Alaska Airlines pilots approve new four-year contract

Alaska Airlines pilots have a new four-year contract. A large majority of the membership of the pilots' union, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), voted to approve the tentative contract agreement that was reached last month. Terms of the new contract are retroactive to Apr. 1, 2009.

ALPA reports that 95% of eligible pilots voted. Of those, 84% cast their ballots in favor of the new agreement.

According to ALPA, the new contract includes pay increases of nearly 12% for captains and 16–29.5% for first officers, effective April 1, 2009. It also includes a signing bonus, retirement options for current pilots, and work rules that provide increased flexibility for the pilots. Pilots hired post-ratification will participate in a 401(k) program with a 13.5% company contribution.

“This pilot group, along with pilots across our industry, have watched our pay, benefits, job security, and quality of life erode since 9/11,” said Capt. Bill Shivers, Alaska MEC chairman. “While this contract doesn’t restore everything, it does provide increases in pay and improvements in our work schedule and retirement flexibility while allowing our company to remain poised for success. We believe this is a positive step toward repairing the relationship between this pilot group and our management so that we can work together to achieve a company culture where everyone succeeds and prospers together.”

Alaska Airlines pilots had been working under an arbitrator-imposed contract since May 2005. That contract had cut their pay by as much as 35%.

Alaska Airlines pilots to vote on new contract

Pilots at Alaska Airlines are preparing to vote on a tentative agreement (TA) for a new four-year contract. The TA was reached after more than two years of negotiations between the airline's management and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents the pilots. The union leadership has approved the TA.

“The agreement we’ve reached meets our goals of improving or protecting our work rules—which includes pay—our job security, our retirement security and our health benefits while allowing our company to continue to succeed,” said Alaska MEC Chairman Capt. Bill Shivers.

Since May 2005, Alaska Airlines 1,455 pilots have been working under an arbitrator-imposed contract that cut pay by as much as 35 percent.

Should the vote by the pilots' union membership fail to approve the TA, negotiations with management would resume and continue until either another agreement is reached or until the National Mediation Board releases the parties into self-help.

Voting by the membership is expected to be completed by the third week in May.

Alaska Airlines flight attendants ratify contract extension

Alaska Airlines flight attendants have ratified a two-year contract extension. The ratification vote, which concluded on March 10, 2009, extends the contract through April 2012. The contract was previously amendable on May 1, 2010.

According to a statement about the contract, issued jointly by Alaska Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), the extension offers flight attendants a 1.5% pay increase on May 1 of 2010 and 2011. Flight attendants also will now participate in the same performance-based incentive plan as the airline's dispatch and management employees.

Kelle Wells, president of the Alaska Airlines unit of AFA said she is pleased with the contract extension. "This gives us an opportunity to go forward for the next several years knowing our work rules and compensation are secure as we address the challenges ahead," she said.

"This contract recognizes the outstanding work and dedication of our flight attendants and reflects a desire on both the union and company's part for a stable labor agreement in the face of difficult times," said Ann Ardizzone, vice president of inflight services.

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RELATED: Alaska Airlines flight attendants have tentative contract agreement - Feb. 12, 2009

Alaska Airlines flight attendants have tentative contract agreement

The flight attendants' union at Alaska Airlines announced that they have reached a tentative agreement (TA) on a proposed two-year contract extension. The TA will be circulated to the union membership and a vote will be scheduled. The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), which represents Alaska flight attendants, says that if the TA does not receive membership approval, the union will begin preparations for
traditional negotiations beginning this spring.

"We understand the benefit in having a stable labor agreement in the face of the challenging times ahead," said Kelle Wells, president of the Alaska Airlines unit of AFA. "This proposal offers pay increases for flight attendants while keeping our insurance formula and work rules intact. Our members will now evaluate whether this tentative agreement and the associated changes are in their best interests and vote accordingly."

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UPDATE Mar. 12, 2009: Alaska Airlines flight attendants ratify contract extension

Pilots concerned over Alaska Airlines plan to lay off up to 1,000 line employees

In conjunction with a capacity reduction of 8%, Alaska Airlines has announced plans for a work force reduction. In a statement issued late last week, the carrier's parent, Alaska Air Group, Inc., said that it will eliminate 850 to 1,000 "operational" positions at Alaska Airlines, including pilots, flight attendants, aircraft technicians, and reservations, customer service and ramp agents. The press release said, in part:

In response to the current environment, the company has undertaken a variety of initiatives to improve profitability and protect its cash balance. These measures include raising fares, increasing fees and instituting a charge for a second checked bag, taking steps to reduce fuel consumption, and deferring or eliminating numerous projects and capital spending.

"These steps, when combined with the recently completed transition to an all-Boeing 737 fleet, improve our viability, but are not enough to eliminate the need to reduce the number of our employees," [chairman and CEO of Alaska Air Group] Ayer said.

Alaska Airlines is working with the unions representing operational employees to offer early-out programs and six-month to two-year leaves of absence to minimize the number of involuntary furloughs. Affected employees will leave the company starting in November and continuing through early 2009.

Furloughs for 190 pilots are among the anticipated job cuts at Alaska Airlines -- a move that the pilots' union worries will limit the airline's ability to respond to market opportunities. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the union that represents Alaska's 1,500 pilots, issued the following statement in response to the carrier's furlough announcement:

“We are concerned that, particularly as oil prices continue to plummet, Alaska Airlines will reduce its pilot ranks so severely that our management will create a situation in which our carrier will be unable to take advantage of its strong cash position and respond to opportunities to grow as other airlines cut routes and capacity,” said Capt. Bill Shivers, chairman of the Alaska Airlines Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association.

“Following 9/11, Alaska Airlines strategically used its strong financial position to grow our airline and expand into new markets. When conditions again improve to the point that would allow financially strong carriers to grow, we are concerned that competitors such as Southwest, Virgin America or Jet Blue will be in a position to capitalize on opportunities that our company has denied itself the ability to take advantage of. Returning pilots to the line after a furlough is a time consuming process, and if management follows through on announced plans to reduce pilot ranks so severely, they create a scenario where we are no longer a nimble carrier able to quickly respond to emerging opportunities.

“We’ve already worked with Alaska’s management to create early out retirement and extended leave of absence programs, designed to mitigate the furlough and are continuing to look at ways to prevent the furlough as required by our Collective Bargaining Agreement. We will continue to support and represent all of our pilots, including any who management may choose to furlough.”

Alaska Air Group, Inc., also announced coming capacity and work force reductions for its other airline, Horizon Air. Management expects to reduce Horizon Air capacity in the fourth quarter by about 20 percent compared to the same period last year. The work force reduction at Horizon Air will include elimination of 94 pilot positions "through attrition, early-out packages and leaves, and a furlough of about 40 pilots this November."

In other work groups at Horizon Air, furloughs are being minimized through early-out programs, unpaid leaves and attrition, the company said.

Alaska Airlines to test in-flight WiFi access

Earlier this week, Alaska Airlines announced plans to launch inflight wireless Internet service in the spring of 2008. The system will be tested on a next-generation Boeing 737 aircraft. If the trial has a favorable outcome, Alaska will proceed to equip its entire 114-aircraft fleet with the new broadband communication system provided by a company called Row 44.

According to a news release about the new service:

The technology will provide customers with a unique entertainment and business network at 35,000 feet. Passengers with Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as laptop computers, PDAs, smartphones and portable gaming systems, will have high-speed access to the Internet, e-mail, virtual private networks and stored inflight entertainment content.

"Bringing broadband Internet access to the skies is one of the most important things we can do to enhance the experience of both business and leisure customers," said Steve Jarvis, Alaska Airlines' vice president of sales, marketing and customer experience. "We're moving ahead with testing and ultimately plan to bring wireless broadband to our whole fleet."

Unlike air-to-ground services, Row 44's satellite-based system is designed to function over land, water and across international borders, enabling service throughout Alaska's route system in Alaska, the Lower 48 states, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico.

Customers connect to the system through wireless hotspots installed inside the aircraft cabin. A light-weight radome mounted on top of the aircraft houses an antenna, which receives and transmits signals through the Ku-band satellite system.

Alaska Airlines and Row 44 have been working together for two years to develop a cost-efficient inflight broadband solution.

Alaska Airlines pilots at the bargaining table

Alaska Airlines pilots are at the bargaining table in Seattle with company officials, trying to reach a new agreement about pay and working conditions. Alaska Airlines employs more than 1400 pilots.

An article about the negotiations on the website of Alaska's CBS TV station, KTVA reports:

The pilots say Alaska Airlines needs to hire more of them to spread out the flights and give them some time to sleep.

"Don't push us. Staff us properly so that you are not putting people from the front side to the back side of the clock and back again. That's not safe; that's not smart," said Alaska Airlines pilot, Captain John Sluys.

For their part, airline officials point out that the amount of rest time each pilot receives is more than adequate under federal regulations.

"Our pilots are required to work fewer hours per each shift, and get even more rest between shifts than they are required to under FAA regulations," said Amanda Tobin Bielawski of Alaska Airlines.

Airline officials say they hope to have an agreement -- and a strike avoided -- by May.