Originally Posted by
Velocipede
Well, you have to understand one thing about QX. They've got a culture of "we don't want to be the training facility for AS." George Bagley actually said that once. Unfortunately, they haven't figured out that the young guys who want to work for AS but get stiffed will go to other legacys/cargo operators all the same.
Why not hire them at AS? Beats me. You lose them from QX one way or another. If you bring them up, you know their work history, their sick leave usage and the quality of their training, both initial and recurrent.
All I ever wanted was to work as an Alaska Airlines pilot. I didn't care if UAL guys made twice as much. Ever since I was a small boy all I could think about was working for them. It was my driving force, what made me get up at 4:00AM to open the gas station so I could earn another $30 to fly the 172 for another hour.
Once I met a senior Alaska Airlines captain with a group of other pilots. Everyone was asking him rapid fire questions about pay, the 737. I blurted out "how can I get hired by Alaska Airlines"? His quick answer was "hey, if you want to fly for Alaska Airlines then go to work for Horizon". At the time I was flying Learjets for a larger charter company and was discovering that in the entire history of that company no one had ever been hired from there to work for any major let alone Alaska Airlines.
If Alaska Airlines liked Horizon Air guys then that is what I would do. I had always avoided working for them since everyone knew that they were a boring slave ship. Where I was at I was the captain of a turbine plane and was due to upgrade in the Lear soon. It was fun but if Alaska Airlines liked Horizon guys then that is where I had better be. I a put myself to work and within a few months was hired by Horizon Air.
Imagine my surprise to discover on my third day in ground school that Alaska Airlines
rarely hired people from Horizon and when they did they were usually a nepotistic hire of some kind. I had managed to find myself in the one place in the entire industry where was most assured to be
never hired by Alaska Airlines from. To make matters worse I was told that if I quit before two years I would be blackballed by Alaska Airlines forever. I was indentured to a slave ship, sentenced to two years in hell for nothing.
Once I reached the two year point I was out of there. Perhaps I should have gone to SkyWest but National Airlines was hiring like mad and was promising a one year upgrade in the 757-200. It seemed logical to me and once again the chief pilot of Alaska Airlines himself at a job fair when asked what I should do said "the majors like big jet guys". Others had escaped the stench of Horizon Air and went to places like Evergreen and Vanguard and within six months got on with Alaska Airlines. My plan almost worked but then came 911 and everything went out the window.
I can understand why someone would make such statements in defense of the union however I am just a simple guy with a family to support and a dream. No one ever gave me the impression that it made any difference if I stuck with a certain union or not. I naively assumed it was all about the flying and who had the better experience. Experience has taught me that getting hired at Alaska Airlines or any other company for that matter isn't about your resume, moreover it is about being from the right group. I never really had a chance.
SKyHigh