Tuesday saw 33 canceled flights by Alaska Airlines, which has been plagued with cancellations and delays for several days, a problem the company says is the result of pilot shortages. Tens of thousands of passengers have been inconvenienced by delayed and canceled flights.
Alaska Airlines isn’t the only commercial carrier to have a pilot shortage, but it’s being hit harder than most other airlines at the same time the union that represents pilots has been picketing in front of the airports in Anchorage, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. The union and the company have been negotiating for three years and the union is now upping the ante.
Wednesday is looking the same for the Seattle-based company that serves traveling Alaskans, with 20 cancelations already across the company.
Some customers are reporting they’re on hold for as long as 10 hours on the Alaska customer service line.
According to an internal memo from the company, it’s a pilot shortage, rather than shortages of other crew or ground personnel.
“Our operational performance today was below the level many of us expect,” Capt. John Ladner, vice president of flight operations, said in an email on Friday, according to The Seattle Times. “The primary driver for our performance right now is the shortage of pilots we have available to fly versus what was planned when we built our April schedule in January.”
Alaska Airlines is offering 150% pay to pilots who are willing to pick up extra shifts.
Ok Alaska Airlines. Now it’s time to fix the PR problem with the pilots. There is no shortage of pilots. There is a shortage of pay, and reduced quality of life. Pay the fair market value of labor, like you do for fuel and parts. Pay and QoL are not something you need to foist upon your customers.
And stop making mandatory overtime for non-union people!
H
PS. The pilots cannot skip a day of work to go picket. That’s a Federal law violation.
I can’t wait for the airline industry to fail. Few industries have worked so hard to alienate their customers
Totally agree with you. I’ve certainly had enough of their holier than thou attitude during the Covid debacle. We saw what they are striving for. Now they can deal with what they started. Some pilots can’t fly anymore due to their nazi shot bs. Some folks lives irreparably ruined as a result. Yeah let them hurt…. They need to grovel.
Thank you for your support of an industry that supplies millions of good jobs that pay taxes that fund the military so you have the right to make these comments. The airlines are hiring at record pace. If you are in need of a good paying job with decent benefits, you can work for one too! Free flying! Support the USA economy!
In loving kindness,
Maybe forcing toxic jabs to maintain careers was not a good idea, aside from violating civil liberties.
Well said, Brian. The story the media keeps burying is the number of pilots that have had serious adverse reactions to the gene therapy jab (not a vaccine). Neurological damage and heart damage are way up due to what it is doing to their bodies. Imagine your pilot keeling over during a flight with you onboard. Better hope the Co-Pilot is in good shape.
They’re burying the fact that the number of vaccinated pilots dying in mid flight is up in the last year by about 20%
A google search reveals:
“How much money does Alaska Airlines pilots make?
about $341,000 a year
An Alaska Airlines captain, according to a news release from the airline, averages about $341,000 a year, but pilots say it’s not just about money — they also want work rule changes, job security and scheduling flexibility.”
Poor babies. Making that much when you don’t even work anywhere near the hours of an average American, and then crying about it?
Do you have any idea how supply and demand works? As others have said, there are not enough pilots to fill the positions open at all the major airlines. Therefore, the only way airlines can attract enough pilots to fill their schedule is to incentivize them to work at that company – through higher pay, better schedules, better benefits, etc. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.
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