Alaska Airlines is canceling dozens of flights as pilots prepare to picket lines
Dozens of flights were canceled Friday as Alaska Airlines pilots pickedet over contract negotiations with the airline.
SEATAC, Wash. – Dozens of Alaska Airlines flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were canceled Friday morning and officials said they were linked to the shortage of pilots.
More than 100 Alaska Airlines flights have been canceled by the airline, including 66 in Seattle, 20 in Portland, Oregon, 10 in Los Angeles and seven in San Francisco, according to flight-tracking website flightaware.com. Pilots held rallies and pickets in all of these cities, according to a union website.
More than 15,000 passengers are affected. Further cancellations are possible over the weekend.
Airline officials said the flight cancellations were “coupled with a pilot shortage that has created operational challenges.”
“We have notified our guests whose flights were affected and we apologize for the inconvenience. We are working to put things right and get them to their destination as soon as possible,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement.
The cancellations and picketing come as air travel returns to pre-pandemic levels and demand rises as many Americans head into spring break for long-delayed vacations. Frustrated travelers took to social media about botched vacation plans, reporting there was a wait of up to 10 hours to speak to an airline representative about rebooking flights. Many said they could not fly out for a day or two.
Organizers said it had been nearly three years since the pilots began contract negotiations. They said they were underpaid and overworked compared to pilots at United, Delta and American. Her goal is to get a similar contract as her peers.
“Alaska Airlines received a $2.3 billion bailout from American taxpayers during the pandemic to weather the economic downturn, retain its workforce and be ready to benefit from the recovery we are now witnessing . It has one of the strongest balance sheets with industry-leading profit margins and emerged from the pandemic with less net debt than before,” the union said. “Nevertheless, Alaska Airlines has failed to properly plan for increased travel demand and take the necessary steps to ensure that pilots are being attracted and retained In fact, just this week ALPA met with two corporate vice presidents who made clear it has failed to retain and staff sufficient staff to achieve a predictable return to flying.
The group went on strike from noon to 2 p.m. at the Hilton near Sea-Tac Airport.
Alaska says the airline offers pilots a top wage of $280 an hour for captains and has proposed a first officer rate of $100 an hour, which it says would be the highest rate for new hair in the country.
The average salary for an Alaskan captain is $341,000 a year, the airline says.
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