Took 2 months last year to hear back.

For those interested in coming to Alaska. Do your homework and understand what you are getting yourselves into. I'm not going to bash the employee/labor relationship. As a current Alaska Bus Capt. I'm becoming concerned with the business path this company has taken. It over paid for the VX operation. It's immigration plan is not going well. Costs for the merger are way over budget and revenue is declining. There is a good chance we will post a loss in the first quarter. And although merger costs are at a peak in this quarter, challenges remain on the horizon. We are losing California passengers to competitors because of Alaska's downgrading the product. Revenue is down for ticket sales due rapidly expanding UAL capacity and fare wars with SW. Southwest is entering the hawaiian market soon which will again affect revenues and margins. Fuel costs are up 21% YOY. The list goes on.

At this time I would caution anyone looking at AAG. The viability of the plan in my mind is in serious question right now. And there are way less risky options out there right now.

Plus the schedules suck. ��

Good luck to those interested.

Not writing this to directly discredit your post, instead to give a different perspective.

Over the last decade the airline industry in general has faced the worst of times followed by the best of times and we are now starting to even out. Fuel is returning to a sustainable price per barrel and casual/business travel is also returning to its normal, per-economic crash, levels (in general, not quoting any direct studies here).

Did the Air Group overpay for VX? Honestly, we will never know because we cannot see what the long term affect would have been if Jetblue had gained a West Coast foothold. On paper, yes it looks like AAG overpaid, in reality, only time (more than a few years) will tell.

If we are losing passengers to competitors then we are gaining new ones to replace them as our load capacity numbers are in line with previous years, quarters and months.

Look at any of the major airline mergers in the past decade, they are EXPENSIVE, tough on labor moral and often take longer than anticipated to complete. Before we judge the success or failure of the AS/VX merger we have to give it time to complete. How can you judge a cake if all you have done is mix the ingredients but have not let it bake?

The main point of the original post is 100% correct, do your research before going anywhere (do not let that research come 100% from APC). It is great to see a healthy pilot job market again, go to the flight operation that will make you the happiest.

For my own personal reasons that operation for me was Alaska Airlines and I am very happy to hang my hat here (though I hope that hat becomes optional in the near future). My reasons are not your reasons so again, do your due diligence, pick your companies, take the first class date you get and enjoy your time off.

Very well put...👍

Who talks like that? Go to the "flight operation"? I'm excited to fly with people eager to work here but know what you're getting into guys and girls

Using “Flight Operation” in the context of both 121 Airline and 135 Corporate jobs; just a way to encompass both together. I feel some unhappy airline pilots would find what they are looking for in the corporate world.

Yeah, seriously. Noob. Anybody who has been around knows the proper airline pilot phraseology is, “get on property at the flight operation...”.

We keep cutting routes and will probably post a loss. No one else is shrinking and losing money. Think about that while you’re waiting for the phone to ring. Prospective pilots should view this as an opportunity to interview Alaska because you have more to offer them than they have to offer you.

No Airline, or business for that matter, has ever survived by shrinking to profitability!
It’s business 101...

So far as I know we aren't losing planes so we're not shrinking. Cutting routes and then redeploying those planes on different routes is what's happening. Now, we have no scope so that's REALLY messed up and that's a serious threat. However, we're not shrinking...still hiring actually. Sooo there's that.
Also, no other major is in the middle of a merger so maybe that's why we have a different financial situation that anyone else. Remember that after the 1st quarter and going into the 3rd-4th we will be very profitable. Soooo there's that too.
I know you think the sky is falling ALL the time and I"m not sure how you sleep with all of that stress. I guess I don't care. Anyway...it's an interesting time to be at Alaska...lots of new changes and it's uneasy for sure. But it's not doom and gloom like some would have you believe.