Tilden is a good dude, agree. However, it was Saretsky who got Alaska out of its rut. Until he came along, this company was satisfied to keep on doing the same old, same old year in and year out.
Gregg Saretsky was the guy who got us off the west coast. First it was ANC-ORD. Then he got us into the Florida market. It was Saretsky who envisioned the Hawaii service YEARS before the slugs at Angle Lake even dreamed it.
Personally, I think he's a stand up guy and a visionary. All Gregg Saretsky needs to make an airline successful is a Board of Directors who will give him the leeway to run the place as he sees fit.
Tilden is a genius with numbers. Saretsky is a genius with marketing. I guess you have to make a choice eventually, and Alaska chose Tilden. So far, its working. But, a lot of the success is owed to Saretsky's vision.
WestJet scored BIG TIME when he decided to go home to Canada.