Alaska QOL

[ImbracableCrunk]

Any words on QOL at Alaska?

New hire schedules?
Commutability?
Best housing during training?
Hotels?
Good overnights or all red-eyes?

 

[noperf]

1) reserve- 11 days off per month
2 hour call out
Probably LAX or ANC

2) people commute from all over

3) Quality Inn is 39 bucks per night 10th night free
crash pads available

4) Hotels getting worse and worse- my opinion

5) Lots of ANC and FAI all nighters- plan on it in SEA
Lots of MXC and GDL- plan on it in LAX
Mostly 3 and 4 day trips 5 or 6 on reserve

 

[noperf]

1) Reserve- 16 hour duty days possible. The contract work rules for scheduling do not necessarily apply. If they refer to a flight crew member you aren't one on reserve. Crazy but true. If you are a reserve in SEA you may, probably, be spending a lot of time as a simulator seat substitute. Simulator sessions are jeopardy events. Try and eliminate as many jeopardy events while on probation as much as you can. It's a two hour call out to the airport. On probation I'd sure try to get to the airplane within two hours.

2) Line Holder- A junior line holder will get about 10-12 days off. Most pairings in SEA begin either early AM and end mid morning to mid late afternoon on the last day. Or early PM and end late PM on the last day. On any of these type pairings you can plan on spending anywhere from two to just shy of four hours in SEA once or twice durring that pairing and almost always on the last day of the trip.

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

And this is better than my regional gig because. . . ?

Seriously.

Please, I need to get psyched. Anyone with some good news?

 

[noperf]

Commuting-Commuting to reserve would seem to be problematic. You get one 5 day block off on a reserve line. Commuting as a line holder is easier if LUV serves that market. LUV basically becomes your primary choice and AS an QX are back-ups. Commuting from SEA to ANC in the summer, holidays, or spring break is not fun. Learn to love the 737 fixed jumpseat. Pack light. Leave your flight bag and overnight bag in your domicile and just carry a light bag that can be squashed under the fixed jumpseat. Competition for jumpseats is fierce. Learn the freighter schedule.

 

[noperf]

Do you want more? I can go on and on.

Caveat emptor

 

[noperf]

Oh you want good news.

The contract became ammendable in May. Why is that good news? Because it's going to take a long time to resolve and there won't be any work rule changes durring that time. I say that tonque and cheek. Work rule changes occur daily. Some of the current contract lanquage is so antiquated that it is open for interpretation ad naseum. Grievance resoulutions, when they occur, aren't in my opinion usually satisfactory.

Vacation is credited at 3.5 per day. in other words you can lose pay by going on vacation.

 

[noperf]

There have been three chief pilots in 4 years. I've lost track but I think 3 VP's of flight operations in that same approximate time period. The former executive VP of marketing is now in charge of flight operations. No really. The former Executive VP of finance is now the VP of, among other things, maintainence. A former crew scheduler is the Director of Systems Operations.

 

[Singlecoil]

1) Reserve- 16 hour duty days possible.

I think you're wrong about that one noperf. You can go 16 hours between rest periods, but not 16 hours on duty. The 14 hour duty limit applies to reserves as well. Semantics, I know.
Here it is from the contract.

B.​

​

Duty Period Limitations​

1.​

​

05:00 – 20:59 Local: When a pilot reports for duty during the
hours of 05:00 to 20:59 local time, he shall not be scheduled to be
on duty in excess of twelve and one-half consecutive hours (12:30)
and in no case shall he be required to remain on duty in excess of
fourteen consecutive hours (14:00).
2. 21:00 – 04:59 Local: When a pilot reports for duty during the
hours 21:00 to 04:59 local time, he shall not be scheduled to be on
duty in excess of ten consecutive hours (10:00) and in no case
shall he be required to remain on duty in excess of eleven
consecutive hours (11:00).
3. Trans-Oceanic: When a pilot is scheduled within the above
limitations on a trans-ocean flight, the duty requirement which he
need not exceed shall be increased to sixteen hours (16:00).​

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

3. Trans-Oceanic: When a pilot is scheduled within the above
limitations on a trans-ocean flight, the duty requirement which he
need not exceed shall be increased to sixteen hours (1600).​

How is that applied?

 

[noperf]

Is a reserve line holder a pilot per contract interpretation and MEC acknowledgement? Ask a Contract Compliance guru for the answer.

 

[noperf]

How is that applied?

Nobody knows yet since there have been no trans-oceanic ops. Somebody in cororate is fiquring away around it I'll bet.

 

[airmasn]

1) reserve- 11 days off per month
2 hour call out
Probably LAX or ANC

2) people commute from all over

3) Quality Inn is 39 bucks per night 10th night free
crash pads available

4) Hotels getting worse and worse- my opinion

5) Lots of ANC and FAI all nighters- plan on it in SEA
Lots of MXC and GDL- plan on it in LAX
Mostly 3 and 4 day trips 5 or 6 on reserve

I start class on the 20th, any ideas where I can find out about crash pads...?

 

[noperf]

The single greatest resource for pilots for this type of thing is, in my opinion, the SEA BCP's secretary MS.

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

So how about schedules? What do the trips look like?

 

[noperf]

See my first post.

Turns
3 and 4 day
all nighters

Look at the route map and slice it and dice it like sub-prime mortgages have been sliced and diced and you'll get an idea.

Schedules change monthly.
Schedules change daily.
The marketing department runs the airline. Always has always will. see my post regarding the EVP in charge of flight operations.
Do a Yahaoo search and find Glenn Johnsons apology to customers.

If you want to live in Anchorage this is the place to be. Arctic turns in the -400 Combi. ORD all nighters. And slice and dice. ADQ is quite lovely at 0600. BRW has a certain charm.

If you want to live in Seattle then plan on being very junior for a long time. At least that has been the case for the last 3 or 4 position bids.

Interestingly enough all nighters go fairly senior.

A very large variable is whether the next contract has preferrential bidding. In my opinion this is highly probable.

If it's the place you've always wanted to work then go for it.

 

[Singlecoil]

Yes, a reserve is a pilot, just not a crew member. Reserves have a 14 hour contractual duty limit, but generally you have to call them on it. You can waive it if you want to, but don't have to.

 

[noperf]

Time awat from base runs around 240 hours per bid period for a SEA line holder.

 

[QCappy]

And this is better than my regional gig because. . . ?

Seriously.

Please, I need to get psyched. Anyone with some good news?

Because you will no longer be a regional pilot. Unless you like being treated like a second class pilot.

The trips are not hard compared to regional life. The guys you fly with are great. And you're not flying a regional aircraft.

Of course, I still long for those 4 day, 26 leg trips. Maybe one day I can do it again.uke:

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

Because you will no longer be a regional pilot. Unless you like being treated like a second class pilot.

The trips are not hard compared to regional life. The guys you fly with are great. And you're not flying a regional aircraft.

Of course, I still long for those 4 day, 26 leg trips. Maybe one day I can do it again.uke:

Thanks, Q - I appreciate the second opinion.