Originally Posted by ShyGuy

Not a quality. Those were just lame reasons for choosing an airline in this current market.


As for the second part, say I am a mid 20s guy and I love the west coast. Why shouldn’t I take DL for SEA and LAX, or UA for SFO and LAX? Culture, 737, routes doesn’t cut it.


I can’t believe that you’d either ignore, or worse, disregard one of the more important career aspects: seniority and upward movement from retirements. 3400 pilots today and how many retire the next 10 years? 600-700ish? The big 3 retire far more, proportionately speaking and resulting in a better relative position. DAL and soon UAL with the new contract will allow basically direct entry CAs. How’s that compare to a 2018 junior CA? Alaska has the most senior upgrade at the major airlines, except Southwest.

You’re disregarding real, measurable, quantifiable variables for choosing an airline over touchy feely things like culture and perceived fleet awesomeness.


Money alone isn’t going to solve this.

Originally Posted by airb320

All I wanna know is:

“Are you happy with your Haircut?”

😉

Originally Posted by Koalatree

You really are special. No wonder you don't post on Alyeska anymore.

You've gone from one of the biggest kool aid drinkers at this company to actively fighting a guy why MORE money is not going to help retention (like the Union is fighting for) and arguing that we aren't the place to be no matter what.

Is it literally, you've got yours in your little bubble or something else? Maybe it's time for you to take off the golden handcuffs and leave if...

West Coast only bases are bad

Single fleet is bad

Seniority progression is bad etc etc

How about keeping quiet while the Union does the work behind the scenes to get us back to average instead of mouthing off every 4 hours how no pay increase will help attrition

Originally Posted by av8trup2late

Hey OTZ!

where’s our merger your forecasted?

Originally Posted by ReluctantEskimo

It's understandable that you'd summarily dismiss all that I've mentioned, as they do not compute for you. But yes, culture. It might not be as cool as Virgin, but the echoes of that airline remain. I'm still able to get entire crews out for dinner from time to time. I hear that's not an option at the big 3.

Yes, the 737 has the same routes at the big 4. But those routes are divided over many different bases at the big 4. At Alaska, the 737 goes everywhere from everywhere. You can fly to all points in the lower 49 + Latin America from all of our bases. 50+ from SEA or ANC. You will not see that sort of destination diversity from a single base and a single fleet anywhere else.

And the variety in type of flying on a singular fleet is unparalleled. You want 6 hours 1 and done? We've got it. You want short hops and 1 time zone? We've got it. The big 3 offer very specialized route structures based on the equipment. Here, you can pick and choose.


So yes, Alaska has lots of things going for it that could attract newbies. The only thing that is missing to make this place a forever home is the paycheck.

Originally Posted by OTZeagle1

There will be magic, you will definitely snap. I think flexibility is about to change significantly by late spring next year. 787🤔… A lot of research has gone into that aircraft to do nothing. When…well that is the question. I think, HA is kinda the leaning direction. If it happens this fall though, I mean honestly, it will take two years to fully integrate, and I would expect a 3-5 year fence CA only on the wide bodies. So let’s say, in the right seat of a 787 summer of 2026.

Originally Posted by Twr199

Ok so it’s late spring now. Last week it was this fall. There will be no magic. You are so full of __it! Knock it off with the fake merger rumors already. You’re running out of airlines. No merger has ever happened that anyone could forecast..because those are in the know all
are bound by NDA’s.

Originally Posted by OTZeagle1

It’s done. Management wants a 3 year market rate extension. I guess we will see what the union thinks.

But yup, we got brilliant pilots asking about new bases in SAN, JFK, and PHX, because our current bases are expensive to live in… you can’t make this stuff up.🤔🙄😂

Originally Posted by Flyboy8784

JFC.......do you own a map of the US? Has it not dawned on you that pilots can drive 1.5 hours from ANY of those aforementioned bases and have beautiful, safe, and well priced places to live? Or maybe.....justttttt maybe.....a 2-3 hour airplane commute to an east coast base or a mid-con base would be better than a 6 hour trans-con commute? Tell me you've never commuted without telling me you've never commuted.