I was just reading about this and was wondering how or if it’ll affect you - I will say however, Alaska is beautiful, but I’d avoid it between September and March 
That’s the question we’re all asking and at this point no one knows for certain? In all the press releases it states they’re going to run us as a separate entity and pretty much leave us be. We’re all cautiously optimistic that what will happen.
On a positive note both pilot groups are ALPA and that “usually” makes the seniority integration easier.
Adam
On a related note. Who can guess the #1 question the pilot group has?
Adam
I’m curious, was this a total surprise to you or others at Hawaiian or had you all heard rumblings and rumors? I have to say, I’ve always loved Alaska Airlines, but since I lived in Alaska, there weren’t a lot of other options Obviously, that is just from a passenger side, no clue what opinions Pilots have of it.
Is it Beards?
We had no clue AND ding ding ding we have a winner! Very impressive sir.
Adam
Ravi,
Nice article, thanks for sharing. I’m curious to see how this plays out. Especially with the Frontier and Spirit debacle that went on earlier.
As Adam mentioned, it is beneficial both airlines use ALPA.
Brady
Didn’t know this was an issue till one of the students at my TC was explaining the Continental and United merger. She started her career as a Continental Flight Attendant and the issue with mergers is how will the merge affect seniority. Some FOs get pushed further down the list; and depending where they are at in their career, may stay FO for the rest of their career. Also can get hostile with Captains and FOs as if they are arch rivals having to fly the plane together. Captain may pull rank and be Pilot Flying the whole trip because of their grudge. One thing she mentioned is that both sides blame the others union and leadership when they should be attacking the arbitrator who determined the seniority list.
My read of the article just says that the airlines are code-sharing and their customer rewards programs are being integrated, with no change to business structure. Am I missing something…?
My bad, posted the wrong article (there’s so many). Good catch, read the news link.
With that said (and I don’t mean to offend any current or former FAs), but David’s post clearly demonstrates how most of the crew on one side of the cockpit door, know little about what goes on the other side. I know plenty of pilots who’ve gone through mergers and most (if not all) simply are concerned with their career and have little time for petty nonsense. I myself have been having some good conversations with people I’ve met at Alaska and we’re all just curious where this will go if anywhere.
Adam
Ah yes, that makes much more sense. Sounds like a pretty smart business move, but I am worried that Hawaiian might lose some of its really fun identity… on the other hand, I love Alaska Air. We flew them exclusively when we lived in Washington and still use them for trips back to see family. They’re one of the best!
David,
The problem isn’t seniority. Both airlines are Alpa so based on Alpas policies we all should(?) maintain our seniority during the merge % wise (ie, I’m currently about 40% and should remain at about 40%). The problem/concern in our specific situation are the widebodies. About half our fleet are currently/soon to be WBs, Alaska has none. Further we have about 1,100 pilots. That meant when your went up Hawaiian you could A) be hired right onto a WB and B) could upgrade on one in under 10yrs which is where the big money is. Alaska has 3 times as many pilots and planes BUT none of them are WB. That will mean you could have 4,000 pilots now competing for the WB which are now about 15% of the fleet. That’s where the angst will come from.
Adam
David,
I was a Continental pilot and thus went through the merger with United, I saw almost none of what that FA is talking about. I can assure you that nobody has stayed a FO for life because of the merger, that could not be further from the truth.
When I was still a first officer I flew with plenty of Captains from both sides and never once had somebody pull rank and fly all the legs, etc. Most were great guys and gals to fly with. The first trip I flew with a legacy United crew, we all went out in Rome and had a great time.
Now I did hear comments here and there, but nothing major and never anything that I would describe as combative. Most of us are well past this and have moved on, sure I have my feelings on the matter, but I have not thought about this for quite some time.
You will learn in this business that information gleaned from other work groups can often be inaccurate, especially if it involves an element of drama.
Chris
