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-   -   What are the Alaska Airlines employee travel benefits? (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/alaska-airlines-mileage-plan/852014-what-alaska-airlines-employee-travel-benefits.html)

nemcg Aug 4, 2008 5:02 pm

What are the Alaska Airlines employee travel benefits?
 
What exactly are the employee travel benefits for Alaska Airlines employees?

How long do you have to be employed to start using them?

What are the restrictions?

Can you receive any travel benefits as a part time or seasonal employee?

How long do you need to work there until you will receive your travel benefits whether you still work there or not?

If you retire there, can you still receive the travel benefits after retirement?

Thanks everyone

obscure2k Aug 4, 2008 5:10 pm

Welcome to Flyertalk, nemcg. There is a Forum dedicated to Alaska Airlines (see Airline Forums). I am moving this thread to the Alaska Airlines Forum. Please follow there...
Thanks...
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

eastwest Aug 4, 2008 6:11 pm

Perhaps one of my co-workers will disagree, but with all due respect, I don't think it's appropriate to discuss the specifics on a public board. We do fly for free or next to free on many airlines, but all perks come with downsides...

Here's a link: http://www.alaskasworld.com/jobs/asj...a-Benefits.asp that will basically tell you the same thing I just did.

ANC Aug 4, 2008 8:59 pm

yea you should contact AS recruiting or their HR! I used to work at DHL and we had multiple benefits on multiple airlines some free some huge discounts some nothing etc. I too agree its not for online public discussions and Im not even any longer a benefactor of such type of bennies!

sammy0623 Aug 4, 2008 11:02 pm

i'm just wondering, how come you guys/gals don't think it's appropriate for a public board??

num1bearsfan Aug 4, 2008 11:32 pm


Originally Posted by sammy0623 (Post 10150655)
i'm just wondering, how come you guys/gals don't think it's appropriate for a public board??

Yeah I don't get it either... Is there something shameful about getting flight benefits from your job?

missydarlin Aug 4, 2008 11:43 pm

There's nothing shameful about flight benefits, but those, like health benefits, bonuses, and retirement benefits, make up our salary package, and I personally am not interested in discussing that kind of thing with the whole internets.

birdstrike Aug 4, 2008 11:56 pm


Originally Posted by missydarlin (Post 10150776)
There's nothing shameful about flight benefits, but those, like health benefits, bonuses, and retirement benefits, make up our salary package, and I personally am not interested in discussing that kind of thing with the whole internets.

I think that is a peculiarity of the US. I further believe that it is a tradition that was fostered by employers to gain an advantage over their employees.

Why, exactly, do you think this is a topic not worthy of public discussion? Do you think you are compensated too much, or too little? :)

Why should your potential co-workers have to negoitiate from a position of ignorance?

This is why unions were formed. @:-)

3Cforme Aug 5, 2008 6:27 am


Originally Posted by birdstrike (Post 10150806)
Why should your potential co-workers have to negoitiate from a position of ignorance?

This is why unions were formed. @:-)

Potential coworkers don't negotiate from a position of ignorance - they don't negotiate at all. They sign up to union-negotiated wages and benefits, or walk away.

Show us the union contracts available on the internet. Any U.S. firm. Any major union. Neither party particularly wants this in the public domain.

Anyone is free to post the details of his own compensation if he wishes. Be sure to include details from relevant performance appraisals.

Dave89077 Aug 5, 2008 8:57 am

I do not think this is a forum for discussing employment issues either. Think about it for a second. I would not want to discuss/debate MY employment benefits here. I think it is a little too personal...besides, with a little effort most of the basic information on employment is on the internet anyway.

formeraa Aug 5, 2008 9:43 am

I agree with the above posters. If you are seeking employment, the company's HR department will share benefits information with you. Otherwise, the details of that information remain confidential.

I'm certainly not going to share my company's benefits in a public forum.

birdstrike Aug 5, 2008 1:06 pm

While I admit I'm shy about discussing my salary, I don't see what the problem is about benefits. Healthcare, discounted products, ski tickets . . . How can that be a big deal? Perhaps it is different in the aviation sector.

maokh Aug 5, 2008 2:20 pm

I am not an employee, nor do i know any current employees. However, I do know quite a few people that have put in their time at the airlines (not alaska in particular though). Here is a generic answer regarding non-revenue travel for nearly any airline, and it may not be specific enough. I hope it does not upset anyone :confused: Each airline is different, contact them directly.

Usually an airline will not provide these benefits to you immediately. You will need to put in some time for these to take effect.

Travel is typically standby and space available -- which means you may not get a seat on a plane. this can be bad if there is very low frequency and can become a big waste of time if not planned for properly.

Usually airlines do not put caps on this type of activity, but there are going to be many limiting factors:

a) your actual time off for travel
b) your tax burden (IRS considers it a certain type of income, port taxes usually are paid)
c) availability on the flight
d) being able to afford all the other incidentals traveling causes (airport parking, rental cars, hotel, eating out, etc)
e) scheduling conflict

After all this, my friends found that while you might score an occasional, lucky trip at the right time during your time off, it was not quite often. You also have significant risk in making it back home in time for your shift if you choose a bad time to fly. not showing up to work is a great way to get fired.

There are all sorts of little perks that different airlines give, including discounted travel passes on other partner/non-partner airlines. The system is generally quite complicated and it varies so much.

other folks in the travel industry (non-airline related) obtain access to these discounts too, such as travel agents, cruise lines, etc. but they are usually not as good. But this is another option too.

jackal Aug 6, 2008 12:49 am


Originally Posted by maokh (Post 10154454)
I am not an employee, nor do i know any current employees. However, I do know quite a few people that have put in their time at the airlines (not alaska in particular though). Here is a generic answer regarding non-revenue travel for nearly any airline, and it may not be specific enough. I hope it does not upset anyone :confused: Each airline is different, contact them directly.

Usually an airline will not provide these benefits to you immediately. You will need to put in some time for these to take effect.

Travel is typically standby and space available -- which means you may not get a seat on a plane. this can be bad if there is very low frequency and can become a big waste of time if not planned for properly.

Usually airlines do not put caps on this type of activity, but there are going to be many limiting factors:

a) your actual time off for travel
b) your tax burden (IRS considers it a certain type of income, port taxes usually are paid)
c) availability on the flight
d) being able to afford all the other incidentals traveling causes (airport parking, rental cars, hotel, eating out, etc)
e) scheduling conflict

After all this, my friends found that while you might score an occasional, lucky trip at the right time during your time off, it was not quite often. You also have significant risk in making it back home in time for your shift if you choose a bad time to fly. not showing up to work is a great way to get fired.

There are all sorts of little perks that different airlines give, including discounted travel passes on other partner/non-partner airlines. The system is generally quite complicated and it varies so much.

other folks in the travel industry (non-airline related) obtain access to these discounts too, such as travel agents, cruise lines, etc. but they are usually not as good. But this is another option too.

...and then some of us in the travel industry get absolutely NO discounts whatsoever, even though we offer pretty substantial discounts to airline employees... :mad::p

One of my coworkers used to work for AS. He said the same thing as maokh--it can be dangerous to leave for a weekend on non-rev travel, since space is limited and you might not be able to find non-rev space on your return flight and might not make it back to your shift. He liked to do weekend runs to random places and do convoluted routings just to see how much mileage he could get out of a weekend (sounds familiar...except he didn't earn status for doing it! :D). To protect himself, though, he said he kept a travel savings account with at least $1,000 in it so that he could buy a one-way ticket back home if non-rev space was not available.

This was a few years ago. I'm not so sure I'd be willing to risk it in today's travel climate--even with all the West Most flights and the dozen or two flights between SEA and ANC, there are some times when I haven't been able to find short-notice availability two or three days out! (Not that I'd pay for it, but I've looked at it for others...)

maokh Aug 6, 2008 1:05 am

Nice, the $1000 travel savings is quite smart. Nobody i knew did that.

Now, I am just quoting someone with no verification, but apparently, at some point in time (maybe still?) Southwest sold system-wide, anywhere, anytime walk up passes. They were not cheap, but well bellow what someone would pay for a full Y walk up fare on a real airline, and didnt really expire. This was years ago.

His parents used this as a get out of jail free card when non-reving on NWA.

The flights are getting fuller, capacity is getting cut, and america is getting fatter (believe it or not, some flights actually go out a seat or two short of a full load due to the newer FAA passenger weight rules!!), but as long as you are willing to go where nobody else wants to at a time nobody else wants to, you are probably fine.


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