Air Line Pilot Magazine May 2026

One ALPA Wins the Day

As a union, our priority is always the well-being and success of our members, who work day in and day out to safely transport their passengers and cargo. And as a union, we always have our members’ backs.

This month, when Spirit Airlines ceased operations, ALPA lost a dedicated pilot group, strong leaders, and good friends. The pain from business decisions like this isn’t felt as acutely in boardrooms as it is in crew rooms, at kitchen tables, and in local communities. We stand in solidarity with, and remain committed to, our brothers and sisters who kept Spirit flying for 34 years.

Through our vast network of resources and by advocating for preferential interviews at carriers with ALPA-represented pilots, we’ll continue to staunchly support Spirit pilots as they take their next steps. We wish them blue skies and hope to soon welcome back each and every one of them into the Association.

Spirit pilots hold the distinction of being the most recent ALPA pilot group to go on strike. They’re one of the few groups that still has pilots who earned the Association’s Battle Star pin. Throughout their five-day strike, Spirit pilots rallied together and stood their ground, showing that solidarity wins.

When Spirit pilots joined ALPA in 1996, they began what would become a long history of dedicated service to their pilot group and to our union. Up until the end, Spirit Master Executive Council (MEC) leaders and other volunteers worked tirelessly to support their colleagues, and some continue to do so—even as they navigate their own job loss.

Spirit pilot group leaders rolled up their sleeves when times got hard, and they’re a credit to our union and our profession.

I especially want to acknowledge the contributions of three ALPA leaders who, due to the Association’s Constitution and By-Laws, had to leave their positions when Spirit ceased operations: Capt. Sean Creed, ALPA’s vice president–administration/secretary; Capt. Andy Nelson, the union’s executive vice president who represented Spirit pilots; and Capt. Ryan Muller, the Spirit MEC chair. It was an honor and privilege to work with these three exceptional unionists who fought for their members to the very end. They led Spirit pilots through their hardest days: through bankruptcy and, in Sean and Andy’s case, a strike. And they never backed down.

The tenacity and unity of Spirit pilots over the past 34 years is a shining example for all union members. They never hesitated to speak up and stand together to achieve their goals. And it’s this same solidarity and commitment that drives ALPA’s work to secure enhanced safety and security measures and contract improvements in the U.S. and Canada.

This commitment to speak up and stand together is visible throughout our union. It’s seen in the work we do to strengthen professional standards through our Code of Ethics, to promote pilot mental health and well-being, to achieve shared goals by engaging with our international partners, and to respond to the darkest days a member or pilot group can face.

Union solidarity is typically most visible throughout the contract negotiations process, and solidarity was instrumental in the FedEx Express and Air Transport International pilots reaching tentative agreements after five years of arduous collective bargaining.

Since there’s no negotiating deadline in the U.S. airline industry, when airline management stalls, the pressure is on us to keep pushing. We do that through our unity and by speaking with one voice. To sustain that pressure for more than half a decade takes commitment and solidarity, within and across pilot groups.

When each of our 42 pilot groups come together, sharing ideas throughout our union and with our aviation partners, we become stronger and more unified. We become one ALPA—and one ALPA wins the day.

In the May issue: