I could be missing something here... but how is this a “home run for all of our careers?”

 

I'm wondering that too - $4.6B for 100 airplanes is a homerun for Alaska, but Alaska isn't going to use the savings from that steal of a deal to help my career. A homerun for our careers would be to have a competently managed airline with a strong pilot group acquire us.

 

Completely agree! 100 MAX’s just replace all Airbus’s and old 737’s... there is no growth.

 

If this is truly the case then every Alaska Airlines pilot should be updating their resume. It’s clear that Alaska’s management (and to a large extent, workforce) abide a different reality than the rest of the airline industry but to be so short sighted and naive to stake the future of the airline and with it their futures, and the futures of their employees, on the Ford Pinto of commercial airliners is reckless. With the exception of the cowboys at SW taking their quarterly jaunt through a gas station, the next 737 of any variant that has an accident will be the last 737 to fly, period.

If Alaska management is arrogant enough to continue to maintain status quo simply for the sake of nostalgia or “proudly all Boeing” they’ll get what they deserve when the aforementioned comes to fruition. But what about everyone who’s future is riding on these decisions?

Alaska pilots should be advocating for as diversified a fleet as possible regardless of where your fleet “affinity” lies...

 

Home run for all our careers by not growing by a single airframe, or a home run for all our careers by buying an underperforming ancient and irrelevant airframe?

If the FAA gives Boeing the scrutiny they deserve this time around (and they will) there is no way on this planet that the airplane is given the green light by December.

 

Is this a true statement?

 

Tail # 915-MAX9 does have the Proudly All Boeing sticker on the front like the other 737s. I don't know about the other two, but they in all likeliness have it as well. They wouldn't keep putting that sticker on if the Airbus had a long term future here.

 

A 737 could crash just as any other airplane could, but this time around MCAS should not (and will not) be the reason why. Just like the 2 rudder hardover issues were successfully overcome, so too can this MCAS debacle. The 737 has done well for low cost carriers like RyanAir and Southwest. The MAX will come out and be successful for years to come.




I keep hearing this homerun term be used. I also heard it when they closed NY and people here said we at VX still hit a homerun with AS. Here's something else to consider. No Virgin guy shows up in the first ~415 pilots at AS. If we switch to all Boeing, they will all take a seniority hit as they are forced off the Airbus and come slotted into the Boeing. The reason the seniority differences haven't really been seen is that the Airbus fleet still hasn't had any downgrades or displacements yet. This is why with the exception of the Airbus guys who live in SEA and PDX, you are not seeing any exodus of senior Airbus guys to the Boeing. Most of the CA movement from the Bus side to the Boeing has been upgrades. No one wants to give up their insulated seniority on the Airbus. But if we move to a single fleet, they will feel that seniority cut.

 

Ford Pinto... how many 737 has Boeing sold? 10,000ish. How many Max order does Boeing have? 6,000ish. AMR, UAL, British Airways, and LUV all hitched to your Pinto...Really Comments like these are the reason management consistently laughs at our lack of knowledge. We think because we are competent pilots that this qualifies us for every executive position at AS. The superiority complex among the ex-VX pilot group is hard to hear. It seems each of you is more capable then our CEO, CFO, CCO. In case you haven’t met Andrew or Brandon, these might be two of the brightest minds in aviation right now. 10-12% growth going forward 300 to 380 pilots a year hiring indefinitely. Yes, that order secures your future. I think moving forward we will as a pilot group secure SWA rates and SWA work rules. A solid and secure future for AS and yes, I think it is a home run for all of you.
If you love Airbus you might hate this plan. I think it’s the right plan for AS, its future and all of your futures.

 

Good luck folks if this outlandish rumor somehow comes to truth. Take a look at what the WN guys did to ATA and wanted to do to F9. Everyone else because a WN pilot is second class, in their world.