• Alaska Airlines Tile
    Alaska Airlines
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    AS/ASA
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Anchorage International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Portland International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
    Year Founded:
    1932
    Alliance:
    oneworld
    CEO:
    Ben Minicucci
    Country:
    United States
    Region:
    North America

While the Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA) sorties off a letter chastising the US airlines' lobby groups for, among other things, "the 65% spike in flight delays and cancellations," it states that "it is clear to all that the airlines have mismanaged" the COVID-19 relief package.

As per US Congressman Rick Larsen's December 21, 2020 statement, it's worth noting that the relief package was intended to retain 950,000 airline jobs and off of unemployment. Yet the US Department of Transportation recently issued a report that in February 2022, the flight cancellation rate throughout the United States was 4.5% versus the February 2019 pre-pandemic rate of 3.1%. For ALPA, there is a growing fear the cancellations will be used to justify undoing US aviation safety regulations.

CARES Act helped retain US airlines' employees

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, the first US Congressional response to COVID-19, gave financial aid to help companies and citizens weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Nicholas E. Calio, President and Chief Executive Officer of Airlines for America - the chief lobby group for US airlines - testified to the US House of Representatives Transportation & Infrastructure Committee's Aviation Subcommittee about the importance of the CARES Act on March 2, 2021:

They continue to pay taxes, they're not on the unemployment line... and most critically for our industry: They're ready to get back on the planes and fly when they can. That is important in our industry because of the training and certification requirements that are constantly ongoing in terms of how you can get on an airplane and be able to fly and protect the public.

In his opening testimony that day, the ALPA President Captain Joe DePete commended the passage of the CARES Act, keeping employees on the payroll and "Connected to healthcare." While mentioning the threat of layoffs, Captain DePete also brought up the need for aircrew training and medical certifications.

ALPA pins the blame on US airline management for current problems

A beautiful summer sunset as JetBlue 695 to Orlando prepares to push back for the last departure of the day.
Airlines are doing well, so why are they cancelling scheduled flights?
Photo: Dave Montiverdi via Flickr

As part of an ALPA letter dated May 6, 2022, ALPA President Captain Joe DePete said;

Right now, many airlines have more pilots, carry less net debt, and operate at greater domestic capacity levels than in 2019. Yet, airline representatives continue to attempt to hawk mistruths about pilot supply and advocate for regulation rollbacks that would compromise the safety of the flying public—the same taxpayers who gave the companies billions to weather the pandemic and emerge on the strong financial footing they enjoy today. The attempt to divert the country’s attention away from their profit-based business decisions to cancel flights and cut air service to rural and smaller communities is bad enough, but even worse, airline representatives are pushing to weaken requirements that ensure pilots are qualified and trained to keep passengers safe.

DePete was referring to the recent attempt by SkyWest to cancel rural routes plus service cutbacks after dramatic April cancellations. DePete was also upset that lobbying to loosen aviation safety regulations was ongoing to the point that DePete denied there was a pilot shortage. However, the assessments of United Airlines' CEO in a recent earnings call and having parked regional aircraft plus Alaska Airlines, which has invested in a new academy and credited training delays for cancellations, are different.

Alaska Airlines pilots' vote to authorize a strike begins... with prolific cancellations.

On May 6, 2022, Alaska Airlines canceled 28 flights out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA), according to both local TV station KING 5 & FlightAware's cancellation tracker. Furthermore, according to the FlightAware tracker, those 28 flights represent 6% of flights out of KSEA - this being by and for the most flights canceled out of KSEA. As previously profiled on Simple Flying, this is days before the ballots open on a historic vote by the Alaska Airlines chapter of ALPA to authorize the union's executives to call a strike once legally authorized.

Discover more aviation news here.

One of the sticking points for the pilots is, yes, the cancellations. In The Seattle Times, Captain Will McQuillen - leader of the Alaska Airlines chapter of ALPA, said;

“This airline has always run too lean. We use the reserves much more aggressively than other airlines do to cover flying,” he said. “Other airlines are more adequately staffed to deal with the month-to-month transition.”

. . .

“While that productivity may be nice for shareholders in the short term, it certainly has the opposite effect on passengers when flights are canceled. They’re not getting ahead of the problem.”

McQuillen also made evident the loss of pilots from Alaska Airlines at four to five weekly was “A pace we’ve never seen.” Below is the union's latest video explaining their side of the issues in the context of their April 1, 2022 informational picket:

In the aforementioned Seattle Times article, Alaska Airlines' spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said changing over to May from April led to some snafus. Meanwhile, on April 25, Constance von Muehlen, Alaska’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, told staff in an email that, “We have seen staffing or training challenges” as returning to pre-COVID19 levels of service, and therefore, Alaska Airlines does, “Need a sharper and more holistic look at capacity planning.”

Are you concerned about US airlines managing federal relief? Do you believe there is a pilot shortage and why? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Congressman Rick Larsen, Seattle Times, US Department of Transportation,