Originally Posted by ridinhigh

The FA group here is treated well because they do stand out and treat guests well (mostly). Without the Aloha shared in the cabin, HA isnt HA and sticking it to the FAs will see that aloha evaporate.
SO yes, there is a bit of bending to the will of the FA group I agree. But for a valid reason the management knows what sets this place apart.
Hence the "value" to the HA brand. If that ALOha can continue to thrive then so will the brand. If not maybe it doesnt as it will just become another form of transportation.

Originally Posted by MinRest

Alaska spoke at length numerous times about how much they loved the brand loyalty of Virgin, how they wanted to preserve the essence of VX.

Then they obliterated any existence of it.

Originally Posted by Jet J

They also closed one of pilot domiciles and SIGNIFICANTLY shrunk another one.

Will be very interesting to watch what they do with HNL over the next 5 years.

Originally Posted by PineappleXpres

If Southwest retreats even a bit, makes no sense to contract in turn.

Originally Posted by Jet J

I agree. But It didnt make sense to me to shrink SFO the way they did, Or park the airbus the way they did.
I stopped trying to make sense of what this management does.

If they shrink HNL it’s going to be bad news for a lot of us on the mainland. I hope it doesn’t happen.

Originally Posted by AKCattleCarrier

I'm not sure if this is a joke or not. But leads me to think that the HA employee group is in for a rude awakening when the AS C Suite takes control of the tiller. Our FA's don't have a say in anything, actually they get treated like 4 yr olds, they get negotiated with like 4 yr olds. For every ounce of pay raise/boading pay they got in their TA they gave up the equivalent or more in concessions in insurance, sick leave, etc. I have only flown with one FA(A) that knew anything about their TA (I've asked on every bathroom break since it was announced). This person was not impressed. I get a sense most know nothing about their union.

Their was quite a bit of brand loyalty to the VA brand by its employees. Understandably, they liked their company the way it was (it sounds like it was a really cool place to work). VA FA's got fired left and right as they performed various little acts of revolt. AS was happy to unload FA's that didn't fall in line. A new cheaper FA can be trained up and on the line in 6 weeks.

I get a sense that HA employees think they are going to get a bailout and it will business as usual but with healthy profit margins. I think history shows much the opposite. As BM said "we learned a lot from our merger with VA". I believe "integration" will be much more efficient/ruthless this time. ETOPS flying off the west coast can be integrated almost immediately (787/330s to the West Coast?). Inter-Island can be synergized almost immediately into the current ETOPS structure (bye bye 30 hr LIH layover). $/Yen chart continues to show nothing good for the Japanese tourist (US just threatened to name Japan a currency manipulator through failed attempts to strengthen their currency).

Its a shame because I BUY tickets with my partner to ride the 330 to Hawaii once a year. The HA product is supperior to AS in every way that matters to me. The 330 is a big quiet comfy ride and its nice to sit on the side wall with only 2 seats. The FAs are nice (unlike ours) and the vibe in general is way better. ETOPS 737 is miserable. Unfortunately I see tons of places for the accountants to cut costs.

Originally Posted by yallMahomies

The "quiet" comfy ride will be phased out almost immediately. AS does not want to deal with 330s at all. The 321s that HAL has will probably stick around for a little bit based on what Scott Day feels like. AS is dumb enough to do interisland flying with the 737s so wont be surprised when that happens. A good amount of the 787s will be in HNL with a decent amount in SEA too. However AS will have to sell an arm and a leg to get 787 gates and slots here in SeaTac so not sure on how that will work. Overall this merger seems like a mess and dont be baffled when you see 787s going to new hire 24 year olds in 7 years.

Originally Posted by yallMahomies

The "quiet" comfy ride will be phased out almost immediately. AS does not want to deal with 330s at all. The 321s that HAL has will probably stick around for a little bit based on what Scott Day feels like. AS is dumb enough to do interisland flying with the 737s so wont be surprised when that happens. A good amount of the 787s will be in HNL with a decent amount in SEA too. However AS will have to sell an arm and a leg to get 787 gates and slots here in SeaTac so not sure on how that will work. Overall this merger seems like a mess and dont be baffled when you see 787s going to new hire 24 year olds in 7 years.

Originally Posted by blackbox348

HAL 330s got the green light for a cabin refresh and new first class product last week