How often does Alaska have vacancy bids/AEs? I know that United has them every couple of months, I think Delta is the same. Curious about Alaska

 

I have always thought of Alaska as a place I would like to make a career, from the guys I used to fly with - all being sub 1 year at Alaska right now - the majority have shared they plan to depart as soon as they get the call from UA/DL/AA. The primary reasons shared with me were

- The contract did not hit the mark they expected in this current environment which is now appearing to be somewhat accurate based on what is being offered elsewhere.
- Too much of a "Its the way we have always done it" attitude.
- And the encouragement from a lot of the captains they fly with to get out for somewhere else asap.

I have personally reconsidered my application at Alaska after hearing these experiences. If it was just one or two people I'd think twice but it seems to be a regular theme among a lot of guys and gals lately. Really hope your management can get things on track and make AS a desired career destination, but from the sounds of things from the folks on here who (claim to) actually work at AS I shouldn't hold my breath.

 

Yes. The Boeing is the only fleet we have in SEA.

 

AS so far has been a huge improvement from the regionals. Don’t be afraid to come from a regional to here. DL and UA love poaching AS pilots.

 

No harm in accepting an offer and staying until something better comes along.

 

And at Delta, American, and United, when they get new contracts, those won't hit the mark they set, either. Everybody will always find something to complain about. It's never enough.



Don't go somewhere and think you're going to change the company. If you want to instantly drive me nuts, just start a sentence with, "Well, at Brand X, we..." Yeah - I don't care. You're not at Brand X anymore. A company does things the way they do them because that's the way they do them until there is a good reason to do it a different way. And absolutely every company does dumb things for historically dumb reasons. The bigger they are, the more and the dumber those things get. That's just the way of the world.



Airline pilots love feeling like they're saving you from yourself by telling you not to make the same "mistakes" they made. Never mind that they're making stupid money for working less than six months a year at one of the easiest jobs on the planet.


I guarantee you that there are at least as many unhappy people at United/Delta/American as there are at Alaska, if not more, because they all have four times the number of pilots as Alaska. Airline pilots are just a congenitally unhappy bunch who don't know how good they've got it because they're busy worrying about what everybody else is getting. So do what you want to do and don't worry yourself about what anyone else thinks of it.

 

Thank you, extremely well said.

 

+1 for this post.

 

As a new hire this is sad to read. My only exposure has been to the school house, but it seems like most guys here are very cool and down to earth. I feel lucky to be here due to my lack of experience.

Rose colored glasses aside, it seems like the common theme is that this place is a stepping stone unless you want to retire living in PDX and that I will be giving up “seven figures” if I stay here for the next 38 years. Tough to determine if this is hyperbole or the reality of retiring here.

Regardless, I am stoked to be here and the experience has been very positive so far!

 

At your age you certainly would be giving up that much over a career here vs a major airline.