I call BS on your entire post. Airlines do not get a pass because they are airlines. Good employees step up and deal with it, period. That's how it works and how life works. The Captain owns the flight until he passes it off to ground personnel. Here in Buffalo there are zero.
These pilots are out of service until an inquiry is done as to the root cause of the issue and how they dealt with it flying wise. Further, they were with the maintenance crew probing and providing insight while the maintenance crew was figuring out whether it could be put back in the air for a flight to a maintenance base. So your whole silly thing about flight hours was just that - silly. It's irrelevant to these two pilots - they're not flying again until cleared. Same with flight crew. Need to know if something they did - intentionally or accidentally caused this, what they observed, how they found it, how they reacted to it, their medical conditions, etc. They're essentially quarantined.
I only expect people do the best that they can do - and at the same time act like human beings. It's also not that uncommon that an airline has to make a stop at an airport they don't service.
Originally Posted by
fly18725
While I understand your sentiment that employees should step up, it is important to remember that airlines are culturally and legally different than many other consumer facing businesses. It’s not like a retail store or hotel where any customer-facing employee is similarly equipped to solve a problem. Airlines are more akin to a hospital where duties and responsibilities are heavily segregated based on training and licensing requirements. You would want a flight attendant to fix a plane or a hospital orderly to perform surgery.
I know Alaska could have done better, especially upon return to Boston. However, arguing the crew can and should have done more in Buffalo is pointless and reflects and an ignorance about how things work. If this is your expectation, you will always be disappointed.