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Alaska upgraded an non-revenue employee before me

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Alaska upgraded an non-revenue employee before me

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Old Feb 6, 2019, 11:43 pm
  #46  
 
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Originally Posted by palladia
It took them a week to respond to my complaint, enough time to properly investigate this. While it's possible that I had an incompetent customer service rep who didn't know about deadheading policies, it's just as likely that there were some policy violations and they are trying to cover it up.
What makes you think they need a week to cover anything up? Are you suggesting there weren't enough burn bags or that there were lines at the paper shredder? If they wanted you not to know they could have simply not responded. I doubt that they're sitting around now going "I told you not to say anything, he's going to know there's a conspiracy. Larry why did you have to respond? We held out for a week. We almost got away with it. Larry we're never letting you back in the circle of trust. And we're definitely not giving you another turn making up stuff to tell customers."
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Old Feb 7, 2019, 4:22 am
  #47  
 
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I am a pilot for a major airline who commutes to work. I buy tickets most of the time. I am platinum on UA and Platinum Pro in AA. It is possible that the pilot bought a first class ticket. It is also possible he worked for numerous aviation companies that pay for the their pilots to travel to be in position to work. Easy to make assumptions that may not always be right,
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Old Feb 7, 2019, 7:49 am
  #48  
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Originally Posted by hmflyer
I am a pilot for a major airline who commutes to work. I buy tickets most of the time. I am platinum on UA and Platinum Pro in AA. It is possible that the pilot bought a first class ticket. It is also possible he worked for numerous aviation companies that pay for the their pilots to travel to be in position to work. Easy to make assumptions that may not always be right,
Almost as easy as venting those assumptions on FT.
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Old Feb 7, 2019, 9:29 am
  #49  
 
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Originally Posted by lg20
http://vi.rtuo.us/forum/docs/contrac...-full-text.pdf

This is the 2013 TA, but it should be similar to the current contract.
  1.  
    1.  
    2. Deadhead Five Hours or Less: Seating will be provided in the following order with respect to deadheads of five hours (5:00) or less, unless described in A.1 above.
      1. First Class, if available.

        (1) FirstClassAvailability:Firstclassseatingshallbe made available to deadheading pilots provided first class revenue passengers are not displaced.
Interesting. Thanks for this. Interpreted according to plain language, this would apply to award redemptions, GGU-at-booking upgrades and upgrades made within priority windows prior to day of travel. That's some impressive bumping authority. I'm guessing it doesn't come into play very often. Glad it's never happened to me.
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Old Feb 7, 2019, 9:37 am
  #50  
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Originally Posted by tom911
Could be something as simple as them not wanting to discuss the pilots contract and benefits with a non-employee. I wouldn't overthink this.
Are pilot union contracts confidential?
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Old Feb 7, 2019, 10:11 am
  #51  
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Originally Posted by mczlaw
[/LIST][/LIST][/LIST]Interesting. Thanks for this. Interpreted according to plain language, this would apply to award redemptions, GGU-at-booking upgrades and upgrades made within priority windows prior to day of travel. That's some impressive bumping authority. I'm guessing it doesn't come into play very often. Glad it's never happened to me.
Note that the category of revenue passengers basically includes any passenger who is not traveling as a nonrev (including must fly or positive space nonrevs). In particular, someone flying on an award ticket (purchased with miles, for example) would be considered to be a revenue passenger. A first class passenger might not exclude those with confirmed upgrades or someone who already has a first class seat assignment, rather than only those having first class tickets (purchased using either money or miles).
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Old Feb 7, 2019, 10:12 am
  #52  
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
Are pilot union contracts confidential?
Got me. Maybe an Alaska pilot could address that here, or whether copies of their contract are made available to customer service employees dealing with complaints.
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Old Feb 7, 2019, 10:21 am
  #53  
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Originally Posted by tom911
Got me. Maybe an Alaska pilot could address that here, or whether copies of their contract are made available to customer service employees dealing with complaints.
My understanding is that at least parts of the contract would be in annual reports and otherwise available to shareholders as some sort of required disclosure since the details of any such contract, including working conditions and employee benefits as well as salary increases, would be expected to materially impact stock prices. Moreover, when it's negotiation time, one union always seems to know details of the contract that was just negotiated by a different union or with a different company in the same industry for benchmark comparison purposes. [This wouldn't apply to privately held companies or airlines that are government owned, but other regulations could compell disclosure in these (rather rare in the context of this discussion) cases.]


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Old Feb 7, 2019, 10:54 am
  #54  
 
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
Note that the category of revenue passengers basically includes any passenger who is not traveling as a nonrev (including must fly or positive space nonrevs). In particular, someone flying on an award ticket (purchased with miles, for example) would be considered to be a revenue passenger.
THIS. "Revenue" as it pertains to tickets basically means "not nonrev," guys, not "paid with cash."
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Old Feb 7, 2019, 11:25 am
  #55  
 
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Originally Posted by TA
On a different note:

You can get all the explanations you want, whether correct or not, waste your and the airline's time, and it still doesn't matter. You didn't get upgraded in the end.

Stop worrying so much about why it happens, and instead concern yourself with how often it happens. The information is not going to be reliable, the outcome is.

Decide your loyalty on what you get, not what information makes you feel.
I agree. There have been times when I've wondered about the upgrade process at AS, with some of those instances benefiting me and others not working out for me, yet overall AS has treated me very well.

AS publishes certain benefits for us "elite" customers but they are not guaranteed and I don't consider myself entitled to them. How AS decides who sits where is not my business. I consider an upgrade to First Class a gift and I'm grateful for it when I can get it.

Having flown AS and another carrier this past weekend, I can't express enough how happy I was to settle into my seat on AS51/05FEB for the final leg of my trip. It felt like being home...even in the Main Cabin.
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Old Feb 7, 2019, 11:43 am
  #56  
 
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Do people really ..... about these things? I guess I'll need to be a little more entitled.
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Old Feb 7, 2019, 2:23 pm
  #57  
 
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
Are pilot union contracts confidential?
No. In fact, many are required to be published and the unions publish them.
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Old Feb 7, 2019, 4:54 pm
  #58  
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Originally Posted by hmflyer
It is possible that the pilot bought a first class ticket.
After reading multiple people post this, it just (finally) clicked in my head. Better late than never. Just because someone is on the standby list does NOT mean that they are not paid F, which would put them ahead of a complimentary elite upgrade for an empty F seat (right?)

I have certainly been in paid F on the standby list before, though on VX which didn't have complimentary upgrades (thus making the logic a lot simpler)
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Old Feb 7, 2019, 11:23 pm
  #59  
 
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Originally Posted by PVDtoDEL
Deadheading pilots entitled to F typically show up on the awaiting seats list as DHD/ or CRE/. Commuting pilots will show up with their name.
From a flight I took on AS last month:
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Old Feb 8, 2019, 9:34 am
  #60  
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Originally Posted by jhurwitz
From a flight I took on AS last month:
I wonder how many people see this and wonder what language this large family speaks since Dhd is such an unusual combination of letters for the beginning of a last name.
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