Happydayz

LAX/SNA trips? Reserve times for new hires? Looks like the Bus is where the newbies are going? Typical lines and days off in LAX/SNA?

Thanks

HappyD

HostileCombover

I’m also curious as to what LAX trips on the bus look like. Have recent new hires been able to hold LAX out of the gate? How often are reserves being utilized these days?

Ala5ka

Mostly 0500 starts on day 1, 2350 release on day 4, making the majority of trips incommutable.

Lots of 4 leg days as most of our good flying has been given to the far superior engineering marvel of the world, the one and only 737.

You’ll begin to feel as though Portland, Tukwila, and San Jose are your new second homes.

Overall the schedules are horrible and getting worse. There is zero flexibility. Your sick time is what gives you days off you need. I’m not exaggerating, there is literally no flexibility.

I don’t know much about reserve but I’ve heard it is awful. 14 hours on call with your mandatory 10 hour rest period per 117. Basically, every hour your legally allowed to be contacted by scheduling you can and will be. So guess what, if you like beer you won’t be drinking any for 18 or 19 days out of the month (at least your waist line will be happy). You don’t have actual days off, you have hours off depending on when you release from last rap. I don’t know how often reserves are used but I hear they are frequently abused.

You will be on reserve for a very very very long time. There is little to no movement at this company as growth is only measured in increasing seats (not new aircraft) or regional flying. A shocking (for those not employed here) number of First officers, myself included, are applying or awaiting class dates at other airlines.

Good luck but take the warnings about coming to Alaska seriously.

Cruz5350

Anyone who’d like to know more about reserve here can PM me. The above poster doesn’t paint it nearly in the correct light that it should be in. We have lots to fix here that’s for sure but he/she can’t say anything that isn’t dramatically negative about Alaska. FWIW I’ve been on reserve as an SFO Airbus FO for the last year and a half or so except for two months of open flying. My two months of LC have been the best job I’ve EVER had. Out of shear luck I’ve hardly been used and have had 20 plus days off for each, and the trips I got were commutable on both ends.

Ala5ka

He asked about LAX, last time I checked San Fransisco is a different base than LAX. I say only negative things about Alaska because there is nothing positive to say.

echelon

Yeah and what about the other year of SCR? Was that the worst job you've ever had? You can't acknowledge in one sentence that you "got lucky" in your two months of LCR to only get used rarely and then also try to make it sound like someone else could expect the same thing.

Ala5ka

It’s so interesting how literally EVERY reserve guy or girl I’ve talked to in either seat paint Alaska reserve as the worst in the industry. I guess all of those people are lying so that others don’t bid reserve and force them to take a dreadful line.

You should be ashamed of yourself trying to sell Alaska airlines as the best job you’ll ever have to a prospective new hire under the current conditions. You must have had some really strong koolaid 18 months ago to still be this stupid.
Congratulations on your “shear luck, most are having the total opposite experience.

Work4life

I was on reserve in SEA and I flew a lot, almost hitting the monthly max during peak travel seasons. It seemed like LAX FOs on reserve didn’t fly as much as SEA. Expect to be abused and violated by crew scheduling. I still have friends at Alaska, most of them either waiting for a class at the big 3 or actively updating their apps. I sincerely hope your honeymoon period outlasts your disgust for Alaska. Their contract, especially work rules, are decades behind that of any legacy/major airline. I hear the regionals have much better work rules. Crew scheduling will lie and violate the contract on a whim to move their iron and the union, more specifically, the contract compliance team who is in bed with the company will not have your back. You’ll see.

Cruz5350

I haven’t seen anyone quitting to go back to these so called regionals with better reserve.... Short call is what short call is, I guess everyone just thinks they should sit around and no nothing but still be paid. Your job as a reserve pilot is to be there waiting for the phone to ring... If it doesn’t that’s great if it does you go to work. Every month of short call was 50-60 hours or less for me and when I did a month of LC under the Virgin rules Iit was terrible. I’m not seeing any changes under the new Alaska SC to cry nearly as much about as you do. The longer RAP does suck but it hasn’t changed how much I’ve blocked on any given month. I JS a ton and everything we complain about at AS seems to be about the same as what I hear from junior guys at UA or AA. The hours off comment hasn’t ever held any weight for me either so what gives? Are you just one of the countless miserable coworkers that I’ve come across now that Alaska is the new boss? Do you think your life is going to be night and day different at whatever new airline you’re going to?

Cruz5350

No they’re just dramatic whiners, most thought when they left the regionals that mainline flying would be some great new world and it’s not. It’s just a bigger plane and bigger paycheck. Anyone who argues otherwise is delusional.