Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Friendliest aviation Ccmmunity on the web
  • Modern site for PC's, Phones, Tablets - no 3rd party apps required
  • Ask questions, help others, promote aviation
  • Share the passion for aviation
  • Invite everyone to Flightinfo.com and let's have fun

Alaska management verbally announces furloughs for

Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Modern secure site, no 3rd party apps required
  • Invite your friends
  • Share the passion of aviation
  • Friendliest aviation community on the web
Register   Log in
Heard the same thing about only 75 being 'approved.' Rumor has it they only want to/have staff to crunch numbers for 75 early outs...

If I wanted out for real and wasn't in the 75, I'd be p1ssed...
 
It appears that management wasn't expecting the interest in leaving to be so high. Now their BS threat of a furlough is coming back to haunt them. They don't want too many people to leave because it will keep the airline from being nimble in the face of new opportunities.

They threatened a furlough to distract the negotiators, hold the junior guys hostage and maybe get rid of a few unknowns at the top. I guess they didn't figure that a hell of a lot of people could figure out ways to make more money elsewhere and just wanted to get out with an extra $100,000.

Lets just hope it's more fact than rumor. I'd love to see them have to hire again before next summer.
 
According to the MEC, EVP Greg Saretsgy just told a few "hand-picked" pilots that there would indeed be furloughs next month. This at a time when the negotiators felt they were very close to completely mitigating all furloughs through early outs, LOA's, and Line Sharing.

This is union-busting at it's finest. They think that they are going to break our will by taking hostages. All this does is make me more resolved in our position to not give an inch. In my opinion management is getting desperate, especially when you consider that yesterday analysts at Forbes predicted a profit for Alaska in 2008.
 
Last edited:
Any ounce of loyalty that GS thought he might have in this 'historic' airline of the great state of AK has just been flushed! I wouldn't move my flight bag from one a/c to another to help that SOB get back to the great white north. They want to play games w/ our lives - then I say let the games begin! Hostage nothin' - We'll see who is taking whom hostage!!

Baja.
 
If they are going to furlough by November, Greggggggggg is running out of time. The bids come out next week. They will have to sort it out by then. I believe Gregg is helping the Jr. guys by keeping the pressure on. Some of the LOA's and EO's might think twice about leaving if Line Sharing and part time lines are coming. Or Baja... are you that lucky to get furloughed again and bring me down with you?
 
I don't know if 5 furloughs for 6 airlines is lucky....All I know for certain in that I will have one heck of a wall display when this so called 'career' is over.

BTW - There is no way possible to have anyone furloughed by Nov. Good on our MEC for putting in good language for furlough in our contract.

Baja.
 
Baja... Lucky is pure sarcasm. I feel for you and your family having to go through this again. You should write a book about your experiences to convince the young folk that this is no fairy tale job.
 
 
They only want 75 Early Out Captains because they will have to incur training costs upgrading more FO's to CA (ETOPS in ANC at that). The EO is in place to prevent the expensive downgrade only.
 
Just got off the phone with an ANC FO buddy of mine who just got the call from the union tonight saying a certified letter was coming his way. ALPA told him that the company was only going to furlough 9 total. Sounds like bunk to me. How could they only do 9 people total? I guess the numbers game continues as the company works hard for hostages. More to follow, I'm sure.
 
You're right, it does sound like bunk. That is too low a number to make sense. If it is true, then the 9 is the first wave. There will be more to follow.

chucklhed said:
Just got off the phone with an ANC FO buddy of mine who just got the call from the union tonight saying a certified letter was coming his way. ALPA told him that the company was only going to furlough 9 total. Sounds like bunk to me. How could they only do 9 people total? I guess the numbers game continues as the company works hard for hostages. More to follow, I'm sure.
Click to expand...
 
Not necessarily the first or any kind of wave. I am not going to stick my head in the sand on this one but I will realize that management has played this game several times. One guy I know of, last time they played the furlough game, got a furlough notice every month for several months but was never furloughed. They kept the charade up for months while negotiations were going on. I am going to wait and see if these guys are actually furloughed and then go from there. Nine does not make much sense.
 
Now that there 'may be' an actual number the union can mitigate it. This whole process is lame. I wish the Co would just give up and give in. Pay us the $$ and give us the QOL we're asking for and we'll go back to being the 'happy little pilot group.'

Oops - just read my above post - forget everything I said above about being happy!

Baja.
 
Furloughs here :(

Got the long awaited phone call today...management made the final decision to furlough 9 of us starting November 10th, certified letter is in the mail. Given that I am number 7 from the bottom, I will be out the door next month. Fortunately I had a class date lined up elsewhere. 8 are ANC and one is LAX based....none of us off probation yet.
 
Sorry to hear that you're getting furloughed. Good job securing a job elsewhere.

They may be doing you a favor in the long run. Good luck to you in your future endeavors.

AZFr8tPilot said:
Got the long awaited phone call today...management made the final decision to furlough 9 of us starting November 10th, certified letter is in the mail. Given that I am number 7 from the bottom, I will be out the door next month. Fortunately I had a class date lined up elsewhere. 8 are ANC and one is LAX based....none of us off probation yet.
Click to expand...
 
What a load of horse sh!t!! Management is absolutely ridiculous. Furlough 9 guys---give me a f@*#ing break. What kind of financial sense does that make? These guys are nothing more than hostages. If (and I think it's a big IF) they actually get furloughed, I wish each the best of luck. I also hope that the rest of this pilot group sticks together and doesn't enable a damn thing!
 
It would only make financial sense to Angle Lake if they get the crappy contract out of us that they think they could get. Well, good luck Anglers.

No enabling here. Show up to work, do your job, and go home. Fly the contract.

Do your job and allow others to do theirs.
 
Chief Pilot said:
What a load of horse sh!t!! Management is absolutely ridiculous. Furlough 9 guys---give me a f@*#ing break.
Click to expand...

Ditto - Of the 6 airlines, one charter co, one tour co, and one pvt flight dept I've worked for, this co has to have the worst mngmt of them all. These tactics may have worked 15-20 years ago - but now? I'm glad I get along with my c/p as I'll be riding bikes with him and he'll be getting an earful from all of us.

I feel for you bottom 9 guys - I'm sorry you left your last employer and put your trust in this group of morons.

I'm also sorry that I thought Tico and and maybe it was mach none, were way over board in expressing their displeasure with our mnmgt. You guys were right on!

Baja.
 
chucklhed said:
Just got off the phone with an ANC FO buddy of mine who just got the call from the union tonight saying a certified letter was coming his way. ALPA told him that the company was only going to furlough 9 total. Sounds like bunk to me. How could they only do 9 people total? I guess the numbers game continues as the company works hard for hostages. More to follow, I'm sure.
Click to expand...

Its not a furlough. Its called hostage taking. They're just using these 9 guys to pressure the pilot group into another concessionary contract.

"You give us what we want and we'll give these guys their jobs back."

Its just so predictable.
 
wait and see

Let's let the MEC and Negotiating Committee use the contract (Section 23) and ALPA can prevent the furlough of nine pilots using a reduction in scheduled line flying. Please remember, years ago many pilots received certified furlough letters and nobody was actually furloughed. So I suggest the "nine", and those of you feeling threatened for the "next round" of furloughs, let this run it's course and I'm predicting there will not be any furloughs.
 
Just downloaded the Nov. bid packet (BidPro) and our ANC lines went from 72 last month to 59 this month. That's a lot more than 11% reduction in flying.
 
Still out of a job for 24 months starting November 10th. Furlough or what ever folks want to label it, it still has the same flavor to those of us guys/gals at the bottom getting the notice.

The reduction in flying isn't a complete loss of 11% system-wide. Some of the flying went to SEA....their lines increased. ANC just went to pure arctic and Hawaii flying.
 
Last edited:
The line averages were dropped as well.

LAX: 79.66
ANC: 79.11
SEA: 77.34

As I see it there will be no base changes and they will just use the current ANC guys for the ETOPS stuff and the Arctic. With only eight guys leaving the bottom in ANC and some early outs that takes care of the problem of ETOPS training and moving expenses. They won't be necessary. Seattle was overstaffed before and now the movement of some flying from ANC to SEA takes care of that.

I too believe the "Alaska Nine" will be forever known as the hostages of the great depression of 2008.
 
Doesn't this violate the contract since they did not do all the things necessary to reduce block hours, etc, to stop the layoffs? I thought they had to do some more stuff first and the union said they would file suit over this??
 
All the contract says is:


Reduce Bid Blocks: In the event the Company furloughs pilots, the Company and the MEC shall meet and establish a program for reducing the number of hours in the bid blocks to prevent the furlough.


It has appeared they have done this with the lower line averages for November.​

The other furlough mitigation is just extra.​


​
 
I am one of the Alaska 9.

My only request is that you guys fight for something worth coming back to...Kasher + and no less.

Wish me luck, there are not many jobs out there.

ZP in Anc
 
Today, on the online water cooler, somebody asked why we are giving the Portland Jazz festival $100,000.00 when we are laying off pilots. I love his answer....
"The only alternative to pursuing more revenue is to make deeper cost cuts!
-- Gregg Saretsky, executive vice president of flight & marketing (October 6, 2008) "
 
Good answer... for a politician. Unbelievable!

Green Banana said:
Today, on the online water cooler, somebody asked why we are giving the Portland Jazz festival $100,000.00 when we are laying off pilots. I love his answer....
"The only alternative to pursuing more revenue is to make deeper cost cuts!
-- Gregg Saretsky, executive vice president of flight & marketing (October 6, 2008) "
Click to expand...
 

Share this page

Latest posts

Latest resources

Latest media

Carbon Cub FX-3 Shenandoah Valley
Carbon Cub at Kittyhawk
FX-3 in the backcountry
IFR Panel in a Carbon Cub FX-3
Cub-Provo-UT-c.jpg
Back
Top Bottom