I can assure you that Alaska Airlines is not looking for an Airbus operator to merge with. By the time people start flying again next year we will unfortunately be “Proudly all Boeing” again....Will enjoy the Bus for the near future and accept that I will be sucked back in to the Boeing in the not to distant future....Will happily eat crow(prefer deep-fried) if we announce a significant order for 321NEO/XLR’s. Merging we are done with thankfully. An acquisition by a larger carrier could happen and if it does so be it.

 

Don’t forget, they’d also have to close JFK ASAP. And probably rally around SEA again, because we can’t be aiming for Europe. Heresy!

 

Obviously, the PNW is the center of the universe, DUH!


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Well, If you work at Alaska Airlines it is.....might as well get used to it. always been this way....As a company they are happy to haul PNW’s anywhere in the country but they have no interest in hauling the locals from out there back to the PNW....

 

We pilots know nothing. Nothing. I admit that everything I say in regards to possible mergers is based on nothing more than an educated guess and hope.

Approximately one week before we found out at Jetblue that we were in a bidding war for Virgin, we were told that all of our growth would be Organic. You think you know what Alaska executives want but you don't know what they need. Alaska needed to keep Jetblue off the west coast and thats why they bought Virgin. The purchase was a success for Alaska in that regard. What both Jetblue and Alaska need to be true players are large operations on the the "other" coast and a growth plan. Jetblue has a growth plan for the east coast, and none for the west coast. The idea that the 737max may never get certified means that Alaska doesn't have one at all. Maybe Alaska's growth plan is just to feed American through code share. I don't know.

The idea that you would prefer to get bought by a large, nearly bankrupt carrier, tells me you have a long career left to make up the damage that it will do. I have about 12 years left and am hoping against one of the big 4 when it comes to Jetblue.

 

Don't bet on it. Arbitrator will decide your fate. Not your fellow pilots.

 

It doesn't need to go to an arbitrator. The first step would be the two merger committees trying to hammer out a deal. Alaska and Jetblue both fly only narrow bodies. We make basically the same amount of money. The only thing to fight about would be scope and that fight is more with management. At this point, I doubt our longevity scales are that far off. Only if we get obstinate will a deal be impossible. If any two airline unions could make a deal, it's Jetblue and Alaska. Not easy but possible.

 

Ohh to be young and blissfully unaware.... it's so liberating mentally!

 

You just made a list of all the thing AS and VX should have been able to hammer out but we’re not. Hence arbitration. Any merger/acquisition at AS will go to arbitration. It’s in our contract. Management always wins in arbitration therefore they sit back and let the arbitrator do the heavy lifting...or in our most recent case.....do nothing at all and leave us in limbo. We’ve all just had a 1000 ton wrench thrown into our systems with COVID19. The absolute laaaast thing we need is to go through a merger/acquisition which brings an arbitrator into the picture. Do you really want to fight with management, another pilot group and an arbitrator for 2-3 years just to come out the other side with less than you have now? No thanks

 

Well Brother, I'm in my fifties, on my fourth job, furloughed twice including from a legacy after 9/11 and at Jetblue for 17 years. I'll take the young part as a compliment.

I'm aware enough to know that economic events like this cause consolidation. Jetblue, Alaska, Hawaiin, Spirit and Frontier are the prime candidates to be chewed up and spit out by one of the big 4. The pilots will then be told to feel thankful by the acquiring group for being chewed up and spit out. We are just talking here but I would rather see some consolidation amongst the five of us instead. If I had to choose a partner for Jetblue it would be Alaska. The combined unit would be an awesome airline. The pilots could come to an agreement. All I said was that it doesn't have to go to arbitration. I stand by that statement. Even if it did, I see the arbitrator giving Alaska a little longevity favoritism but it wouldn't be much. The hose job from a legacy would be devastating.