Alaska vs. The Beer Flu
There are going to be a ton of changes coming soon for all of us. I thought it might be a good idea to start a new thread for specifically discussing how the Beer Flu effects Alaska.
The airline pilot has gone from a position of strength (booming economy, looming pilot shortage, world wide demand) to us all wondering if we are going to even have a job a year from now. This turn happened in less than 2 weeks. I still can't fully wrap my mind around it. But, it is what it is. The only grey areas about it is if the CDC data is accurate in their predictions and if a vaccine can be found. My belief is that we are looking at 2 to 3 years until we might get back to where we were as an industry 2 to 3 weeks ago.
As to Alaska. We know that the schedule is being rapidly pulled down and 30 airplanes are headed to storage. I would bet that many more will follow. If the Government gets a package out to help the airline industry, we should get a slice of that pie. Last I read, if an airline takes a slice of pie, they can't furlough until Sept 1. Taking the money simply covers our short term losses and gives B&B time.
I expect retirements to increase soon. A guy with a pension is gonna want to get out now while he can still get his 50% lump sum. If the company goes BK, that pension is history. I have not heard of a BK judge actually coming after a guys lump sum so at least half is better than nothing.
I expect there to be leaves offered, reduced schedule lines and any other thing the company and the MEC can come up with to try to mitigate furloughs. Furloughs are expensive and they take time to implement and actually get the company to the point where it starts to save them money. The Government pie gives them that time.
Assuming we are still standing a year to 18 months from now and assuming that the industry demand returns, then my crystal ball says that B&B are going to want another merger to get as big as they can as fast as they can. I say, Alaska and JetBlue. Alaska names fades into the permafrost tundra.
Well, I hope we can keep this thread on track as a place to discuss current events. May the good Lord bless you all, keep you healthy and may our company survive The Beer Flu.