As a Frontier employee, I am of course nervous about where I will end up when this is all over. I love Frontier because this is where I've worked for 7 years, but I grew up with Southwest. I have known Southwest well as I grew up in Austin, TX and Southwest was our link to Texas ( it's a big state ) and the Nation.
Southwest's employee group is awesome and I have never had any complaint about them whether or not I was a revenue passenger, non-revenue, or if I was hosting them in my station as a revenue or non-revenue passenger.
I actually scheduled an interview with Southwest when they came to Denver, but I bowed out of the interview as I felt the need to stay with Frontier as I had been with Frontier for 5 years already, and my loyalty to the company and brand held me there.
In this stage of the process I realize that Frontier will not be the same company, even if Republic is the winning bidder.
I have to say, that I will welcome Southwest with open arms. I am absolutely giddy at the prospect of possibly becoming a member of the Southwest family.
I would also like to thank Paula Berg as she has been truly gracious and a good sport in regard to this blog and some of the items posted.
I hope this ends well for all involved and I'll see you at the airport!
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I think the F9 employees who are posting negative items about WN are just expressing their fear of the unknown in this forum. At this point in time they identify with a Frontier that is still the Frontier that they started with and is still a stand alone airline.
Nobody wants to be unemployed and nobody likes to feel that the endeavor that they have been a part of is or has been a failure. The bankruptcy filing was a shock to most of them and the team hasn't been quite the same since that filing. The team pitched in where they could and the team had high hopes that the management team would find a way so that F9 could prevail.
It's been a rough 4th quarter and we are down to the last minute of the game... The team is still cheering hard and hoping that the Hail Mary pass will win the game... we'll know the outcome very soon.
Please give the employees of F9 a break as most of them are concerned about their job security at them moment, and since F9 has a very senior workforce, they are unsure of what another airline acquiring F9 would mean for them. A big question is that if WN is successful in this buyout, would F9 employees who are eventually " hired in" to the WN workforce have seniority protection, or will they become first year employees earning the $9.xx an hour? You see with our ESOP CXLD, our pay already cut to help the company out, our savings accounts tapped, and our credit card debt a little more than we would like it to be... This uncertain future is causing some of my co-workers to feel very defensive and I absolutely understand their point of view.
I hope my fellow F9'ers will refrain from behavior that is unwarranted, unbecoming, and embarrassing. Please allow this process to unfold and please hold your heads up high. Let's show everyone that we have class, self respect, and let's keep smiling.
Thank you
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I have worked at F9 for 7 years and I am afraid. I do LOVE F9, but I can honestly say that in the last 2 years the company has made some changes that have made me cringe. Growing too quickly too soon ultimately placed us in the position we are in at this time and I can certainly say without a doubt that the front line employees are the ones who have had to pay for that mistake.
I admire Southwest Airlines and I believe their employees are some of the best in the industry, usually always smiling and very energetic. That's how I think all employees in our industry need to be.
I am encouraged by this news and I hope Southwest is committed to ensuring that the front line employees of F9 are not left behind, as we have committed so much of ourselves to our beloved Frontier and if need be I do think most of us will provide that same level of commitment to Southwest.
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