The nepotism. The buddy system. The fake "we are family" facade. The required Company "reeducation" meetings. The lack of growth that has guys sitting in the right seat for 15 years.

Everything they do is for show. Why do you think they pioneered the check in Kiosk? To eliminate CSA jobs.

Calling the OAK mechanics in for a "meeting" and firing them all. Replacing the SEA rampers with Menzies with no notice.

One AS CEO once told a meeting of F/As and rampers "These are entry level positions and none of you should aspire to home ownership." That attitude has never changed. You are just a number, a butt in the seat. And if you get too expensive, they are more than willing to show you the door and replace you with a new hire at first year wages.

10-11 hour layovers are now the norm. Summer vacations have been drastically reduced to the point where only the top 10% of the seniority list has a prayer at getting one. Staffing is so close to the bone that they routinely offer to buy back vacations and if they don't get enough greedy volunteers they have no problem canceling your vacation and allowing you to "choose" one next year from what is left AFTER everyone has bid.

AS looks good from the outside, but if I was a mainline candidate, I'd be taking a hard look at DAL, FDX, SWA, UPS, AA and UAL in that order.

 

This is mostly a line of BS. Do they give interviews to "Capt Kids", yes they do. One even got two interviews! That being said, I know of several people who have been hired that were not in this group. Some had letters of rec from Alaska pilots and some did not. One didn't know a soul. HR runs the show and even the CPs said they can't crack the "crystal ball" up there. To be honest, the CP had over 1200 applications from all the pilots at Alaska. So 320 were from the "golden children". Is the CP supposed to not allow them? Did they all get hired?

As for IPs, that probably rings true no matter where you go. Do training depts hire IPs that they don't know? In addition, maybe the black-balling is a good thing to keep the bad ones out. I don't know but you sound pretty bitter.

If you want to get upset, get upset at the panty-waist Alaska pilot group and our weak union. I don't get upset one bit from the stuff the company does. It's like getting mad at a snake for eating your pet rabbit. It's what they do. I get upset with our pilot group who are just like all the other idiots in our profession.....always out for #1 and self-absorbed with short-term gain. I'm afraid if you go somewhere else, you will find the same thing and continued unhappiness. Embrace the suck and move on.

 

Well said!

 

Not really bitter at all. I'm just saying that in the current hiring environment Alaska would be toward the bottom of my list. Unless, of course, Daddy was one of the Fleet Captains and you get your Captain upgrade as an IP within 6 months of getting hired.

If you don't fit that profile, go to Delta or FedEx.

 

Alaska is probably the worst in the industry for nepotism. I'm not saying you should give up, but definitely get your stuff in at DL, AA, SW, etc. I wouldn't miss out on getting in at the early stages of a hiring wave, just to wait around for Alaska to call. You could be the poster child for what an Alaskan pilot candidate should be and still not get the call. I think it's a good airline, but I wouldn't rank it higher than DL or AA.

 

I don't think he sounds bitter. I think that he sounds pragmatic. You, on the other hand sound defensive.

It sounds like there's two work groups, the haves and the have nots. Maybe he's been on the receiving end of all those predictable business decisions. It's obvious that the decisions are designed to benefit the shareholders at the expense of employees and their families. It's only business. That's understandable and predictable. You're right about that. But, you have to ask yourself, who are some of the biggest shareholders or soon to be big shareholders when their options are in the money.

Now, the weak-dick pilot group, that's another problem. It sounds like Alaska seeks out people who are willing to settle for less in exchange for being in God-given SEA. It sounds like your flight attendants have more balls than the pilots. At least the FAs voted their contact down.

The pilots on the other hand signed a weak 5-yr deal that'll leave them so far behind everyone else in 5 yrs that it'll be mathematically prohibitive to catch up. To add insult to injury, the contract offered enough productivity increases to further postpone and eliminate hiring and upgrades. You guys really boned your FOs and junior CAs on that one. Meanwhile, Alaska is announcing record profit after record profit.

On the positive side, your profit sharing bonus amounts to an extra 8 percent pay. Hopefully for you guys, that keeps coming. But, if Alaska makes one of those business decisions that you rationalize as predictable, it'll be gone in time. I'd rather have the pay in my payscale as opposed to a bonus subject to formulas that can and will be "adjusted" by management.

I readily acknowlege, that I like many pilots, am a prostitute. But, I am NOT a CHEAP prostitue. If I were going to be looking at a 15-yr upgrade at Alaska because I was surrounded by too many weak-dicks who sell their vacations and work extra for straight time, I'd consider someplace else first. At least SWAPA and the SWA captains acknowledged the 15-yr upgrade and gave the FOs a higher percentage of CA pay. At least at UAL I have a 787 as a higher-paying senior FO option. The same will never happen at Alaska. It's a CA airline where their actions say eff the FOs.

On he otherhand, If I were a horizon FO with no PIC turbine and I could never leave to go to SWA in the future, or if I were a nepotism candidate with Parker Pen time or I were an affirmative action candidate, I would settle for less and ASA is the place for me. I'd consider myself lucky to be anywhere, let alone sleeping in my own bed in SEA, PDX or ANC and I'd keep cashing the checks. And when my son or daughter were old enough, I'd get him or her a job too.

 

Gearboy, you make no sense or reading comprehension is not your strong suit. Where was I defensive? Did I point out our pilot group as being weak? Uh, yes. Our pilot group is a bunch of pansies that elected to step over a dollar to pick up a dime. That being said, I don't blame management. they do what they do to a bunch of pansies. Just as I would.

 

Actually, you're both right. For years the AS pilot group maintained a secret "no strike" letter in exchange for a guaranteed 92% average of the Major airlines pay rates so they wouldn't have to make a strike decision.

As the older generation retires, perhaps that will disappear with them. I think there is a group of young guys on the property now that saw a bunch of their peers on furlough for up to three years and know it can happen to them.

The funny thing is...the labor group at AS with the biggest balls is made up primarily of women.

 

Moose Munch,

Relax. Don't take things so personally. This is NOT an ad hominem attack.


Poor reading comprehension? No, that's not it.

I stand by my original assessment. Calling someone bitter is attacking him. Rationalizing over-reaching management actions like $40K pay cuts, Pay Day candy bars and furlough notices on Xmas Eve as simply business decisions is defending them.

Yes, you did say that your pilot group is weak. I agree with you. Others are in agreement with you as well.

So, we are all in consensus. The Alaska pilots are a bunch of pansies. Their HR must know how to weed out militant pilots and those with balls.


Incidentally, the actual term is:

panty waste

your waist is above your hips


maybe it was just a typo. or maybe diction or spelling isn't your strong suit

 

You would too? You make it sound so Lord of the Flies or Machiavellian.

(or in layman's terms, so Richie Incognito)

Also, on a completely unrelated note, is it true that your CP, J.H., has no 4-yr degree?
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