Alaska Airlines Cancels More Than 120 Flights And Warns Of Possible Weekend Disruptions Kiro 7 News Seattle

By 9:00 a.m., the airline had canceled more than 120 flights across the system. “It simply came to our notice then. We received a message and an email that the flight was to be canceled around midnight, “said passenger Matt Mullinix, who was trying to reach Belize with his family. When KIRO 7 asked Alaska Airlines why the flights were canceled, the airline sent a statement about a labor dispute with its pilots’ union. The statement also spoke of a lack of pilots. The Airline Pilots Association said 1,500 pilots carried out information pressures in several cities on Friday. They lined up quietly on the sidewalk in front of Seattle Tacoma International Airport and outside the airline headquarters. The union leaders said the flights were not canceled due to picketing and that all participating pilots were out of service and had not been scheduled to fly. “Flights are being canceled because there are not enough pilots in general,” said Alaska captain Joseph Youngerman, a union leader. Youngerman said that on the first day of a new month, Alaska added more flights than it could staff at a time when many pilots were leaving. “It should come as no surprise to them. “It certainly did not come as a surprise to us that they would have trouble meeting their schedule,” Youngerman said. The union said that after three years of negotiations, Alaska is not offering a fair purchase contract that addresses pilot concerns about job security and scheduling. Alaska Airlines will not give an interview, but wrote that a new pilot contract remains a top priority. The airline says their captains make an average of $ 341,000 a year and that the airline has offered to pay new first officers $ 100 an hour. The union said it was not planning any further pressure. The airline said more cancellations are possible this weekend. Check the number of cancellations here. The shortage of pilots comes as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport officials say travel is expected to reach near pre-pandemic levels as spring break travel begins. Tumors are expected to be approximately 80% to 85% of pre-pandemic levels. It is close to the busiest travel days since August 2021. The highest volume is expected to be up to 145,000 passengers per day. About 160,000 was the average in 2019. Alaska Airlines has issued the following statements regarding cancellations and pickets: Updated statement: “Alaska Airlines is facing significant flight cancellations today. We notify our guests whose flights are affected and we work as fast as possible to fix things and get them to their destinations. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. “From 9 a.m. This morning, we canceled more than 120 flights – about 9% of our total operation – affecting more than 15,300 visitors. Additional cancellations are possible at the weekend. “It takes everyone in Alaska to run a successful and reliable business. Today, we lost. We are grateful for all the staff who work hard to get our guests where they need to go. ” Initial statement: “We understand how important it is for our pilots to secure a new contract. As negotiations continue, we respect their right to participate in legally protected activities to express their concerns. “We are committed to achieving a collective bargaining agreement that recognizes and supports our pilots’ contributions with increased pay, job security and greater job flexibility – key issues that are important to them. “It is also vital for Alaska Airlines to negotiate an agreement that allows us to maintain growth and profitability for a strong future. It is important that we continue to provide all our employees with competitive rewards and benefits as we hire more people, invest in new planes and fly our customers to new destinations. We believe that the goals of the company and the goals of our pilots complement each other. “The new pilot contract remains a top priority for Alaska,” said Jenny Wetzel, Alaska Airlines Vice President of Labor Relations. “We have put on the table a package that is competitive and addresses the most important issues for our pilots. It’s a significant financial investment in our pilot group, and we recognize that we are still working to recover from a $ 2.3 billion loss from the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to concluding the negotiations quickly so that our pilots can enjoy these new benefits as soon as possible. “In support of our pilots, we recently presented a comprehensive proposal to the association. Among the main points:

We offer a top salary of $ 280 per hour for captains and an adjustment of the market salary one year after the contract is ratified to keep our pilots’ salaries competitive with their peers on other airlines. For reference, the average salary of a captain in Alaska is currently $ 341,000 per year. For the first officers, we have proposed a rate of $ 100 per hour, which would be the # 1 new recruitment rate in the country. We’re ready to increase our pilots’ job security: Any Alaska Air Group-operated aircraft with more than 76 seats will fly from Alaska’s seniority list pilots. We would add considerable flexibility to the way our pilots can define their schedules along with additional support for our backup pilots. Our pilots currently work 16 days a month on average.

“We are in discussions with the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) for a new agreement from the summer of 2019, with a mutual cessation of talks for about a year, as the industry was overcoming the pandemic. As a regular part of the process, we applied for mediation to the National Mediation Council in October 2021 to help move the process forward and facilitate an agreement. We look forward to making further progress in our next mediation session scheduled for later this month. “There are some flight cancellations due to the lack of pilots which has created operational challenges. We have notified our guests whose flights have been affected and we apologize for the inconvenience. “We are working as fast as possible to fix things and get them to their destination.” The International Air Line Pilots Association issued the following statement regarding the lack of pilots: “Alaska Airlines received $ 2.3 billion in US taxpayer bailout during the pandemic to tackle the recession, maintain its workforce and be ready to take advantage of the recovery we are experiencing now. It has one of the strongest balance sheets with the highest profit margins in the industry and came out of the pandemic with less net debt than before. “Nevertheless, Alaska Airlines failed properly plan for increased travel demand and take the necessary steps to ensure that it attracts and retains pilots. In fact, just this week, ALPA met with two corporate vice presidents who made it clear that they were failing to maintain and staff sufficiently to achieve a predictable return to flight. “Now they are trying to distract the public from their mismanagement and to blame the pilots who helped save their company. Pilot leaders have been warning for years that pilots will choose to fly to other airlines because of an inadequate contract that will only exacerbate existing staffing challenges. “Hundreds of Alaskan pilots will exercise their legal right to conduct non-disruptive information attacks today in five cities across the country to highlight Alaska’s strong financial position and urge the company to take the contract seriously. “Alaska pilots are more than ready.” © 2022 Cox Media Group

title: “Alaska Airlines Cancels More Than 120 Flights And Warns Of Possible Weekend Disruptions Kiro 7 News Seattle " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-20” author: “Lonnie Cunningham”