Mea25000

120-200... best guess right now

CountonIt

Any intel on length of time from CJO to class date? How many are waiting for class, etc? Thanks!

diamnd15

end of September CJOs were offered February classes

Mudhen200

I'm only repeating what a BCP said a few days ago.
A Base Chief at Alaska is barely one step above a line pilot on intel. They only parrot what they are told and that can change as quickly as BM can change out of his undies.
But seriously - to all you younglings out there - he who has an ear, let him hear!
20 plus years ago, flying for AK was the only thing that mattered in my life. Now, as I approach geezerville, I realize that it hasn't been a bad ride so far, but it could have been a lot better somewhere else (at least financially).

The only reason I would recommend a young pilot coming here is if they are firmly rooted in the PNW and have zero desire to try living in another part of the country and refuse (wisely in my opinion) to commute. I get that, I'm one of those guys. I'm also going to make a metric f@#k ton less money than my Delta neighbor because of that decision which I made over 20 years ago. Just think about that - choose wisely, don't sell yourself short. The pilot market is only going to get better and better over the next 20 years, so go big!

My career will be spent getting in the truck and driving to work. That's a blessing to me. My career will also be spent making a lot less money for my family, while doing the same work and being away from home just as much as my Delta neighbor. I don't commute, he does. I don't cross many time zones, he does. I only pull an all nighter once or twice a year, he does it monthly. Pro's and Con's. I'm just suggesting that you all think about it. With this pilot market, there is no reason why a good pilot can't accomplish anything he / she chooses.
As to those of us committed to sticking it out here - Let's do this! Let us finally put our management in it's place and say no to employees subsidizing the business model. Let us make it so that all my rambling above become obsolete and young pilots desire to spend their careers here because it's the best airline in the industry to work for.

KnockKnock

This same sentiment has played out at every airline in existence. There are still UAL guys that are so embittered by the companies past dealings that they advise against going there. I know a few. As I read through different airlines threads, there are at least a handful of folks who say their contract is the worst in the industry. Look at the JB, HAL and AA threads. This is a strange career. Our experience means nothing when moving company to company. We’re forever starting over. Mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies can make ones decisions moot. One day your company is on top and the next it’s on the bottom. I don’t think it’s a mistake to come here. This company will be what we make it. I say get your number wherever you can, buckle up and ride the ride. There will be more mergers. Companies will swap paint and “culture”. The cycle will continue as long as air travel exists. I find that living at home and driving to work while navigating this maze of an industry makes the whole thing a little more palatable.

Packrat

Agreed. When I got hired UPS was just starting its own airline. I could have gone there, but UPS Captains (at the time) were making $111 an hour on all airframes. AS Captains were making $154. By the end of the line, AS Captains were making $100 LESS than UPS guys with the same DoH.

Hindsight is always 20/20. Live your life with no regrets while trying to make it better for those who come after you.

P.S. Back then Delta required 20/20 vision. That criteria round filed my application.

9mikemike

Seems like attrition has stabilized at around 40 pilots per year. I would expect that it will remain there for the foreseeable future. Pklot managers are not allowed to acknowledge attrition rates. Hiring numbers never include attrition

AnchorDown

if you get the Union updates, they addressed this, great report and thank you to our Union volunteers! I just got it this morning, so it’s fairly new.

9mikemike

Correct, ALPA simply states the facts. The Chief pilot and all the mini-me’s paint a rosy picture. They, like senior leadership, avoid ever committing to provable data. It's just a funny, backwoods little airline.

All Bizniz

There will always be a group of pilots in any airline who no matter the circumstances, will still complain about how terrible their company is; and sometimes it is understandable because it came from a rough patch they experienced during their career there, but if you look at it objectively, from say ALPA's Contract Comparison publication, it is clear how the airlines stack up.

Intangibles such as company culture, management/worker relationship, commuting/living in base, etc - if it's important to a pilot - are all factors that will round out the ultimate picture, but usually over time, a consensus will build about the desirability about working for one airline vs another.