewmembers within 24 hours of the shutdown. Same Airbus aircraft family, similar ULCC service model, and overlapping bases make Spirit experience a near-direct transfer. Hiring across four current bases plus the new McKinney, Texas (TKI) base opening this fall.
aveloair.com/careers
Frontier Airlines
Part of the DOT-coordinated nine-carrier response. Actively hiring and expanding on routes formerly served by Spirit, including South Florida and the Caribbean.
flyfrontier.com/careers
Allegiant Air
Part of the DOT-coordinated nine-carrier response; froze fares on overlapping routes and is hiring.
allegiantair.com/careers
Breeze Airways
Part of the nine-carrier response; expanding service at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL) and other former Spirit markets.
flybreeze.com/careers
REGIONAL CARRIERS — ACTIVELY HIRING (NO SPIRIT-SPECIFIC PROGRAM CONFIRMED)
These carriers have not publicly announced dedicated Spirit microsites, but all are running aggressive pilot and flight-attendant hiring and several offer guaranteed flow programs to the mainline carriers above.
American Eagle Carriers (flow to American)
– Envoy Air — recruiter contact: [email protected] / (972) 374-5607
– Piedmont Airlines — piedmont-airlines.com/careers
– PSA Airlines — psaairlines.com/careers
Delta Connection Carriers (flow to Delta via Propel)
– Endeavor Air — endeavorair.com/careers
United Express Carriers
– GoJet Airlines — gojetairlines.com/careers
– CommuteAir — flycommuteair.com/careers
Independent / Multi-Partner Regionals
– Republic Airways (AA, Delta, United) — rjet.com/careers
– SkyWest Airlines (Delta, United, American, Alaska) — skywest.com/careers
– Horizon Air (Alaska Pathways flow) — horizonair.com/careers
UNION-COORDINATED CHANNELS
ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association)
Coordinating placement support for affected pilots; United's pilot contract reportedly includes a preferential-interview clause for displaced ALPA pilots.
AFA-CWA (Association of Flight Attendants)
Working with chapters at other carriers to secure preferential interviews for flight attendants.
Florida help line: 1-800-385-3920
DOL Rapid Response Hub
Central resource page with links to dedicated Spirit microsites, state unemployment guidance, and partner job-center contacts.
dol.gov/spirit
AERO CREW SOLUTIONS
Aero Crew Solutions is offering a 20% discount on all their services (application review, résumé critique, interview prep and career consulting).
www.aerocrewsolutions.com/
UPDATES?
Note: If you have any updates to this list, please email us at [email protected]
