PotomacApproach

AS needs thee E175s to build frequency where the VX dartboard failed with A320s. This is particularly important out of SFO and SJC. As market share is sustained and traffic grows, there are possibilities for upgrades to mainline. Without the E175s, this is a small, Seattle airline. Pilots need to show just a little bit of business judgment here.

sfozrhfco

The writing is on the wall at this point. Regional carriers are getting hit hard as UA/DL/B6/NK and others are on a pilot hiring spree. The days of just outsourcing your skilled labor with no limits in place are over for the time being. Offering $50,000 bonuses for skilled Q400 pilots and then finally giving up and retiring the fleet is the first step in this direction. Does it really make sense to even keep QX around with just 30 aircraft? OO outsourcing is next to be cut or limited if AS hopes to keep their mainline pilots. Labor has the power right now and any pilots that do not want to live in SEA can quite easily move to another airline in their preferred location and get better pay and working conditions. Something has to give for AS management. Cost cutting has worked well but it can't continue indefinitely if they want to keep their planes flying.

dave1013

Me, too. I am scheduled on 60 on Tuesday. Have medical consults in Seattle next week.

notquiteaff

I dunno, seems like is still a good career path, especially if you can go straight to mainline from the Air Force.

notquiteaff

I may be biased since every trip on AS for me starts and ends with OO legs… but without OO and QX, what would feed mainline in SEA?

notquiteaff

Right. Don’t airlines more likely have crew shortages at the end of the month or quarter when the pilots and FAs have reached their monthly work limit?

sea_jeff

You would think, eh? Particularly with the shortage of pilots overall. The AS pilots don't seem to agree.
I feel bad for all the pax stuck in the middle of this and paying the price.

notquiteaff

The way I read it, their contract is worse than what pilots at other airlines get, so they naturally want improvements. Doesn’t mean that they are getting Amazon warehouse pay rates, of course, and (without knowing any details) I am not blaming them for looking over the fence and seeing greener grass.

dayone

Alaska Airlines cancels more than 120 flights as pilots picket (q13fox.com)

sea_jeff

Truthfully I have no idea what they earn but they should at least get comparable pay/benefits vs. other airlines. I wonder if airlines recruit other airline pilots.
Maybe there's an opportunity for a headhunter.

Eastbay1K

https://mustreadalaska.com/bob-griff...aska-airlines/

Perspective from a non picketing pilot. It is always ironic how such a generally conservative group (i.e., pilots, law enforcement) are so pro union only for themselves.

notquiteaff

The pilots could call up another airline’s HR department any day they want and would probably get an interview right away. But wouldn’t they end up at the bottom of the seniority list?

fly18725

I’ve been looking for an explanation of the pilot’s position outside of the “do the right thing” slogan. This was the most informative thing I’ve seen, which may say something about their negotiating strategy.

sea_jeff

One would presume. Honestly have no idea of how that would work.

The thing that struck me while watching the local news was the lack of diversity on the picket line.

Personally I wouldn’t be upset about starting out at $225K per year averaging 85 hours per month.

A quick Google search came up with this factoid.

“According to 2020 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 94% of the country’s 155,000 aircraft pilots and flight engineers identified as white. Only 3.4% were Black, with just over 10% combined of pilots and engineers listed as Black, Latinx (5.0%), or Asian (2.2%).”

twitch76

Just got notice my SAN-HNL tomorrow is canceled. Booked a backup on WN in case they don’t have a suitable alternative.