Almost certain it will change by the day over the coming months.

 

we just got an email at Allegiant saying your director of training is helping us with our airbus to 737 max transition course… read into it what you will

 

I've concluded that Alaska Airlines is an airline filled with cynics and pessimists.

There's no other way to rationalize our mediocre trajectory than to believe that the entire industry is always on the brink of collapse.

 

Didn't your current director of training come from Alaska last year? I don't think there's anything to read into, he was at Alaska for less than two years, left to be your director of training, and is probably now reaching out to people he still knows from AS.

 

First, the big 3 have at least one pilot base bigger than all of Alaska Airlines. If one of the Big 3 is overmanned by 10%, that's 1,400 pilots. If Alaska is overmanned 10%, that's what, 300? That's the pros/breaks of being big. When things are good, it's great, when not, it's not. All industry hiccups are magnified.

All the big 3 had to go through BK to rid themselves of those pesky pilot pensions, no way the large unions at any of the big 3 would freely give away their pension benefit.

How did Alaska Airlines get rid of their pilot pensions?

SWA never had one to get rid of in the first place.

Not sure I'd be so proud about how little ole Alaska avoiding BK court to avoid reseting their pilot contracts, somehow mgmt was able to drag the AK pilots along freely.

I am thankful though for AK's hubris in telling DAL no deal on a more exclusive codeshare agreement back in the mid-2010's, and stay dance partners with the multitude international airlines of the world (ME airlines included), that forced Delta to grow and build it's own hub out of SEA to serve their own international hub.

I know every ULCC pilot that posts on here somehow think they are holders of the secret sauce, never to experience a downturn. Many of them haven't been alive long enough to see how revenue can drop a 1/3 in one quarter. Even the AA CEO Parker was quoted years back about how AA would never lose money again. Well never is a looooong time.

I hope that no airline/pilot group has to shrink, or that we go into a prolonged period of retraction/stagnation (as an industry) because in the end we all benefit from a good aviation industry and suffer in a crappy one.

 

Uhm, out of control debt took each to bankruptcy, the pension was just a piece of the debt. AMR went into bankruptcy and back out, with all their existing pension liabilities, NWA also left frozen.
AS and all three legacy carriers NB wages have been within pennies of each other if averaged 2000-2018 and guess what many of us still have a fully funded pension.
I agree, if everyone does well, we will all do well. I hope everyone survives this thing, I hope it’s our turn as skilled labor to finally win.
And being around for more then 90 years in this chaotic industry and never claiming bankruptcy is remarkable, how do I know… We are the only US airline to do this!

 

Correct me if I’m wrong, but WN is a US airline that’s never claimed bankruptcy or laid off pilots. That’s even more remarkable.

 

This is the one of the things I hate about Alaska. I call it "Bragging with Asterisks." We have so many bragging rights, but when you look closer, it's not worth bragging at all. Let's review some.

• Trip touching vacation drops* *Still have to fly the minimum through picking up.
• Most vacation accrual in the industry** **41 days after 31 years of service. Actual accrual rates are way behind the industry.
• Oldest airline without a bankruptcy*** ***First 40 years of the airline was a mom & pop Alaska bush operation

I don't know why Alaska pilots celebrate so disingenuously. Maybe they don't know better. Or maybe we all love living the lie.
Either way, we love to brag.

 

Alaska, along with everyone else, will be fortunate to stave off bankruptcy this time around if we ultimately see sustained oil prices in the $200 range. As has been mentioned it will be all about survival and it won’t be pretty for employees.

 

You're hysterical.