Good luck Alaska Air Group.

[NWaviator]

On another subject: Ran into a senior AS Capt in PDX and asked him if the pilot group was scared/nervious about Skywest coming in. He said "No, Horizon going to one plane is a great idea, i trust our management not give give SkyWest our flying, but I dont care if they give them your's (Horizons)."
Hope that is not the general feel of the pilot group. He may change his mind when SkyWest is operating a 100 seater for AS Express. Good news for that guys was he looked tha the was over 60 so he will be retiring soon.

 

[Fubijaakr]

I think you'll find that "opinion" is NOT characteristic of the AS pilot group. Perhaps this has FINALLY emphasized the importance of scope language to the rank and file. The message is not lost on the vast majority of AS pilots. QX's fight is OUR fight on this subject for exactly the reason you put forth.

 

[wscrj]

Actually Fubi, it was lost on the majority of AS pilots, which resulted in the overwhelming passage of the last contract...without ANY scope protections.

 

[Fubijaakr]

That's why I said FINALLY. Sometimes people have to get burned to understand what SHOULD be readily apparent to them.

 

[wscrj]

That's why I said FINALLY. Sometimes people have to get burned to understand what SHOULD be readily apparent to them.

Sad, but completely accurate. Unfortunately, many of those who should be learning this lesson have already overstayed their welcome, and will be gone (finally) by the time the full effect of this hits.

 

[Sioux115]

On another subject: Ran into a senior AS Capt in PDX and asked him if the pilot group was scared/nervious about Skywest coming in. He said "No, Horizon going to one plane is a great idea, i trust our management not give give SkyWest our flying, but I dont care if they give them your's (Horizons)."

The interesting part here is that alot of QX's rj flying is/was Alaska flying! Remember harmonization. SEA-LGB, PDX-SoCal, PDX-Bay area. Now it is SkyWest's flying and no AAG pilot is flying it!

 

[Chief Pilot]

AW: Alaska's World periodical

Harrison: Vice President / Planning and Revenue Management



AW: Virgin America just announced an aircraft order that will triple the size of its fleet. Delta may soon order up to 200 jets and other airlines are planning large aircraft orders, too. Are we being too conservative with our growth plans? And are you worried the industry will abandon its “capacity discipline?”

Harrison: Our order for 15 new aircraft should not be interpreted as a signal that we’re abandoning capacity discipline. It represents measured growth that enables us to meet demand in our core markets, continue to serve all the new markets we’ve started over the past 24 months, and generate additional revenue in certain high-volume and high-frequency markets with the larger-gauge 737-900ER.

We plan to take delivery of 26 aircraft and retire eight 737-400s by the end of 2014 for a net increase of 18 jets. That allows us to grow the airline a moderate 3 to 6 percent annually for the next four years. But we’ll only do this if economic conditions, our cost structure and fuel prices support that level of growth.

Are we being too conservative? Historically, the airline industry has suffered from overcapacity, which forces fares down as airlines try to fill empty seats. A lot of excess capacity was taken out of the market in the past two years, and analysts believe airlines now understand they have to maintain capacity discipline to remain profitable.

We need to be cautious at Alaska in light of an economy that’s growing slowly and all the changes at our competitors—the new Delta, the new United and even Southwest with its acquisition of AirTran and goals of flying to Hawaii and Alaska. If we over-reach on growth, we’ll start the downward spiral of cutting fares and capacity and furloughing employees. It’s one thing when the economy forces us to do this—it’s another when we do it to ourselves. We think our approach is right, but only time will tell.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember to read the fine print...or in this case the disclaimer buried in the middle of an obscure article.

Pure lawyer speak for "well...we will only take delivery of those additional airplanes if the pilots vote through a concessionary contract next time around. If not, we're only too happy to contract out more of Alaska's flying to regionals with no affiliation what-so-ever to AAG. Heck, if we don't come under fire from our latest "test" of five outsourced jets, the sky's the limit. Oh and BTW, don't even think about scope protection now or in the future. That's a "non-starter." You'd have to give up the whole Kit-n-Kaboodle for that. Remember, we have you pilots by the short hairs so if you even want to think about growth you'll play nice and give us what we want.

Here's to being perpetually junior.:beer:

 

[tico]

Seems like a great time for people to be sharpening resume, appearance and interview skills....When you all finally understand that "a successful future for Alaska Airlines" does not include you or any other labor employees, it makes it much easier to leave....Get on with it

 

[CesnaCaptn]

Seems like a great time for people to be sharpening resume, appearance and interview skills....When you all finally understand that "a successful future for Alaska Airlines" does not include you or any other labor employees, it makes it much easier to leave....Get on with it

So, Tico, where have you applied? I mean, you're obviously unhappy here. What are your top airlines to work for?

 

[Deadalus]

Hopefully as the older guys retire the IQ level will go up. The captains I've met at AK are some of the most arrogant morons in the industry. On the other hand I've been impressed by most of the FOs I've met that fly for AK.

 

[Baze]

tico is right. This company is a sinking ship, especially with more regional flying coming to the Air Group in the near future. Actually, this whole country is being flushed down the toilet. My wife and I are planning on selling everything and moving to Fiji. I'm walking away from aviation altogether. We're going to open a health spa over there and I'm also going to be a dive instructor on the weekends. Might as well wave the white flag with this airline pilot business now and not waste the next 20 years of my life in the right seat. I've realized I'll never upgrade at ALK. Maybe those of you who got hired in your early to mid 20's still have a chance. All hope is lost for those of us who got hired in our mid 30's or later.

 

[Old School 737]

WTF over ?? It's not that bad yet !! And good luck over there!!!

 

[Baze]

It's not that bad now. But, it's going to get worse. It starts with 5 CRJs flown by SkyWest. Soon, it's going to be a bunch of EMB-195s flown by some other "regional" outfit. We have around 1400 pilots now. It will most likely stay that way, or shrink down to the 1200 neighborhood, due to retirements, before we bring on any new-hires. Say hello to forever reserve for us junior guys.

 

[CGHercster]

Yep, it goes like this... QX gets AS routes, then XYZ gets the QX routes previously at AS. There's a hole in the bucket dear Lila...

 

[Chief Pilot]

Baze,

I am both stunned and impressed if that is what you are truly planning. I wish you the very best of luck. This place will shine a little less brightly without you here.

I believe this pilot group is in for the fight of their lives with scope and unfortunately it may be too late. I can't count how many senior-ish captains I've talked to that just don't get it, don't care, or take what the company tells them at face value. It's really pathetic. I'm putting together my own 2015 plan for an alternate career plan based on the direction the company takes over the next few years and how negotiations go. I may be a bit naive, but I still think this could be a great airline. The problem is how to navigate around the colossal demographic spread at this company and get everyone pulling in the same direction. In my humble opinion, I'd say the top 20% couldn't care less if the company outsourced the bottom half of the seniority list. I guess we'll find out soon enough whether we have the right people in our MEC during this challenging time. I think we might, but time will certainly tell.

 

[tico]

So, Tico, where have you applied? I mean, you're obviously unhappy here. What are your top airlines to work for?

Expand your horizons a little bit......There is no such thing as a top airline any longer....There is , however, a whole big world out there...

 

[Mookie]

tico is right. This company is a sinking ship, especially with more regional flying coming to the Air Group in the near future. Actually, this whole country is being flushed down the toilet. My wife and I are planning on selling everything and moving to Fiji. I'm walking away from aviation altogether. We're going to open a health spa over there and I'm also going to be a dive instructor on the weekends. Might as well wave the white flag with this airline pilot business now and not waste the next 20 years of my life in the right seat. I've realized I'll never upgrade at ALK. Maybe those of you who got hired in your early to mid 20's still have a chance. All hope is lost for those of us who got hired in our mid 30's or later.

Oh, ok chicken little. ;-)

Got ahead and quit, I'm going to stay and fight. I'm not giving up on this place and hope the rest of the guys who stay do the same. Our generation has a responsibility to not repeat the same mistakes of the recent past, and if you're not up for it, then I guess I have a place to crash when I come visit in Fiji. Good luck...

Mookie

 

[Baze]

Mookie,

I'm glad there are fine people like yourself who are willing to fight the good fight. Good luck improving things for the ALK pilot group.

I may be a chicken little, but maybe this job is no longer all that great for some of us. Maybe it's my midlife crisis talking, but there are way more important things in life than flying around in a 737 (or posting on FI.com).

Anyway, everyone save every penny, nickel, & dime you can for your strike fund if you haven't been doing this already.

Good luck to us all.

Over and out,

Baze

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

Maybe it's my midlife crisis talking, but there are way more important things in life than flying around in a 737 (or posting on FI.com).

I understand about the flying but not posting on FI?!?

Fiji, huh? Get a job at KAL, be based out of FIJI and have 12 days off at home. Or more if you don't mind the paycut. Biz class or better commute to work. Scuba on the off days. Problem solved.

 

[tico]

Oh, ok chicken little. ;-)

Got ahead and quit, I'm going to stay and fight. I'm not giving up on this place and hope the rest of the guys who stay do the same. Our generation has a responsibility to not repeat the same mistakes of the recent past, and if you're not up for it, then I guess I have a place to crash when I come visit in Fiji. Good luck...

Mookie

You failed to fight when everything was going your way.....that train will not ever run here again.....you will not ever have the chance to improve the dismal, seattle, grey, "slash your wrists", gig harbor-i've got mine outlook again dude...... bill,brad and ben will see to it that your place of work will be depressing and suck until you leave at age 65........