Alaska vs. The Beer Flu
 

There are going to be a ton of changes coming soon for all of us. I thought it might be a good idea to start a new thread for specifically discussing how the Beer Flu effects Alaska.

The airline pilot has gone from a position of strength (booming economy, looming pilot shortage, world wide demand) to us all wondering if we are going to even have a job a year from now. This turn happened in less than 2 weeks. I still can't fully wrap my mind around it. But, it is what it is. The only grey areas about it is if the CDC data is accurate in their predictions and if a vaccine can be found. My belief is that we are looking at 2 to 3 years until we might get back to where we were as an industry 2 to 3 weeks ago.

As to Alaska. We know that the schedule is being rapidly pulled down and 30 airplanes are headed to storage. I would bet that many more will follow. If the Government gets a package out to help the airline industry, we should get a slice of that pie. Last I read, if an airline takes a slice of pie, they can't furlough until Sept 1. Taking the money simply covers our short term losses and gives B&B time.
I expect retirements to increase soon. A guy with a pension is gonna want to get out now while he can still get his 50% lump sum. If the company goes BK, that pension is history. I have not heard of a BK judge actually coming after a guys lump sum so at least half is better than nothing.
I expect there to be leaves offered, reduced schedule lines and any other thing the company and the MEC can come up with to try to mitigate furloughs. Furloughs are expensive and they take time to implement and actually get the company to the point where it starts to save them money. The Government pie gives them that time.
Assuming we are still standing a year to 18 months from now and assuming that the industry demand returns, then my crystal ball says that B&B are going to want another merger to get as big as they can as fast as they can. I say, Alaska and JetBlue. Alaska names fades into the permafrost tundra.
Well, I hope we can keep this thread on track as a place to discuss current events. May the good Lord bless you all, keep you healthy and may our company survive The Beer Flu.

Wasn't there supposed to be an announcement of no fly/incentive lines by Friday? Radio silence. Wondering if those are still on the table. Definitely something I would bid for.

I have faith our union will do what is best for the entire pilot group during this crisis. Incentive lines and reduced flying lines are probably where they're starting. Hopefully we can get a LOA guarding pilot staffing in exchange for some of these things.

They cannot go after legitimate compensation already payed to workers (top management might be different for obvious reasons).

Fed aid would come with strings, but if the aid financially enables them to delay furloughs a few months, that's a no-brainer. Gives them more time to figure things out, and we'll all know more about how this is playing out in a few months.

Delay also avoids the appearance of mistreating labor while congress is debating the aid. That alone is going to buy some folks another month of pay.


"Alaska Blue"?

"Great Blue"?

:D

x2

What could possibly go wrong with sorceries and medication?

​​​​​​5331. pharmakeia ► Strong's Concordance
pharmakeia: the use of medicine, drugs or spells
Original Word: φαρμακεία, ας, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: pharmakeia
Phonetic Spelling: (far-mak-i'-ah)
Definition: the use of medicine, drugs or spells
Usage: magic, sorcery, enchantment.

Awesome. Quoting Strong's Concordance on an aviation forum.

Well done. And blessings.

If your pension plan is not at a distress level of funding it is not history in a bankruptcy filing. Please do a little research before alarming people.

Thanks for the little spanking. I've probably got T-shirts older than you, but I still enjoy being scolded like a toddler. Kids these days...
Anyhow, I'm not trying to alarm anybody. This ain't my first rodeo and I've been around the block a time or two. To the best of my memory, every airline BK in America has led to a loss or drastic cutting of the pilot's pension. This lifelong experience led me to believe that no further research was required. If I am wrong, then please share the details so as to better educate our pilots group (since we are basically the last with an intact pension).

True, However well funded it was a month ago, the loss has been catastrophic. I was furloughed after 9-11 and witnessed the A plan disappear from a lot of pilots. American is offering anyone 62 or older, 55 hrs/ mo until age 65 if they retire now. I hope we see programs like that. I’d take a leave TODAY if offered. It isn’t safe, and no matter what they say, We all are not essential workers. If they gave me a clean plane, I’d fly medical supplies all day long for free. That’s not what we’re doing though. Taking gringos to MZT isn’t necessary.

I think you're correct. I'm just wondering how many A-planners and soft freeze guys are left. The soft freeze guys are probably OK, but the remaining A plan guys might think about taking the money and running. Your pension should be covered by the PBGC (as long as its below $4400 a month) if the Company goes completely out of business.

That said, I'm hoping for the best and that Alaska navigates these turbulent times. They have in the past.

The virus is bad but I can’t help but think our economic reaction to it is worse. God bless you all, hope everyone stays safe, and hope we all have jobs or voluntary paid/unpaid leaves.