November 19, 2025
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Local Bishop Airport pilots with Allegiant hold informational picket, saying they are ready to strike if needed

by Tanya034

Written by Tanya Terry, with photos by Tanya Terry

On Tuesday, November 18, Flint Bishop International Airport was one of 22 Allegiant airport bases nationwide in which informational pickets were held as the company’s pilots continue to ask for a contract they consider fair. After five years of negotiations, about 14,000 pilots gathered with signs for the picket, saying they will be ready to strike next time, if necessary.

The Flint pilots, represented by Teamsters Local 2118, have been asking for not only monetary compensation which they consider competitive, but also for better scheduling and retirement benefits.

The pilots say the company is investing in everything but them.

Andrew Kakos, captain for Allegiant Airlines, talked to the Courier.
“We have been without a modification to our contract now for five years,” he said. “…Allegiant has put tons of money into the Allegiant Stadium. That’s the Raiders Stadium, out in Las Vegas. They’ve bought and built a major hotel in  Charlotte Harbor, Florida called Sunseeker Resort, which we ran for a very short amount of time. Then, they turned around and sold it for a major, major loss. So, the company is wasting millions of dollars with  poor mismanagement, while we’re sitting here trying to keep the company afloat, busting our butt, working hard, and not getting any sort of industry standard benefits from it.”
Kakos said the pilots received support during the picket from local nurses who have been striking at the Henry Ford Hospital in Grand Blanc.
“The pilots are fed up,” Kakos continued. “We are striving for standard work rules, and we deserve them.”
Allegiant primarily works out of smaller airports, like Flint and Grand Rapids, where most of the other airlines are  working out of  major hubs, like Detroit and Chicago, for example. So, Kakos said local residents who are traveling would be affected more than businesses.
“We’ve been stagnant in growth for about a year. We haven’t hired any new pilots. They’ve all been going to other carriers because that’s where they’re treated appropriately. We want to look Allegiant to do well. It’s not our goal to put Allegiant out of business. It’s our goal to have a place we can work for and feel proud of.”
Michael Groner, another captain with Allegiant, said that most of the pilots had spent a lot of money on flying lessons. He  has a degree in Aviation, which he said most of the pilots participating in the picket locally did. Groner also flew in the military.
“We live here in Flint,” stated Groner. “A lot of us are born and raised in here, and went to college here. So, this is home for them. All of us are invested in the community by living here, and all our flight attendants are from here. So, that’s pretty unique for Allegiant.”
Groner said he has been with Allegiant 10 years, but he has not had a raise.
“We know a lot of our passengers,” Groner added.
So, he said he felt the picket was “eye opening for the public.”
“It’s nice to be able to put a face on this, to let them know the struggle that we’re in. All we want is an industry standard contract, which is the same as everybody else who flies the same type of airplanes. We’re 80% below the average. That’s a lot….Last year in 2024, Allegiant flew 430,000 passengers in and out of Flint. That’s about 80% of the traffic. So, we do most of the flying out of here. So, that would go away if we went on strike.
“…Our executives are some of the highest paid in the industry. So, they’ve got some of the highest paid executives and the lowest paid pilots in the industry. We need to fix that disparity. We do an industry standard job; we deserve an industry standard contract.”

Allegiant offered a 50% immediate average wage increase for the pilots, to scale to 70% over five years. Additionally, the company said they have accrued over $200,000 in retention bonuses for their senior captains. Allegiant is  offering one-time retention bonuses to first-year first officers and other pilots, as well as additional retirement and disability benefits.

A representative for Allegiant stated: “Allegiant remains steadfast in its commitment to working in good faith to secure a deal for our pilots.”

Still, 97% of Allegiant pilots have voted to strike if necessary.

 

 

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