There's a ton of guys who would love a base in SAN/BOI/PVU. Where do you want the next base to be?? The Bahamas?

EYW maybe? That would be sweet.

AUS and SAN

I feel like this theory seems a bit paranoid, especially the part about opening several bases just to keep the pilots from talking to each other.

And I’m not sure the difference between senior pilot pay and junior pilot pay is enough to move the operating cost of this airline when making such expensive decisions as expanding or opening new bases for tens of millions of dollars each.

Many have covered the Pros and Cons very well IMHO, so I'll just harp on a few things that might or might have not been mentioned.

The upgrade situation here can be extremely frustrating for the other reasons mentioned. You spend enough time in a base, buy a home, enjoy being there every single day (no overnights), money is not bad, fam is happy, you've made plenty of friends; only to have to make a decision to bid for upgrade in another base because in your current base there is no sign of your a$$ upgrading anytime soon.

The only way 98% or so of the F/O's in bases such as LAS, IWA, or SFB will ever upgrade is for them to move to another base, Allegiant to double the current bases in size, OR, for the big bases to start doing overnights and increase the aircraft/crew utilization.

Last year pre-covid, the desire of many to upgrade to DSM, GRR, and ABE was almost non-existent. Many believed that with future base assignments it was better for them to hold off for a better base. Shoot! Before Covid hit, for anyone willing to move or commute upgrades were around the 3.5 year mark. How do I know? B/c I was one of many that almost finished upgrade training before being sent home because of the China Virus.

Now, 4.5 years with the company we're finally seeing some sort of life and movement; but I believe this time it will be different. I personally believe that this time around many more senior pilots WILL NO pass on an upgrade, wherever that might be, and no matter the "temporary" discomfort of commuting. I've sat down and looked at the Standing Bids of pilots systemwide, and I can tell you, more people are jumping on the upgrade that didn't last time around.

Regardless of upgrade uncertainties, or being the "lowest paid" major airline, or whatever some might use to tell you to stay far far away; I'm happy to be here, and I'm glad I came on when I did.

I've done Corporate (91), Charter (135), Fractional (91K), Regionals (121), Overseas Corporate fling, Freight (135), plenty of jobs bc of unfortunate events. But I would take THIS CURRENT JOB, above every single job I have held in the past; and believe me, many other those other jobs were good jobs, and it was gut wrenching to get laid-off from them.

But never in my entire career have I made this much in a year as a first officer. The only other job I made more than I did here was flying a Lear 60 in the Middle East as a Captain. Even a SH*** schedule here at Allegiant beats a great schedule (or lack thereof) at 99% of FAR 135 operators! Medical benefits are in my opinion very good as well.

The pilot group in general is great; sure we got a couple of dip***ts but what company doesnt. Hell! I'm sure someone thinks that about me, so who am I to judge, right?

The real beef many might have here are the following...

1- Management: Great at making money, great at the PR angle, absolutely one sided, double standard, vindictive and frankly unprofessional when it comes to upholding the contract and/or respecting our profession.

2- The CBA- The CBA in the opinion of many has very weak language, and really needs a revamp in many areas. Some might say that the current CBA has given the company to much wiggle room and/or leeway to do whatever it want. Others say that even with an iron clad contract this management would act the same way.

3- Small Bases: Like many have said, having smaller bases makes it tougher for more senior people to upgrade, and contributes to certain bases being super senior even though they're small; such a Bellingham for example. EVERYONE on the FO list there will not make captain for a really long, long, long, long , looooong time.

4- Union: I know this is a touchy subject, because many love to kiss the union's *** and others can't stop talking *******t about the union. Many people are ALPA romanticizers, and many others (vast majority) is happy with the Teamsters. In my opinion our local leadership is doing a decent job, much better than when we were under another local leadership. All I can say is, my whole opinion about Allegiant would be very very different if we had no union representation.
I cannot imagine what this management is like with a non union pilot group, but I've heard plenty of the past years before my time here, and all I can say is **CK THAT!
But even then, this job would still beat every FAR 135 job I've ever had.

Take it from this G4 non management insider. There is truth in what Margaritaville says. This company looks at every way to shake a penny for themselves. If it is at the expense of the employees, it doesn't phase management. QOL and morale are issues that constantly come up at Allegiant.

Think of it this way, if the company invest in base expansion, growing payroll and propping up a sky high stock price, you think they would invest a little in giving employees QOL they deserve and should expect from an airline.

Problem with smaller bases is they’re easy to close at a moments notice when the experiment doesn’t work out.

Anything could happen but the only bases closed in the last 6 years were OAK and HNL, both for obvious reasons.

Sorry if it sounds stupid but what were the “obvious reasons”?
Thanks :-))

757 bases for Hawaii runs