Alaska Life

[Pandasfly]

I am wondering if someone could enlighten me on life at Alaska. How many days off per month. Which base is the most junior? How are reserve schedules, etc... Thanks in advance..

 

[Ih8AFYesmen]

I am wondering if someone could enlighten me on life at Alaska. How many days off per month. Which base is the most junior? How are reserve schedules, etc... Thanks in advance..

Line holders get anywhere from 14-19 days off per month. Reserve lines are guaranteed 11 days off. Junior bases often vary, but LAX seems to be it majority of the time.
From my personal experience, reserve life swallows. When I first started here, I probably flew 30 hours/month on an average. Nowadays, it's more like 60+ hours/month and during peak months, it's 76+. Crew scheduling will lie through their teeth and bend every rule in the contract to keep you flying. They like enforce the "fly then grieve" policy.
Most of the flying is up and down the coast ranging from Cancun to Anchorage and one east coast destination, DCA for the LAX folks. The SEA guys get more of a variety. They have trips to southeast Alaska, all the east coast trips, as well as the up and down the west coast stuff. The ANC folks fly the "milk runs" within Alaska and fly trips that are somewhere in between what the SEA and LAX folks fly.
IMHO, the morale amongst the pilots are at an all time low and it's not a fun place to work at the moment. The Kashertration along with continuous beatings by management has taken its toll. IMO, we are a time bomb about to explode. May '07 is the contract amendable date and it will be an interesting time to say the least. I can only hope things will work out but with this current management c*ck suckers, we might have to put our finger on the nuclear bomb detonation switch.

 

[ferlo]

I couldn't have said it any better myself. A time bomb is exactly what this managment team has created. I have never been around so many guys that are litterally begging for a bloody fist fight. Time has only made guys more pissed off not less. If we don't have a good deal in place by 1 May 07, this place is going to explode.

Everbody will drop to 75 hrs, no VSA, and flying safe. If they want their summer 07 to look like United's summer 2000 then they better read the tea leaves correctly. They won't. Start saving money any way you can, this could potentially be the biggest fight of your career. We'll still have our share of the chronically naive, the guys with some kind of inferiority complex, that feels that it's okay if they get sh*t on and their futures raped but we don't need them. If 40% of the FO want to send a message this place will crumble. Trust me when I say we have 40 % ready to go to the mattress.

 

[Ih8AFYesmen]

Majority of the FOs and many captains will NOT just sit around this time, IMHO. This race to the bottom has to stop here. Talk is cheap and only action will send a message this time. The actions of this arrogant management is only unifying this pilot group; I really think these guys have no clue.
These mofos have crossed my line and I have not much to lose. If I lost my job today, I'm confident that I can find another job that pays just as much, if not more. At our peanut wages, it's not that difficult. It most likely won't be a flying job, but I'm reaching my personal limits. Don't get me wrong.... I want Alaska to succeed. I really think that we have the potential to the greatest in our market, but management has to make things right with the labor group in order reach it's maximum potential. It takes 2 to tango.
Ever try and pick a fight with a person with NOTHING to lose?

 

[AK737FO]

The latest MEC news said that at the companys request, we will have openers in mid November and start section 6 negotiations in January, with the company picking up the tab for our negotiating committes drops from October 2006 till May 2007. I think this is pretty positive news.

Does everyone realize that ALPA, SEA ramp employees and Bill Ayer himself are the only folks on property who have made a financial contribution to our airline? ALPA gave huge at the office. SEA ramp gave it all for the team. Bill Ayer turned down about 500K in bonus money that he had every right to take. Every other work group on property has held their ground or gotten a raise. No matter how you look at it - that's just not right. Why should ALPA be the only group out of 10,000 employees who suffers?
I am looking forward to our future, of getting back to a wage worthy of the profession and putting this industries "perfect storm" behind us all.