QCappy

There has been no talk of furloughing out of seniority. The contract does not allow for it. They know all the ramifications of furloughing with the ETPOS guys being most of the furloughs. It is a bluff, pure and simple. There could be a few just to prove that they are willing to do it, but there is no way they would furlough 11% of thier pilots.

If you guys notice in all the mention of furloughs they always say "up to 165". They have no clue how many they are going to send letters to since they have not even put out the incentive package for the over 60 guys or the 12 and 24 month leave offer. They have to wait and see how many guys take the offers and then decide how many people to furlough to prove their point.

QCappy

I'm sorry you were furloughed, but the financial situations at Spirit and Alaska are very different. Alaska has the ability to take advantage of this downturn like they did after 9/11, if they would just take a little risk. We'll see. With oil at 109 today, anything is possible.

vagabond

Alaska management is a case study of business greed and ineptitude. I've had many law students ask me about a future as a union lawyer and I tell them to watch the tactics these guys come up with day in and day out. Fascinating how they are willing to take down a once proud airline.

BoredwLife

This is the key to your argument. Maybe after the 11th they did a little bit. But other than that when have you seen the air group ever take risk? Pure and simple even with a over advantage over other carriers in the industry they still fail to respond or act. If they were willing to take a risk the company itself would be a hard machine to stop. But with SW and VA barking at the door they think they need to do the normal. Which is hunker down and defend their stake on the west coast. I dont believe that it will be a full 165 but I do think there will be a number in the double digits. Good luck guys I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

On Another note, I just feel bad for anyone furloughed in late fall and early winter. What a bad time of year to be furloughed. Lucky for me it was still early summer and I have been enjoying the best the PAC NW has to offer for the past month. I dont think there is a better time of year to be unemployeed.

Moose

Isn't ETOPS training a two day class and then a check? The folks in the training dept said that would not be hard to spin up new ETOPS guys even with the MD guys clogging up the house. Saretsky said with the capacity cuts they would only really need 99 planes next year to fill the schedule. He may be full of BS but I am just relaying what he said. Maybe folks that are a bit smarter on this can comment. He also said their game now is cash preservation and holding market share with minor expansions where they make sense.

QCappy

I would say that all the Hawaii flying they are doing was risky. They really weren't sure what the response was going to be, other than the frequent flier redemtions. It has been a huge success with six routes to four islands. On top of that, of the 11 airplanes on order through January, 5 are ETOPS birds. I wonder if they are planning more routes to Hawaii?

As for your furlough, I'm glad you have enjoyed your time off. If I get furloughed this winter......well, winter time is a great time to drink beer. On second thought, any time is a great time to drink beer.

Justin Case

but, but, but Saretsky told me I would upgrade in five years.

B757200ER

Well, yeah; When ATA and Aloha shut down, within a week of each other, over 1000+ daily seats in the Hawaii-Mainland market disappeared. I'd say Alaska inherited a windfall.

Moose

HAHAHAHAHA! Looks like I will upgrade to 3rd year pay in 5 years now! I'm surprised Saretsky didn't start off selling used cars. It's a shame that our management's complete lack of integrity and credibility destroyed any trust that ever existed. My thoughts are NEVER EVER let a bean-counter be CEO. They view everything as a bottom line and people as cost units to be manipulated. You need a strong leader and visionary running things with the bean-counters around them...not out in front. So, with Bill "Bean Counter" Ayer running things and his suck up parrot Saretsky #2, the culture has been effectively destroyed. I bet a leader like Herb would have flat out fired Saretsky the day he came in and told everyone we were no longer a family but a "community."

SoCalGuy

If they do furlough up to the 165, what hire date would that be??