Speed Pilot

I agree we aren’t going to change anything. This place makes money. For now.

It’s the best paying pilot job I’ve ever had. It is also the worst quality of life pilot job I’ve ever had(worst contract by far, not even a competition), including flight instructing, Part 135 freight, aerial firefighting, 3 different regionals and VX. I have never seen an employer go out of its way to crap on its employees like I have here except maybe a Jiffy Lube I worked at briefly in college, but it’s a toss up.

You’re right though. I’m probably not leaving. I had just started expanding the family when we got bought. If it was just me and my wife still, I’d be gone. She’s seen my quality of life at my previous jobs. She hates AS more than I do. She’s become the most vocal anti-AS person I know.
That’s where our resolve for a better contract is really coming from. The spouses are fing ****ed at the degradation in quality of life for their pilots and their families from their pilots working here. A lot of the guys looking to leave or talking about it are being pushed just as much by their spouses dissatisfaction as their own.

There’s too many idiots and masochists in the world that would enjoy this. We’re just trying to spare the educated and talented pilots out there from making a mistake and wasting themselves here. This airline is an absolute perfect fit for some.

You laugh because you are seriously disconnected from the average pilot. You have it great. I’m honestly happy for you. Seriously, if people can have it good that gives hope to the rest of us. If you had any pulse on the pilot group you’d know you’re in the minority. A shrinking minority.

“Conan, what is best in life?” My answer is time. And we lose more of it here than our peers for no reason other than pettiness and incompetence. All shops have incompetence. It happens. The people who cheerlead the pettiness are the ones I’ll never understand. It will be a great day in this career when we can get rid of the attitude: “It sucked for me so it should suck for you.”

9mikemike

In his typical, seattleite, obtuse manner OTZ is trying to pass useful information.
The cliff notes from him….1) if you live east of Spokane this is not a good airline for you. 2)if you are former red tail(pre 2016) you will never have the same quality of work life again. 3) if you make an honest comparison with you friends at major airlines you will always trail 15-20%. 4) any reference to pilot hiring and contract improvement is farcical. Alaska hires so few pilots that they will never struggle to fill classes. 5)Waiting for an improved CBA to make life plans is farcical. Educated estimates are late 2023-early 2024. The last ratified contract was 2013(more commonly referred to as Contract 200)

Carter1

Long time lurker since I left for UAL back in 2019 with about 4 years seniority as a former VX guy.

I can tell you leaving for ual was the best decision I’ve ever made. I actually enjoy going to work again and am thrilled at the decisions the company has made since I was hired here. The former Alaska/VX guys I know here, and have met that I didn’t know, feel the same.

In reading your posts it’s pretty clear you already know the right answer. If you have the ability to get the call, I would suggest not walking, not running, but sprinting away from AS into a class at UA.

im grateful for my time at virgin and Alaska and miss the crews including the smaller airline community where you know people by name and become friends.. but I missed my family and being treated with respect by my employer more.

It was an easy choice and I have never once second guessed myself-not even when a covid furlough notice came. Thankfully our Union protected us from furlough while working productively and amicably with the company (of course government assistance helped immensely but had that not come there was a signed loa furlough avoidance in place).. which has set us up for a snap back recovery that has hired more than 500 new pilots since may with no end in sight. Classes of 50 per week are planned indefinitely.

please feel free to direct message me if you still want more information after you talk to your buddy about leaving

Intransit

I read the forum and never post anything, but I have to say that the struggle here is real. I have been a captain for several years and I fall into the group that thinks of leaving but most likely will not, for the sake of security for my family. That said, my wife and I have been going over the options a lot lately. Especially as we have begun a family, it is painful to constantly be away from them. Painful to fly so many trips on the backside of the clock, or deadhead everywhere imaginable to start and end trips. At times, it’s been hard to keep my head straight with these schedules. It makes my old regional schedule look nice! I realize what we had at VX will never return, but the complete 180 in what we had in treatment is very tough to grasp. This place will go out of its way to make things more difficult for its pilots, even if it’s a strain on the operation. The thought of leaving this place doesn’t cease.

OTZeagle1

I honestly only want good for everyone, even newguy. If UA is your best fit, go, I hope you are a 87 CA in record time. Everyone’s career is different, even at the same airline. There are many instances in this industry where 6 mos date of hire, drastically changes ones career. I have been fortunate, I know that, I am thankful for that. My wife loves Alaska Airlines. I have always lived in base, I have had luck and circumstance, I have also worked really hard, I expected no one to pay my way.

I remember as a new hire, thinking there wasn’t a captain I flew with that understood how much harder my life was then theirs. They were living on lake Washington and Samamish in 1,500k homes. I could barely afford my 350k home. I thought, I would never have what they had. I think they paid 500k for those 1,500K houses, I paid 350k for my 350k home😂. With two decades of time passed, my life is much different. Those houses on Lake Washington and Lake Samamish are now probably 8,000k to 22,000k. I don’t live in one of those, so maybe I didn’t keep up. My 4,200k Captain house though is pretty nice and I don’t owe a dime on it. Everyone’s career will be different but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great one. There is no way for the union to provide career parity at every point in time, it just doesn’t work that way. I am confident someone who lives in an AS base, who is hired hired this fall, will have an incredible career. Will it be the best? Well who’s really is the best, how do we quantify and at what point do we judge.

I fly with FO’s, non of them have ever expressed AS to be the worst job they have ever had. Most say the opposite but all want Scope, industry parity in hourly rate, and a better scheduling package.

I think many on here look back on VX with rose colored glasses and currently at their AS careers, through spectacles of contempt. I could be wrong, I have never walked in your shoes.

Union says SFO is staying open, hopefully they are right. Everything I have seen says the opposite though, sorry.

I said what I saw last summer, I was 100% sure we were furloughing. I never saw the 40 billion coming from the federal government. I was wrong, but I was also telling everyone exactly what was going on.

Good luck to everyone, but don’t act like a child. I am on vacation, the weather is awesome, enjoy. Trust the people you elected in our union, I am confident they will not settle and your career will only get better.

OTZeagle1

I think anyone thinking about their airline career should consider this- the most unhappy individuals I know in aviation are ALL commuters. Carter1 is now really happy now that he is at UA. That’s awesome carter👍…I really mean that. The most unhappy person I know in aviation period, was hired 19 years earlier then Carter at that very same company, UA. I mean he wants to burn that company to the ground! How can both be true🤔

NewGuy01

I thought you were on “vacation”?


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Carter1

Thanks man. I agree with you. Commuting is a key tipping point in this career. Enjoy your summer!

Benito

You're an Alaska pilot on vacation in the summer?
You must have like 30 years seniority.
Do you still fax your bids in?

tipofthe

I left for that little airline in Georgia in 2019. Turns out to be one of the best decisions I made. Every other Eskimo/VX pilot I've met here is equally happy they made the move. It's not VX, but it's certainly the next best thing IMHO.