starkutt1

How long have you been with the company?

Ala5ka

He is an Airbus captain and has been here since virgin America days. He’s just a company apologist and a yes man. His opinion is not that of the majority

BasicB

Wow this is all very disheartening to hear. I recently got a CJO and am in the background checks process hoping to start at Alaska shortly. I had know idea things were so bad between the pilot group and management. It is great to hear that there is good leadership in the union. Times are changing so much right now and if they are going to be able to attract that amount of pilots they want (and keep them longterm) then work rules are bound to change and increased pay and quality of life I have to assume. Im not going to pass up an opportunity to fly for a major and stay at a regional any longer than I have to but I do have a lot of time left in may career, I hoped to spend it at Alaska but if its really is as bad as y'all say then that may not be the case.

Speed Pilot

If it’s a step forward, by all means come here. But keep your stuff updated everywhere else and don’t leave your regional until you’ve got you’re PIC time so you can apply to FedEx and UPS while you’re here too. There’s quite a few FOs temporarily stuck til they can upgrade and get their PIC time to be more competitive at the real major airlines.

flysnoopy76

Expect to be fairly underwhelmed by your “major airline” experience here at Alaska, you’ll fly major airline equipment and that’s about it, contractually nearly everything is substandard and worse in many aspects to some regionals.

Ala5ka

Come for the type. Keep updating as often as you were at your regional. United or Delta will call you soon enough and you can leave this place behind

Arctichicken

Solid advice. Get the training, experience, and a type or two then bail when opportunity calls. I get texts every so often from FOs who've left for greener pastures and they have no regrets with their decision.....zero! The common theme amongst them are QOL and pay. No surprise there. No airline is perfect but Alaska is waaaay behind others, allegedly.

ShyGuy

No it doesn’t. And no TA will pass without scope in it. That said, there’s not much I can do on a day to day to basis. What do you suggest, get the BP up everyday at work stressing over it? I trust in our union committee, we have the right people working hard for us.


For me its hard to compare because I was FO almost the entire time at VX (senior-ish) whereas I’m CA now mostly reserve. Took a displacement upgrade when NYC closed. I can’t compare my VX FO life to AS as a junior CA. That said, I got a OF line for September that was 16 days off and about 77 hrs credit. I can’t complain about that. I have access to DeltaNet (for seeing travel loads) but one can also see Delta schedule bid packets, awards, etc. Honestly looking at 737 and 320 lines they have, I’m not impressed either. To each his own I suppose. I’m youngish but I’m not leaving.

SEA sounds abusive because there’s almost always a flight they can assign to a reserve. And even lineholder, plenty of opportunities to see a DH turn into an operating flight (or just random schedule changes). I have flown with SEA reserve FOs and it’s busy for sure.



10th yr pay.



Displaced off Bus Capt last year and on the Boeing for a year now. Of course now there’s dozens added back to Airbus but I didn’t bid back because it would mean 2 more training cycles in ~24 months as Bus guys get displaced again. Anyway, saying fairly happy makes one a company apologist and a yes man? You’re right, I apologize. I forgot I’m supposed to be POed and a bitter person at work, and not enjoy this job.


This is not anyone’s first rodeo. We’ve seen this before. My last company we went 5 yrs past amendable date before we got a new TA. The NMB process is nothing new, of course it was going to happen so I can’t put on a pretend shock face. The pandemic delayed it, otherwise we’d already be in NMB before last month.


Lastly, and I have asked this of a rep and I don’t have a good answer (because honestly there isn’t really an answer). My question is simple, why would the company give us anything? For example, Scope. Why? And what’s our leverage? I’ve heard the hiring and attrition argument and that has never played out in any large numbers. End of the NMB process release for self help? Are we really going to pretend that the NMB would release or the PEB wouldn’t step in to stop a strike for a company that is state-named and a sole source service for several AK communities?

Not trying to be Debbie Downer, just a realist. Thanks largely to a seniority system for about 60% here, to quote Dave Harken in ‘Horrible Bosses’ “So settle in. Because you are here for the long haul.”

Barneyrubble

I always enjoyed flying with him when he was a FO. Sharper than most and flew the bus well. Never a bad word out about other pilots here.... unlike Ala.....ka.

flyprdu

My favorite part is pretending that we're the only airline with airplanes capable of flying EAS routes. SkyWest is already up there in AS colors. All they have to do is swap tails and Delta could have a turn key network in those "Alaska-exclusive" towns.

We'll never get anywhere with this decades old self-defeatism that has kept Alaska pilots 2 steps behind the curve.

Don't do the NMB's job for them.