Very few of our 60+ guys have retired. I guess it to be about 10% or less of the guys who have hit 60 retired. We have lots of 62 and 63 year olds now. Some of these guys, not many, but some, are starting to go now. Soon they will not have a choice. Our soon to be hiring is simply replacement for the age 65 crowd. We are short right now as they have not replaced any retirments for the last 3.5 years! Once the school house is open (Jan 2012?), it should stay open for years as we replace the 200 guys who will retire in the next two years. This company only trains about 12 new hires a month max, so it takes a while to get the pig through the python.
Delta, American, SWA - somebody has always been going to buy us since the dawn of time. It is actually kind of funny to seasoned Alaska employees. The buy out rumor is always present and never true. 75 plus years and we are still standing, never went into BK (but came close many times) and today, pound for pound, we are the most profitable airline in the world. If anybody is going to be getting bought, Delta (or American, or SWA or insert any other airline rumor you choose) should be looking out for our management team. Seasoned Alaska employees are not the least bit worried about getting bought. Nobody could afford us.