Why Alaska?
01-21-2018, 11:09 AM
#1
Line Holder
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Dec 2008
Posts: 70
Why Alaska?
I’ve been wanting to post this for a while but just haven’t gotten around to it. Recently being acquired by Alaska has made me really start some serious soul searching. This question up in another post and I though it was good for us to elaborate on, possibly for people looking to come work here or people who are on the fence who are currently here.
I never had to / never wanted to ask the , “Why Alaska?” question until now, and honestly I’m having a problem answering this in a positive way. I’d like to start a discussion with the pilots who work at mainline Alaska now regarding why they chose Alaska and what the like about it. Before you flame me for not having enough posts you can see I’ve been on this board for about 10 years and yes I am a pilot here, I’m not a troll. This is just something that is serious enough to me to finally post on this forum.
Some of the things I was wondering are:
What made you want to work there before you got hired?
What makes you stay?
What does Alaska have that other bigger/better airlines don’t?
Can you talk about anything positive?
I’m not really looking for this to devolve into a *****ing fest and trust me I can name 100s reasons why this place looks bad to me. I’m looking for some positive and possibly unknown reason why you chose/like/stay at Alaska. Again please only positive things, I can read all the negative in other posts and we can start another thread about why we hate this place if you want to be negative.
Thanks,
Fellow(on the fence)AAG pilot
I never had to / never wanted to ask the , “Why Alaska?” question until now, and honestly I’m having a problem answering this in a positive way. I’d like to start a discussion with the pilots who work at mainline Alaska now regarding why they chose Alaska and what the like about it. Before you flame me for not having enough posts you can see I’ve been on this board for about 10 years and yes I am a pilot here, I’m not a troll. This is just something that is serious enough to me to finally post on this forum.
Some of the things I was wondering are:
What made you want to work there before you got hired?
What makes you stay?
What does Alaska have that other bigger/better airlines don’t?
Can you talk about anything positive?
I’m not really looking for this to devolve into a *****ing fest and trust me I can name 100s reasons why this place looks bad to me. I’m looking for some positive and possibly unknown reason why you chose/like/stay at Alaska. Again please only positive things, I can read all the negative in other posts and we can start another thread about why we hate this place if you want to be negative.
Thanks,
Fellow(on the fence)AAG pilot
01-21-2018, 11:33 AM
#2
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2014
Position: 737 CA
Posts: 343
I am here because Delta wasn't hiring at the time I got in here... and Delta didn't have a SEA base at the time, but I would have been okay with commuting for them. At that time, being based & living in SEA were important to me. Now, not so much.
I'm staying, because I'm now too invested here. Had I left in my first 3-5 years, it would have been a good move. Twelve years into it and being close to 50, it's better for me to tolerate this management team and fight to improve things as best as I can.
The best thing about this place is the crews I fly with. We have a great group of pilots & flight attendants with the usual percentage of odd ducks & douchebags sprinkled in.
All that being said, if things were like this 12 years ago, Alaska would not have been my first choice (insert 5th choice joke here).
I have some level of regret about getting on at Alaska. When I was still at my regional and when I would talk to ALK pilots, they were usually very much negative. I thought they were just whining. But now I understand their frustrations.
I hope that's a start. I was trying to not be too negative.
Good luck.
I'm staying, because I'm now too invested here. Had I left in my first 3-5 years, it would have been a good move. Twelve years into it and being close to 50, it's better for me to tolerate this management team and fight to improve things as best as I can.
The best thing about this place is the crews I fly with. We have a great group of pilots & flight attendants with the usual percentage of odd ducks & douchebags sprinkled in.
All that being said, if things were like this 12 years ago, Alaska would not have been my first choice (insert 5th choice joke here).
I have some level of regret about getting on at Alaska. When I was still at my regional and when I would talk to ALK pilots, they were usually very much negative. I thought they were just whining. But now I understand their frustrations.
I hope that's a start. I was trying to not be too negative.
Good luck.
01-21-2018, 02:49 PM
#3
Line Holder
Joined APC: Nov 2012
Position: A-320 Captain
Posts: 57
Loss of License/Medical
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe AS has fairly competitive, comprehensive loss of license/medical insurance? Also, it seems the 401k contribution is competitive at this point as well.
If any AS pilots have gone out on disability, I'd love to get your opinion on this....
If any AS pilots have gone out on disability, I'd love to get your opinion on this....
01-21-2018, 03:15 PM
#4
Works Every Weekend
Joined APC: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,210
This is a great question.
- I was at a regional airline, so any upward move was a significant improvement.
- PNW guy, being based near family is important to me.
- I had a good number of contacts who are Alaska pilots, I knew who they tended to hire, so I thought it was more easily attainable than the others.
- I was (am) fairly low time. 3.1K total basically zero TPIC at the interview. Based on this and the above, I viewed it as my most realistic option. My reasoning was that being hired here young was better than languishing at the regional for my 30's while hoping DAL calls. Based on my logbook, that was going to take a while.
- I was at a regional airline, so any upward move was a significant improvement.
- PNW guy, being based near family is important to me.
- I had a good number of contacts who are Alaska pilots, I knew who they tended to hire, so I thought it was more easily attainable than the others.
- I was (am) fairly low time. 3.1K total basically zero TPIC at the interview. Based on this and the above, I viewed it as my most realistic option. My reasoning was that being hired here young was better than languishing at the regional for my 30's while hoping DAL calls. Based on my logbook, that was going to take a while.
01-21-2018, 08:37 PM
#5
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2017
Posts: 291
-Wanted to be in PNW.
-Severe customer loyalty.
-Care for customers and they treat them well. At least the people that work here really tend to try. Even the CSAs, which I wasn’t used to having worked in another major’s system for a regional. I like being part of a team that cares about people. I also like that I can be proud of the product... mostly. I’ve never heard a customer say “I hate Alaska!” When people find out I work for them it’s usually - “oh I flew them once! it was really nice!” That makes me feel proud and appreciative of the people I work with daily.
-Company makes money and is financially conservative.
-how they’ve held up against the competition.
-everyone I met that worked for Alaska liked it - pilots, FAs, HR, etc. I sat in a chiefs office before I was hired and pilots kept coming in just to say “hey.” And the chief said his job was just to try and enable the pilots to do theirs. I thought it would be a cool environment in which to work.
-I can’t say I’ve flown with anyone I didn’t like and from what I hear its very rare.
These were my reasons. Some still apply, some clearly don’t. Hopefully this helps!
-Severe customer loyalty.
-Care for customers and they treat them well. At least the people that work here really tend to try. Even the CSAs, which I wasn’t used to having worked in another major’s system for a regional. I like being part of a team that cares about people. I also like that I can be proud of the product... mostly. I’ve never heard a customer say “I hate Alaska!” When people find out I work for them it’s usually - “oh I flew them once! it was really nice!” That makes me feel proud and appreciative of the people I work with daily.
-Company makes money and is financially conservative.
-how they’ve held up against the competition.
-everyone I met that worked for Alaska liked it - pilots, FAs, HR, etc. I sat in a chiefs office before I was hired and pilots kept coming in just to say “hey.” And the chief said his job was just to try and enable the pilots to do theirs. I thought it would be a cool environment in which to work.
-I can’t say I’ve flown with anyone I didn’t like and from what I hear its very rare.
These were my reasons. Some still apply, some clearly don’t. Hopefully this helps!
01-21-2018, 09:08 PM
#6
On Reserve
Joined APC: Dec 2017
Posts: 24
Alaska was my last choice but became my first as they were the only one's that offered me an interview and job offer. But to be fair, I only applied to United, American, Delta, Northwest and Alaska and my generation competed for crapshoot positions at airlines with horrible reputations, unattractive compensation and ultimately disappointing failures. Alaska seemed the right (and only) choice at the time.
Look at these and you will understand...
Continental and Eastern (subsequently failed) had notorious labor issues under Frank Lorenzo. Braniff had collapsed and market flooded with their high numbers of pilots while Pan Am and TWA were on the verge of collapse. FedEx had just absorbed Tigers so they were not hiring. Southwest and UPS Captains earned a whopping $75,000 and $56,000 per year, respectively; Alaska, $122,000. Delta exclusively hired military and the other big 4 had uncorrected vision requirements that I couldn't meet. At 20/100 uncorrected, Alaska was really my only option. Wow, have time changed...
I kept applications on file with the 'majors' until Gulf war 1 began in late '90 when all hell broke loose in our industry and all at 'big 4' furloughed until recalled in '97ish. I was a Captain by then, so starting over at the bottom of a list was not worth the risk. Then there's 911, SARS, industry bankruptcy carnage, age 65 (did I leave anything out?) which solidified my choice to stay. I was largely positive and grateful until Kasher when my attitude turned negative and remains apathetic to this day. I blame BA for what happened that day as the outcome could have been different. In fact, he told me as much when I had a chance opportunity to talk with him a couple of years ago when asked directly, "any regrets"...
Our pilot group accepted 2 paycuts in the early '90's to help the company avert bankruptcy due to rather sizable losses. We were promised that our sacrifices would be rewarded someday when and if the industry recovered. It has and still waiting...many CEO's later (Kennedy, Vecchi, Kelly, Ayer, Tildon).
What turns me off about our leadership team is their arrogance and lack of respect for this pilot group. You can read about the many grievances on this board about these issues so I won't go into detail about them. But the ultimate insult for me is being told we deserve to be #5 in hourly wage because we are #5 in size. No Ben and Brad, FU. With all of the flying this pilot group does including our many special qualifications we deserve above industry standard wage.
If you want industry leading spirit, attitude and performance than you have to pay us accordingly. After all, We collectively have paid our dues for too long to continue to be substandard.
Look at these and you will understand...
Continental and Eastern (subsequently failed) had notorious labor issues under Frank Lorenzo. Braniff had collapsed and market flooded with their high numbers of pilots while Pan Am and TWA were on the verge of collapse. FedEx had just absorbed Tigers so they were not hiring. Southwest and UPS Captains earned a whopping $75,000 and $56,000 per year, respectively; Alaska, $122,000. Delta exclusively hired military and the other big 4 had uncorrected vision requirements that I couldn't meet. At 20/100 uncorrected, Alaska was really my only option. Wow, have time changed...
I kept applications on file with the 'majors' until Gulf war 1 began in late '90 when all hell broke loose in our industry and all at 'big 4' furloughed until recalled in '97ish. I was a Captain by then, so starting over at the bottom of a list was not worth the risk. Then there's 911, SARS, industry bankruptcy carnage, age 65 (did I leave anything out?) which solidified my choice to stay. I was largely positive and grateful until Kasher when my attitude turned negative and remains apathetic to this day. I blame BA for what happened that day as the outcome could have been different. In fact, he told me as much when I had a chance opportunity to talk with him a couple of years ago when asked directly, "any regrets"...
Our pilot group accepted 2 paycuts in the early '90's to help the company avert bankruptcy due to rather sizable losses. We were promised that our sacrifices would be rewarded someday when and if the industry recovered. It has and still waiting...many CEO's later (Kennedy, Vecchi, Kelly, Ayer, Tildon).
What turns me off about our leadership team is their arrogance and lack of respect for this pilot group. You can read about the many grievances on this board about these issues so I won't go into detail about them. But the ultimate insult for me is being told we deserve to be #5 in hourly wage because we are #5 in size. No Ben and Brad, FU. With all of the flying this pilot group does including our many special qualifications we deserve above industry standard wage.
If you want industry leading spirit, attitude and performance than you have to pay us accordingly. After all, We collectively have paid our dues for too long to continue to be substandard.
01-22-2018, 07:28 AM
#7
Banned
Joined APC: Dec 2009
Position: Narrow/Left Wide/Right
Posts: 3,655
Originally Posted by usernamehere
-.I’ve never heard a customer say “I hate Alaska!” When people find out I work for them it’s usually - “oh I flew them once! it was really nice!”
Alaskaairlinessucks.com
http://southwest-sucks.net/
That said, I’m happy that you are consistently proud of your product and service because that doesn’t happen at every airline.
01-22-2018, 09:21 AM
#8
Banned
Joined APC: Nov 2013
Position: 7th green
Posts: 4,378
My story was pretty much the same as Tailstand. When I got out of the Navy, Delta required 20/20 vision. SWA required an $8K type rating for an interview. NWA, CAL, FedEx, USAir and AA weren't hiring. UPS paid less than AS. UAL told my UAL recommendation guy I was overqualified with 5200 hours of military flight time.
Looking back, AS was a pretty good career considering the state of the industry subsequently.
Today? Given the state of hiring you would be selling yourself short to take AS over the Big 3 or FedEx/UPS. In this environment, AS is just another stepping stone. The senior guys are, of course, locked in.
Unless you're dead set on living in SEA/PDX/ANC there are better options out there.
Looking back, AS was a pretty good career considering the state of the industry subsequently.
Today? Given the state of hiring you would be selling yourself short to take AS over the Big 3 or FedEx/UPS. In this environment, AS is just another stepping stone. The senior guys are, of course, locked in.
Unless you're dead set on living in SEA/PDX/ANC there are better options out there.
01-22-2018, 01:14 PM
#10
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jan 2007
Posts: 401
My career was pretty close to tailstand, so I won't bore you with the details.
The irony is after graduating college way back in the pre internet type out a letter to apply days, the first letter I sent was to Alaska. Had no clue or care about the company, it started with the letter "A". As my letter traveled by pony express all the way from Florida I am sure the recruiter of the day got a chuckle as he/she round filed it. Never heard back from them and never applied again.
Now I will be retiring from Alaska in a year, having snuck in the side door via Virgin. I'll do my job with a smile, I do think Alaska runs a reliable safe operation, but if I were a young pup at the bottom of the list with a competitive resume I sure would be banging on the doors of the big 3. One would be foolish to not look further. It is better than a regional but to truly be up with the big boys the work rules need to come way up, much more than the slight pay discount.
The irony is after graduating college way back in the pre internet type out a letter to apply days, the first letter I sent was to Alaska. Had no clue or care about the company, it started with the letter "A". As my letter traveled by pony express all the way from Florida I am sure the recruiter of the day got a chuckle as he/she round filed it. Never heard back from them and never applied again.
Now I will be retiring from Alaska in a year, having snuck in the side door via Virgin. I'll do my job with a smile, I do think Alaska runs a reliable safe operation, but if I were a young pup at the bottom of the list with a competitive resume I sure would be banging on the doors of the big 3. One would be foolish to not look further. It is better than a regional but to truly be up with the big boys the work rules need to come way up, much more than the slight pay discount.
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