Allegiant Airlines

[BayouMLU]

G4 has no agreement with other airlines. Passengers stranded will be SOL unless G4 uses the corporate cards to buy them tickets. It's more likely that they start to warn pax ahead of time and allow refunds to lessen the blow.

Unless they get started on working out a plan with other carriers. I doubt they will because other carriers don't fly into a majority of the airports served by G4.

 

[Pilot Fighter]

G4 has no agreement with other airlines. Passengers stranded will be SOL unless G4 uses the corporate cards to buy them tickets. It's more likely that they start to warn pax ahead of time and allow refunds to lessen the blow.

Unless they get started on working out a plan with other carriers. I doubt they will because other carriers don't fly into a majority of the airports served by G4.

In the past, when a flight has been cancelled, Allegiant has notified passengers by email. The pilots don't want to look bad by stranding passengers and will announce a date and time for the start of their strike.

 

[planejay]

I have to chuckle whenever I hear people complain about the "surprise" fees. Assuming you booked your ticket online, you are warned about fees. You are not required to select a seat, but you can for as little as 8 bucks (an extra dollar will get you an aisle). Then you reach the baggage section, you cannot move forward without selecting the number of checked and carry on bags you wish to take, even if it is zero. That is followed with a pop-up saying that fees will be greater if purchase after booking. You cannot continue with the purchase until closing that pop-up. On the same screen you have to select if you will print your pass at home or at the airport. It states, in bold print, there will be a 5 dollar charge for getting the boarding pass at the airport. None of the fees should be a surprise and they are certainly not a secret. Yes, you have to pay for a drink on the flight. Do you get free drinks when you go out to eat? I did a quick search for a round trip ticket on G4 from oak-bli in feb, with a carry on bag, an extra 18 bucks for an aisle seat, and printing the pass at home the total was 245. A quick search on priceline for the same dates is 451. Allegiant may not be as convenient as the others but it is damn sure cheaper. Some people who may not otherwise be able to travel get to do so because of Allegiant. The internet is full of negative comments regarding the airline but you would never know it standing at the front of the plane, our passengers are surprisingly happy. I will admit, if we are having a bad day it will likely be the worst travel experience of your life. Rescue flights for delays are pretty rare because none of us are eager to help out at the moment. Hopefully in the near future we will have a little more motivation to help. My apologies to those who have had an unpleasant experience.

 

[HRDiva]

G4 has no agreement with other airlines. Passengers stranded will be SOL unless G4 uses the corporate cards to buy them tickets. It's more likely that they start to warn pax ahead of time and allow refunds to lessen the blow.

Unless they get started on working out a plan with other carriers. I doubt they will because other carriers don't fly into a majority of the airports served by G4.

If they follow the NK management playbook, they will assure passengers they have a plan. The plan is to assume management pilots will fly and enough will cross the line. They will also contract out flying and assume that no pilots flying for that carrier object.

If you follow the NK pilot playbook, it will be a totally failed strategy by management.

 

[SpooledUp]

Thank you for flying Allegiant.

 

[BayouMLU]

If they follow the NK management playbook, they will assure passengers they have a plan. The plan is to assume management pilots will fly and enough will cross the line. They will also contract out flying and assume that no pilots flying for that carrier object.

If you follow the NK pilot playbook, it will be a totally failed strategy by management.

There won't be nearly enough aircraft from Sun Country, Ameristar, Falcon, Miami Air, Vision, etc. to handle the schedule. They had trouble with half the fleet being down with the emergency slide fiasco. A strike will be much, much worse.

It's a shame, too. So many awesome people work there that don't deserve having to deal with that kind of disaster.

 

[z987k]

There won't be nearly enough aircraft from Sun Country, Ameristar, Falcon, Miami Air, Vision, etc. to handle the schedule. They had trouble with half the fleet being down with the emergency slide fiasco. A strike will be much, much worse.

It's a shame, too. So many awesome people work there that don't deserve having to deal with that kind of disaster.

I would think the pilots of those carriers would not fly the struck work. Or at least the union ones.

 

[HRDiva]

I am saying that they are not going to warn passengers; they will say they have it covered despite the fact that they don't.

 

[BayouMLU]

I would think the pilots of those carriers would not fly the struck work. Or at least the union ones.

Huh? Are saying that the pilots who don't strike would fly? That's not how a strike works. I've never known a pilot to cross the line, at least not until the end. Even then, we have reports of 96% voting to strike. That's a lot of people saying that they're ready to strike so I'm not inclined to believe that there is going to be many crossing. Between BLI, LAS, IWA, LAX, PIE, FLL, PDG and SFB there might be a couple crews in each base, best-case scenario. That's not enough to make a dent.

The Feb to Apr timeframe is no coincidence. That puts a strike during March Madness, which doesn't refer to basketball for G4. It's the peak travel time for the company. Flying in the Florida bases is 7 days a week and heavy. It would be like a legacy carrier striking during Thanksgiving/December.

I am saying that they are not going to warn passengers; they will say they have it covered despite the fact that they don't.

I might be inclined to agree if Andrew were still running it, but with Maury calling the shots I'm not so sure. Unless of course you're privy to something I am not which is entirely possible.

 

[e6bflyer]

Huh? Are saying that the pilots who don't strike would fly? That's not how a strike works. I've never known a pilot to cross the line, at least not until the end. Even then, we have reports of 96% voting to strike. That's a lot of people saying that they're ready to strike so I'm not inclined to believe that there is going to be many crossing. Between BLI, LAS, IWA, LAX, PIE, FLL, PDG and SFB there might be a couple crews in each base, best-case scenario. That's not enough to make a dent.

The Feb to Apr timeframe is no coincidence. That puts a strike during March Madness, which doesn't refer to basketball for G4. It's the peak travel time for the company. Flying in the Florida bases is 7 days a week and heavy. It would be like a legacy carrier striking during Thanksgiving/December.

I might be inclined to agree if Andrew were still running it, but with Maury calling the shots I'm not so sure. Unless of course you're privy to something I am not which is entirely possible.

I think he is saying that the pilots of the carriers that normally pick up the slack for Allegient will not fly work that is "struck" by Allegiant pilots. One quick way to get labeled a scab is to do the work that is not being done by Union pilots on strike. This is standard practice, especially in Union shops, but also by most pilots who support labor and understand the game whether they are currently in a union or not.

 

[GypsyPilot]

I think he is saying that the pilots of the carriers that normally pick up the slack for Allegient will not fly work that is "struck" by Allegiant pilots. One quick way to get labeled a scab is to do the work that is not being done by Union pilots on strike. This is standard practice, especially in Union shops, but also by most pilots who support labor and understand the game whether they are currently in a union or not.

Agreed. When Spirit went on strike, only a couple guys flew struck work (at Falcon I think?). It did not turn out well for them either as I recall... Instantly outed and crucified on social media (before social media was really even a thing).

 

[amorris311]

Agreed. When Spirit went on strike, only a couple guys flew struck work (at Falcon I think?). It did not turn out well for them either as I recall... Instantly outed and crucified on social media (before social media was really even a thing).

True. that being said the captain of that flight tried to make amends and paid quite a bit of money to the strike force for the Spirit pilots. Not saying it's right and he will always be a scab but at least he didn't act like a total fool.

 

[DE727UPS]

When you strike be ready for the company to lie to the media and blame it all on the pilots. They will inflate pay numbers by including benefits and whatever else they can come up with to make your hourly rate look high. They will take the number of block hours in a month divided by the number of pilots you have and come with a low figure of how many hours a month you "work". This conveniently leaves out reserves that don't fly, guys out sick, on vacation, or in training. Also, they won't consider duty time as "work". Just block hours. They will say you only work 50 hours a month. Anything and everything to make it look like the pilot group is to blame. Best thing you could do is hire a PR guy to tell your side of the story.

 

[Pilot Fighter]

From what I've read, it appears the pilots are certainly justified.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/16/allegiant-tr-strike-idUSL1N0UV1W020150116

"The union alleges that Allegiant has failed to abide by a July 2014 federal court injunction that directed the airline to restore the pilots' benefits and work rule protections to levels negotiated previously, the release said."

 

[Autothrust Blue]

I would think the pilots of those carriers would not fly the struck work. Or at least the union ones.

Certain non-union pilots (namely, this one) are disinclined to fly struck work too.

 

[Seggy]

True. that being said the captain of that flight tried to make amends and paid quite a bit of money to the strike force for the Spirit pilots. Not saying it's right and he will always be a scab but at least he didn't act like a total fool.

No it was the FO that tried to make amends. I believe the Captain, who was retired from delta, didn't.

 

[z987k]

Certain non-union pilots (namely, this one) are disinclined to fly struck work too.

Ya, but we'd be talking the wild west of 121 sup. I'd imagine most would not.

 

[HRDiva]

Agreed. When Spirit went on strike, only a couple guys flew struck work (at Falcon I think?). It did not turn out well for them either as I recall... Instantly outed and crucified on social media (before social media was really even a thing).

Yes, only the flight out and back flew on 6/12/10, operated by Falcon Air. By the time it returned to FLL, garbage was all over the lawns of the scabs. There is a YouTube of it.

Spirit management told passengers they had nothing to worry about. They counted on management pilots, enough Spirit pilots crossing the line and contract work to fill out the schedule. Well, management pilots stepped down to the line, 100% of the Spirit pilots struck and, after the Falcon flight, no one would touch Spirit flying.

The company made sure health insurance was canceled and on June 14, the president sent an email saying that, because of the strike, they could not reconcile payroll in time for 6/15. So we were not getting paid. The idea was that pressure would come from the spouse to cross the picket line.

But my husband was based in NJ. I guess their advisers as Ford & Harrison forgot about state wage laws as they we're coaching the company about breaking the union. I took that email and attached it to a complaint to the NJ Workforce Commission. You see, NJ has a strict law about payday. They didn't have to investigate because I sent the email from the president announcing that they planned to break the NJ law.

They got paid on time the next day.
The company returned to the table.

After 5 days, they settled.

 

[Beefy McGee]

Question for you 121 guys: how does a pilot for another company avoid flying struck work? Don't they risk repercussions from their own company for refusing a flight? What if the company picking up the slack is non-union? Or are the companies that would pick up the slack for Allegiant part of the same union, and the union can back up those pilots at other companies who refuse to fly?

I understand the effort to show solidarity with the guys on strike, but seems to me that a pilot at another company would suddenly be in a bad situation having to choose between pilots being angry at him everywhere he goes vs negative effects on his employment at a company not involved in a strike. So perhaps Allegiant guys striking would cause guys at other companies in otherwise "happy situations" to be at risk of losing their job for refusing to fly a struck trip. It would really suck for Allegiant pilots to win their strike, but guys elsewhere lose out in some sort of collateral damage situation.

 

[GypsyPilot]

Question for you 121 guys: how does a pilot for another company avoid flying struck work? Don't they risk repercussions from their own company for refusing a flight? What if the company picking up the slack is non-union? Or are the companies that would pick up the slack for Allegiant part of the same union, and the union can back up those pilots at other companies who refuse to fly?

I understand the effort to show solidarity with the guys on strike, but seems to me that a pilot at another company would suddenly be in a bad situation having to choose between pilots being angry at him everywhere he goes vs negative effects on his employment at a company not involved in a strike. So perhaps Allegiant guys striking would cause guys at other companies in otherwise "happy situations" to be at risk of losing their job for refusing to fly a struck trip. It would really suck for Allegiant pilots to win their strike, but guys elsewhere lose out in some sort of collateral damage situation.

I just don't know who they could get to do it. Union carriers obviously wouldn't, and even non-Union carriers like Skywest (where I work) will not force crews to fly struck work.