Commuting to reserve regardless of where will make you miserable. Maybe except SWA where they get 15 off. What do the legacy carriers get? Delta varies between 12-14. United is 12 off in 30, and 13 off in 31, and I think AA is the same.

They closed my base, I moved to the new base because I was lucky enough to be in a position to be able to do so. Reserve at least in LA has been a breeze. I hardly fly (CA). The most I flew this year was 45 hrs in a month and that includes picking up two 1-day trips. Living in base and not flying much, picking up on a day off has been very lucrative. I pulled 100+ credit a couple months this year.

To each their own. I’m not happy AS closed the NY base, but I’m not gonna live miserably, hate AS, and be negative. Just trying to make the best of it and make some good $$$ and have fun. Many things in the contract need to be improved. We need scope. Sec 25 needs to be re-written. With time we will get there.

And let’s be honest about attrition. Most of the attrition list is full of FOs with less than 2-3 yrs and retirement ages in the 2050 decade. That means these guys are all in their 20s and early 30s. They would have left even if Alaska was a “good” deal because their lesser longevity is easy to walk away from, and they still have a 32-35+ yr career remaining. No one can blame them, it makes sense to do so at that young an age.

The difference is he’s speaking his perspective without calling anyone else stupid, dunce, telling them they’re lying etc.

I’m not discrediting anybody who says their life is worse off under AS. From where they stand, that may be the case. Why then does everyone try to discredit those who say their lives are better? Telling them they’re trying to mislead others? That they’re kool-aid drinking, spineless hacks?

I can’t speak to LAX Airbus rsv but I can speak MY perspective as a 4 + yr SEA Boeing F.O. Just like he CAN speak his as a 1.5 yr SFO Airbus rsv. I came from a better contract than we have now. I know what needs fixing. However, I can also say my life is way better now. It was way better when I had to commute to two different bases on rsv before I could hold SEA. I’ll bet there will be a number of ex-VX pilots that will experience a major boost in QOL when they’re able to stop commuting and drive to SEA/PDX and their lives will be better than before. Just because it doesn’t jive with your view of things doesn’t make it un-true. Also, we don’t have to be miserable to want improvements. I’m pretty sure that ALL the big 3 pilots are going to want improvements even though they already lead the pack on contracts.

Wouldn’t it be prudent to say the truth lies somewhere in the middle? Some guys are going to hate it, some will love it. Most will just learn the system, clock in, clock out, and remember it’s just a job, not an identity.

on the A320 the LAX suk badly....stay at the commuter....

"I DO however have many friends - CA's and FO's - who work there - both legacy Alaska and Legacy Virgin America. While most feel improvements are definitely needed, they all actually are happy and like their jobs. Imagine that?!"

...i guess you know exactly two pilots at AS??? LOL....

What exactly sucks about the 320 at LAX? I appreciate the sentiment, but could you elaborate some?

commutability...sux
trip credit...sux
logo on tail....sux
5 day trips over weekends...sux
3 leg/4 leg days ...sux
0530 starts and 2230 finish...sux
SNA flying...sux
did i say logo on tail??...oh yeah...that sux

What did Barbara Bush ever do to you? 😁

Lol, a lot more than two. Closer to 10, and most are from the VA side. Not miserable.

I debated responding to this, but it needs to be said. Your understanding of other airlines reserve rules is severely lacking. The number of days off (which you are a little bit off on for us anyway) doesn't even tell half of the story.

The difference is significant enough that when AS guys ask about DL reserve rules I honestly feel bad responding. I change how I bid if I'm on reserve, but my overall QOL isn't all that different from when I hold a line and in some ways is better... and that's as a commuter. In fact, many times on many fleets the plug can be forced to a line because so many senior pilots bid reserve at various points. This isn't just the international aircraft either, it also happens on the narrowbody fleets.

Reserve rules are really important to QOL, and when they are better it adds options for more senior pilots too. You are doing a disservice to your fellow pilots by trying to say "it's this bad everywhere" and implying improvements shouldn't be sought after.

You should not have to accept any worse work rules or pay than anyone else. I actually feel that, at least on the 737 fleet (I don't run into AS Airbus pilots as often), AS pilots are probably the hardest working (737) pilots in the industry and should be compensated accordingly. You definitely shouldn't try to justify the horrible work rules by attempting to say that they are comparable to other majors. I can't speak to the AA or UA work rules, but I know my reserve experience is night and day different from my compatriots at AS.

^ Well at least we know why things are so good at Delta.

I’ll second that if one pays attention and has (gasp) friends at other airlines, one tends to notice at the good airlines reserve goes senior.

A friend was hired at SWA and as soon as he was done with OE he had a line by the next bid period. That’s when I learned that AS reserve is really pretty bad. Mostly because we are staffed so poorly.


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Well said. There's a pervasive attitude at AS, even embraced by some former VXers, that what Alaska's got ain't that much different from the rest of the industry.

It's a dangerous mix of arrogance and ignorance that keeps these guys content with their status quo.

Thank you for bursting that bubble again.