Alaska returns to Bellingham

[chperplt]

Two weeks ago, Alaska was offering a BLI sale to any destination served by AAY, with the SEA connection. Now they have decided to add direct service. That make's me think that advanced bookings were lousy and this is a last ditch effort to regain some market presence! Canadian's crossing the border do so because they are looking for a bargin.

Alaska Airlines says some advance bookings down



Alaska Airlines said Wednesday that advance bookings for April are up, possibly reflecting the later Easter holiday this year, but that bookings for travel in May and June are below 2008 levels.
The company also forecast higher unit costs excluding fuel for the first quarter and all of 2009

Alaska also continues to hedge half of its fuel needs at prices higher than current prices.
The Seattle-based airline said April bookings as a percentage of available seats times miles flown, are running 1 percentage point higher than last year, when Easter fell in March.

But May bookings are down 1.5 percentage points and June bookings are off 5 points from a year ago, Alaska said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.


At its sister carrier, Horizon Air, April bookings are flat as a percentage of available seat miles flown, while May bookings are down 2 points and June bookings are down 4 points.

Last week, Alaska Airlines reported that March traffic fell 8.1 percent compared with a year ago, but that it cut capacity by 9 percent.

As a result, Alaska's average occupancy or load factor in March rose to 81.6 percent from 80.8 percent a year earlier at a time when most U.S. carriers reported lower occupancy.

However, March traffic plunged 20.7 percent at Horizon.

In Wednesday's filing, Alaska said it expects to report that first-quarter capacity fell 9.3 percent and would decline 7 percent for all of 2009.

The airline said its unit costs, or cost per available seat mile excluding fuel and restructuring expenses, rose 11 percent in the first quarter and would rise 8 percent for the full year.

Alaska and Horizon combined have agreements in place to buy half of their fuel supply this year at an average price equal to $76 per gallon of crude oil. The benchmark price for crude was around $51 Wednesday.

Alaska locked in the prices when oil was much more costly.

Shares of parent Alaska Air Group Inc. ( ALK - news - people ) rose 40 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $19.51 in afternoon trading.

 

[Baze]

Alaska and Horizon combined have agreements in place to buy half of their fuel supply this year at an average price equal to $76 per gallon of crude oil. The benchmark price for crude was around $51 Wednesday.

Now, that _is_ some expensive oil.

 

[Fubijaakr]

Yep, it's all our fault. Our tiny 280 pilot airline brought down the ENTIRE industry.

Glad you agree that by working for substandard wages YOU demonstrated how cheaply pilots can be bought.

When was the last time you put out a strike vote to improve your situation or to stop your falling payscale? Did you guys stand up for those 60 "hostages" thrown out for your management's amusement? In short, what in the world does being unionized have to do with anything?

Since you're so obviously ignorant of both the RLA and our status within it you're "questions" cannot be addressed in any rational way. You have obviously made up YOUR mind. Since you're a non-Union "at will" employee, I guess asking you to become familiar with such RLA terms as staus quo and arbitration is too much to ask.

 

[BEECH-SLAPPED]

From the April 30, 2005 press release after your arbitration:

"We are grateful to the arbitrator for helping us reach a resolution," said Dennis Hamel, Alaska's vice president of employee services. "This allows us to move forward with a competitive wage and benefit package for our pilots and helps us achieve a better cost alignment with other major carriers."

Since we aren't even close to being a major carrier (and was even further away back in 2005), I doubt that your arbitrator had our payscale in front of him while making his decision. United's, maybe?

Anyway, no more back and forth from me. See you in BLI.

 

[Ameriagle]

Glad you agree that by working for substandard wages YOU demonstrated how cheaply pilots can be bought.



Since you're so obviously ignorant of both the RLA and our status within it you're "questions" cannot be addressed in any rational way. You have obviously made up YOUR mind. Since you're a non-Union "at will" employee, I guess asking you to become familiar with such RLA terms as staus quo and arbitration is too much to ask.

Imagine that.....asking Fubijakkr to answer a question that would mean he has to take some responsibility for his own career expectations and he starts playing dumb.

 

[Daytonaflyer]

When Alaska was 8 years old, they were flying Ford Trimotors and Lockheed Orion float planes.

Now, if you want to compare apples to apples, eight years AGO we were making $196 an hour. That was until non-Union lowballers like you, B6 and Virgin proved to management they could get airline pilots for $120 (B6), $95 (Virgin) and $110 (YOU) an hour.

Thanks ever so much for lowering the bar.

That's not true! 8 years ago, Allegiant was a bankrupt charter-only operation with a DC-9. You guys took your HUGE paycuts long before Allegiant was competing with you on scheduled routes. You really have no idea what you're talking about. Typical of so many in this industry.

 

[chperplt]

I love Flight Info... The belly laughs I get from this place. :laugh:

See you guys in BLI and good luck.

 

[Fubijaakr]

Since we aren't even close to being a major carrier (and was even further away back in 2005), I doubt that your arbitrator had our payscale in front of him while making his decision. United's, maybe?

I love how you clowns use the "it wasn't me" defense. Did you ever wonder where United's crappy narrow body pay scale came from?

It was imposed by the bankruptcy court. It was the scale that United management demanded so they could be competitive with the "darling" of the media at the time...non-Union jetBlue.

Then YOU and Virgin came along and undercut even jetBlue.

Well done.

But, I guess its OK because you "had to feed your family."

 

[Ameriagle]

I love how you clowns use the "it wasn't me" defense. Did you ever wonder where United's crappy narrow body pay scale came from?

It was imposed by the bankruptcy court. It was the scale that United management demanded so they could be competitive with the "darling" of the media at the time...non-Union jetBlue.

Then YOU and Virgin came along and undercut even jetBlue.

Well done.

But, I guess its OK because you "had to feed your family."

Way to take some accountability for your current situation. Everybody is to blame but you! When was Alaska in bankrupcy? Is that when the judge allowed the company to gut your contract? It's full pay to the last day at Alaska right? Wrong!

 

[HighSpeedClimb]

No kidding, Mook. At least our guys FINALLY decided to respond to the threat. No more free passes for non-Union contract undercutters.

Oh, and ALPA has done so much. ALPA didn't do sh&t for my airline after I paid $28,000 in dues over 19 years, unless you consider that 5 hour workshop on how to write a resume...ALGT...run very fast away from a Union..especially ALPA