I had the pleasure of flying a short flight to SEA on Christmas, ~7am departure from our outstation. Minutes before closing, an AS captain runs on, comes up to the flight deck, and proudly mentions that he was deadheading home after having flown down on the 5am departure from SEA and that he had seen "that they [the company] needed a lot of help today, so I figured I'd give 'em a hand!"

On CHRISTMAS! Not like we even get holiday pay here. What kind of PATHETIC ****ing LOSER gives up Christmas morning with his family to go make a couple hundred bucks? And how does that LOSER explain to his wife that instead of enjoying the holiday off with her and his kids, that he's probably waited 20 years to be able to hold, he's going to wake her up at 3am so he can go to work "because they need my help."

Who does he think he is, anyway, that they need HIS help? He isn't Superman, he's just another moron that this company exploits to be able to keep reserve coverage at a bare, cheap, minimum. How does he explain that Alaska Airlines is more important to him than his own FAMILY?

It was at that moment that I lost every lingering modicum of hope in this place ever changing.