Whatever Happened to Alaska Airlines?

Great Eassy John! I recall a trip to hawaii just after Delta finished buying Western (the DC-10 was just repainted in Delta’s colors). When we landed in Maui, the flight attendent thanks us for flying Western Airlines. Everyone cheered, and then she quickly got on and corrected herself to Delta Airlines. “Long live Western” was they cry, but alas it didn’t…. Southwest is the closest to PSA that I’ve ever run into since, but even their “LUV” isn’t the same as that smile.

I was just commenting yesterday about how Southwest might have the best meals in the industry (at least domestically) these days with their Oreo cookies snack packs. The days of eating venison on Alaska flights from LAX to ANC are long gone and that is just too bad.

Most of the smaller airline operations got bought up by the larger carriers, were reorganized as subsidiaries and then ruined or busted apart by executives. The airline business is a shitty business. It was great when there were smaller carriers, World War Two guys operating things and everybody was making money. The finance and stock people took it over and turned it into giant bust out game. See the movie Wall Street for the details. It’s about the same as the bust out games that killed all the savings & loans. I guess the auto industry is next in line.

Well put.

My “Yes, and…” is here.

Doc

Well put John. You will some day learn not to take life too seriously. “Row-row-row our boats, gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.”.

I loved their parody ads – “SkyHigh Air”.

The finance and stock people took it over and turned it into giant bust out game

And of course, union greed and intransigence has nothing to do with it.

American Airlines has a history of gobbling up regional carriers on the West Coast. First it was Air California, then plucky little Reno Air. In the case of Air Cal, it was suposedly acquired for its landing slots at Orange County. American then acquired Reno Air for its slots in San Jose, yet American still has relatively few West Coast flights.

Reno Air competed well with both Alaska and Southwest and managed have offers like earning one free round trip ticket for every four flown and serving Gordon Biersch microbrews in both the coach and first class cabins.

I agree with your insights. I’ve blogged twice about this!

http://www.comeflywithus.com has great images of flight attendants and facts from aviation’s wonder days, excerpted from the book Come Fly With Us! A Global History of the Airline Hostess. I co-wrote the book and Alaska released great images from their archives.

On Sat., Oct.29,05, I flew Alaska Flight #28 from Seattle/Tacoma to Chicago O’Hare. I have nothing but good things to say about the flight. It left on time. It arrived as scheduled. The seats were comfortable. The meal was the best that I have had on an airplane in years. (It was actually hot) The cabin crew was very pleasant and helpful. The cockpit crew pointed out various landmarks on the ground as we passed overhead. I would not hesitate to fly on Alaska Airlines again anytime in the future. I might add that this was my first experience with Alaska Airlines so I have no previous flights to compare it to. David Conrad, Upton, MA

I really enjoyed this essay. Right on about Delta screwing up its western operations (formally Western Airlines). Sadly, Leo Mullin made it even worse. I’ll never forget my first flight on Delta back in 1987 from Salt Lake City to Phoenix. 3 days after the merger with Western, cold chicken and pecan pie was served on the flight. What happened to the warm eggs and orange juice? Those were the days… Jetblue, Southwest can’t compare to Western, Air Cal and PSA.

When writing an editiorial you should check your facts. Too many mis represented items that you say are facts to point out. Airlines have had a tuugh go the pas 10 years. From 9/11 to a war that has directly effected fuel prices. As a business you do what you have to do to stay afloat. Meals are at the bottom of the list as a priority. Safety is number one. Alaska’s employees are part to blame for being replaced. Times change and concessions need to be made company wide.
By the way, if you think the MD-80 are a quite ride your nuts. That plane is one of the worst in the air. A great reason why Alaska is retiring the fleet in coming years…

Added post here about the MD-80………..I disagree with Mr. Mott, I also have ridden the MD-80 alot………I find that any rear engine airplane is VERY quiet IF you are not riding in the back where the engines are, if you are riding mid-coach toward and including first class……it is as quiet as a mouse peeing on a piece of cotton if you ask me. The aging B-727’s are also a quiet and smooth ride IF you are not in the back…….I have had extreemly smooth rides in both the MD-80 and the B-727 due to wing design and no engines on the wings to interrupt airflow, but I also have had rough rides in both if in CAT…..(clear air turbulence)

I finally understand the problem now. In January, I redeemed my miles for a first class flight to Europe. Flew out on Lufthansa and back on United. Lufthansa was an amazing experience. The food and service were incredible. They made us feel very special to be flying with them. United was just business class with better alcohol and a larger seat. Hardly worth the extra money.

I worked for Rolling Stone (in SF) in the early 70’s and certainly remember those PSA foxy “stewardi” and those steaks and other great meals on ALASKA AIRLINES (in coach!) ..A few years ago I had to take a ALASKA flight out of Mexico .. an hour or so into the trip I was basically tossed a Saran wrapped roll (stale) which had one paper thin slice of turkey (I think it was turkey) .. these idiots: bean counters, take over crapsters, save money on bad mechanical servicing managers and “take the fun and quality out-meisters” have invited in what they are getting: bad press, no profitability, and unhappy customers

I worked with one of the aviation law firms that defended Alaska Air in the Flight 261 crash and spent more than a year exmaining the jack screw failure and testing identical units in every imaginable condition.

The fact is that although the unit was not properly maintaned the entire jack screw unit with it’s hydraulic system was fatally flawed in design. It was proven that if a pilot kicked the rudder hard to one side during flight (as did Flight 261) the hydraulic fluid would back-pressure and actually deflect the rudder fully in the opposite position. It would then lock the rudder in that position until the pilot released the rudder pedals which *may* have allowed the fluid to equalize and restore control.

Imagine driving your car and suddenly having to turn to avoid a collision – you steer hard right but the vehicle goes hard left instead.
You’d never figure out the problem in time to avoid a wreck – much less in a large jet with vastly more complex systems and pitch, yaw and roll to handle as it quickly departs from any recoverable flight.

The fact of the poor maintenance and the greater issue of the supervisory refusal to comply with proper maintenance certainly did not help matters and ultimately cost Alaska more than they could recover from in my opinon – the jury was far more interested in this than cut-away models of the jack-screw and piles of incredibly boring test data. They rewarded accordingly and this was on top of already staggering legal costs over years of trial prep and defense.

This hit Alaska Air at a critical time when they were already struggling to compete and – in my opinion, lacked a clear strategy to do it.

I’m amazed they are still operating at all – but the fact is, as was and can be proven over and over, the jack screw reversal was not caused by lack of lubrication – rather by poor design of the hydraulic line placement in the valve assembly.

Oh yeah, Alaska Airlines. I remember flying the Seattle to Eugene route on many occasions in a Alaska/Horizon plane that held about 15 1/2 passengers. It was always full and usually ran about $423 round-trip for the 250 miles flight to Eugene. Why so expensive? (Of course, they were the only airline that flies non-stop on that route.) They did have free beer and wine and a nice bag of snack nuts.

I am proud to bring a youthful and spirited energy BACK to Alaska Airlines as a Flight Attendant this coming Spring.

Being that my mother has been a UAL Flight Attendant for the past 20 years and having to deal with 9/11; I think the majority of you are living in the past and do not realize that we are only human.

By the way I really enjoyed Devorak’s article as it was insightful for me to learn from past experiences. Most importantly I will do my personal best to change his opinion of Alaska Airlines and bring back that down-to-earth flying experience. Thank You!

Time to move forward and to forgive others!

Cheers,

Alli

Nice rant John. If I close my eyes I can almost see the hairs on the back of your neck standing as you type. And I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m in the consulting field so I travel all the time and I’ve noticed that airline service has just plummeted in the past few years.

Where do I begin….after a series of big-fish-eats-little-fish mergers in the airline industry we’re left with an oligopoly where all the major markets are conveniently sliced up. Denver = United, Atlanta = Delta, Dallas = American, and so on. The consumer was left with very little choice. In comes Southwest and prices of airline tickets drop like a stone across the board. The big legacy airlines figure the only way they can compete is to drop their prices too. But their inefficient business models don’t work and they all begin to lose money hand over fist. So they cut services in an attempt to stem the flow of losses. Then the cycle repeats – more cost cuts, lower customer satisfaction and eventual layoffs.

In my view, all of the domestic airlines suck but at least on Southwest they seem to be having some fun and that helps take your mind off your crummy “meal” and too-small seat. I love it when I’m sitting beside someone that hasn’t flown is, say, 5 or 10 years. Those are the people that are most astonished at how bad things have gotten. No movie, no meal, no bin space….welcome aboard!

If you ever want to see how real air travel ought to be then save up your points and fly business class in Singapore Airlines, or British Airways, or Virgin. Man, that’s service! On Singapore Airlines, not only were the flight attendants pleasant and attentive but every single one of them was drop dead gorgeous. Every single one without exception. If they ever manage to get the SFO to NYC route I’m there in a heartbeat!

Steve

You said it long live PSA and Air Cal…

If anyone is still reading this I can tell you exactly why Alaska Airlines went from first to worst. I was an employee of Alaska Airlines when we were first. It was about 4 years ago i beleive when then CEO John Kelley retired. When he retired Alaska was one of the most profitable airlines in the U.S.A. also they were ranked #1 in customer service, #1 in on time flights and departures, and #1 in the fewest mishandled bags.
You may think the least important part of an airline is those scraggly guys on the tarmac throwing bags around. You may think they are all idiots and lazy and rough with your bags. But they have a lot to do with customer service, on-time departures, and mishandled bags. New CEO of Alaska airlines Bill Ayer seemed to forget that, because he decided that it would be a great plan if in 2005 (only two months before this article noticed the decline of this once great airline) they would lay off hte more than 400+ baggage handlers at their hub in Seattle, and contract out the jobs to the lowest bidder. They saved quite a bit in wagers and benefits i’m told…. but what was the real cost?
How is their mishandled bag ratio? How is their on-time departure percentage? how is their customer satisfaction?
I am not bitter, (though I may seem it) i am just one who beleives that you can’t cut corners and come out on top, Alaska was built on treating employees and customers right, not on the biggest profit margin, you can’t remove a foundation without ruining the entire thing. Thank Bill Ayer and now Alaska is just another airline competing for the cheapest flight you have to endure, not a travel option you might enjoy

If you flew with the company I keep, you would know the MD80’s engines are anything but quiet and yes they are still in the fleet. However I do agree with the 1st to worst. Relax a little more, I think you don’t spend enough time at your summer home (PA),Come on get some r&r… C-Ya!

It is obvious that the frantic mergers of the mid-1980’s did not deliver anticipated synergies and coincided with great decline in customer service and quality of employment at the majors. It should be also noted that PSA was loosing money at the time it was acquired by USAir, specificaly it lost $3,000,000 in 1986.
Great service, fun or food were the points on which airlines competed (inter-state) prior to the 1978 deregulation. After the deregulation, market was dictated by price. Companies that were shackled by the old structures, union contracts equipment or misguided expansion efforts are either gone or strugle. After 1978 Pan Am, as great as they were, did not make money until their demise in 1991. United union mx worker who lost his job in 2001, put it to me this way. “It was great job, but to be fair, we had people who were paid over $30 an hour and they could and did read entire newspaper while on clock day after day.”
I am not sure if foreign companies would fair better in the North American market. Singapore Airlines is an exception in customer service, but they serve one exceptionaly succesfull and well positioned city and are owned by that city. The brand has been carefully reared since its inception with focus on consistency, brand and business model loyality, long term focus and financial security of both the city and airline. This approach works weather you are state owned high-cost international or low-cost privately owned domestic carrier as both SIA and SWA showed us.

I’ve always been an Alaska fan, since the days of the late lamented Oakland-Long Beach run where they actually gave you food. I’ve been in their mileage program for quite a while. Over Christmas I had the most appalling travel experience in my life with them, a veritable cornucopia of ineptitude, bad faith and beyond, and I’m still reeling, as much from my sense of betrayal that Alaska would pull this stuff as from sheer outrage at the bad treatment.

From the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB’s) Aircraft Accident Report: Loss of Control and Impact with Pacific Ocean, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, McDonnell Douglas MD-83, N963AS, about 2.7 Miles North of Anacapa Island, California, January 31, 2000, page 180:

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was a loss of airplane pitch control resulting from the in-flight failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew assembly’s acme nut threads. The thread failure was caused by excessive wear resulting from Alaska Airlines’ insufficient lubrication of the jackscrew assembly.

“Contributing to the accident were Alaska Airlines’ extended lubrication interval and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) approval of that extension, which increased the likelihood that a missed or inadequate lubrication would result in excessive wear of the acme nut threads, and Alaska Airlines’ extended end play check interval and the FAA’s approval of that extension, which allowed the excessive wear of the acme nut threads to progress to failure without the opportunity for detection. Also contributing to the accident was the absence on the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 of a fail-safe mechanism to prevent the catastrophic effects of total acme nut thread loss.”

I don’t fly a whole helluva lot. Maybe a few times a year. Last time I flew was down to Panama and back, and it was rough. Amerian Airlines sure stands up to their name — they exemplify the worst of our country, and treat their passengers like we treat the rest of the world. Wonderful. Then, the airline we flew in Panama actually did use flying school buses. That was a shock.

In comparison, when I fly from SFO to Portland, I fly Alaska, but generally try to get the Horizon-operated flights. They still have 6″ more legroom than Southwest, you can get assigned seating (for somebody who likes to show up on time, that is, at the last minute, but enjoys sitting by the window in a nice part of the plane away from the engines, this is a reason not to fly Southwest), and they serve free NW beer and wine, plus organic snacks such as chips and salsa. What more could you ask?

Though, honestly, if two or more people are going, it’s still cheaper to drive for the SFO-Portland run. Gasoline is about $105 roundtrip, diesel $130. Airfare is $145, which means $280 for two. If you’re got the time, and a mercedes, then it’s worth it to drive…

…I can’t wait until we get some high speed rail in this country, and become a proper civilized nation. I do believe that Mexico will have a national high speed rail system before we do, at this rate.

I still feel the sting of loss of PSA…Poor Sailor’s Airline…..what a great adventure as a young “service” man…!!!!!

This goes back a while but Alaska Airlines was originally called Alaska Star Airlines with a mini-fleet of WWII surplus Catalina flying boats as short haul commuters to areas with limited or no surface landing capability.
Later, with Charlie Willis as CEO, it was super and greatly expanded enroute service and fun with real pro guys up front at the controls. Ah for the Good Old Days!

Who are the actors that play Louis (Lewis) and Clark on the Alaska, or Horizon, Air radio commercials? Thanks!
Bill

Wow….what a great recollection of what has transpired here on the West Coast since the late 1980’s. I am a former Western Airlines Employee, and it is unfortunate that after our merger with Delta, Ron Allen (then acting CEO) decided that the planes could make more money flying in/out of Atlanta and the East Coast. Gradually, over a period of time we stopped flying LA-YVR/SEA/PDX/SJC/RNO/LAS/GEG/YEG/YYC/ACA/ZIH/PVR/MZT/ABQ/OKC…not to mention SEA-ANC/JNU/FAI/SFO. Even a muddled attempt of flying hourly service between LA-SFO was eventually dropped….but then again, Ronny baby had his eyes on buying PA’s European network….

Jerry Grinstein, who was CEO of Western, and now CEO of Delta, after Mullen was replaced even stated, “Delta did not know how to market itself on the West Coast, as Western did”. Luckily, and I think thanks to Mr. Grinstein, Delta is re-building the former Western routes out of Los Angeles…new flights to SEA/PDX/SMF/OAK/SFO/LAS/DEN/PHX/ACA/ZIH/ZLO/GDL/PVR/MZT. When the merger with Delta was announced, Mr. Grinstein stated that “Western was too large to be small and too small to be large”. We use to laugh that United had more flight attendants than Western had employees…..the verdict is still out as to whether de-regulation was a good thing. The smaller companies didn’t have a chance with smaller fleets….along as you say, very poor management style.

I started my career as a “host’ with Braniff International. At Braniff we were never called flight attendants, but “hosts’ or “hostesses”, as the feeling was, our passengers were a guest in our home, and were to be treated that way. We were ONE CLASSY airline. Harding Lawrence was ahead of his time–he knew that for Braniff International to survive, it would have to be bigger, unfortunately, over expansion, 2.00 airfares, along with a PATCO strike, and rising fuel costs, were against him.

I liked your comments about American. They gobbled up TWA to kill of competition, and there are hardly any flights into/out of St. Louis. The way they treated former TWA employees, as second class citizens, and then laying them all off, was pretty nasty, and in my opinion, unethical. That is one airline I will not step foot on.

Now Alaska is in the business of racial profiling and discrimination (or at least one of its flight attendants is!). I was kicked off one of their planes on Thursday for asking the girl in front of me to put her seat back up during take-off (she had reclined it AFTER the message to put them upright was made). I am a frequent flier with them, my great-grandmother would only travel to places they flew. But now…well, I thought they were the best of the worst (after hearing a United attendant tell a woman, “a cup of ice…you do realize you’re no longer in the golder era of air travel,” and getting bumped three times in three flights), but now I see they’ve sunk to the level of all the others.

Great story and nobody bitches better than you did here. Service has been dead in all sectors of the US economy for 30+ years, why do you think airlines would be any different?

What route would PSA be flying an L1011 btw? HI? The best airliner ever built imo. Those gorgeous Rolls Royce engines and you think a crappy MD-80 is quite?

We in the Midwest had our Ozark, Republic, Southern, Piedmont….All great…

United has always been a cattle car ops. Their 90’s Warsaw Pact livery and that of USAIR were horrible. United always a horrible airline and I’m from Chicago.

Fly First or Bus Class to Europe, Asia or South America and ALL airlines do well…not just Singapore.

You get what you pay for now. Surly fat Attendants in what your $39 bucks buys you today.

YOU ALL GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!! IF THE FLYING PUBLIC WASN’T SO DAMN CHEAP, THE SERVICE WOULD BE A HELL OF A LOT BETTER!!! BELIEVE ME, WE’RE EMBARASSED TO SERVE THOSE EMPTY LITTLE SNACK PACKS. STOP SUPPORTING LOW-COST CARRIERS LIKE SOUTHWEST AND JETBLUE, THEN MAYBE YOU’LL SEE THE RETURN OF FIRST CLASS SERVICE!! UNTIL THEN, DON’T EXPECT ANYTHING BUT A SEAT AND IF YOU’RE LUCKY A LITTLE SOMETHING TO DRINK!

“They did so buy buying”

oops. “by buying”

Know about symptoms and treatments for back pain and get instant back pain relief.

Well, this thread got resurected.

Alaska Airlines is still flying, and still seems to be run by it’s competition. Short sighted idiotic decisions still plague the customers, both passengers and freight. They are ripe to lose out to any company that wants to take their routes from them.

Yea let’s bring on those gas sucking MD 80’s so we can really screw up the planet. You really like the flying whore-houses that Virgin has? How about Southwest Jethro, hear a little Deliverance tune? I don’t think anyone can find an airline that will suit all standards. Alaska doesn’t have have flights to all the points in they do in Alaska. Half of us would be screwed without them. You can have Virgin.

Trina, do you work at Fantasy Airlines?

The flights I take, the stewards and stewardesses are pr&cks and c&nts.

And then you have to pay for the blankies and a glass of water.

John,
You’re right on the money but it all comes down to knowledgeable and Smart management, who can really get the best out of crews that usually are in this line of work by sheer passion and dreams.

Unfortunately this industry has become so incredubly complex that there is not a single right answer on how to build and successfully run a service oriented profitable airline.

I live in West Africa now but I worked for US airlines for 11 years, so i see that mostly everybody has somehow his point in this thread

Meanwhile Cheer up with this one who has some Gems in it , I am pretty sure you will find yourself just at home :

http://toolkit.bootsnall.com/transportation-travel-guide/air-travel-guide/ask-the-pilot-collection/general-maintenance/airline-announcements.html

PS Off Topic , you were right (one more time ?) on the paperless magazines issues. I susbscribed to both and i will sorely miss the pcmag paper edition; In fact i’m getting a new subscription for the competing paper since there’s nothing left (or is it ?)

Dominique, Abidjan ,Côte d’Ivoire