Shortly before the pilots’ contractual provision to trade vacation days was to begin, in a process known as open time vacation trading, Vice President of Flight Operations announced to the pilot-union leaders that he intended to remove available days from the open time availability—a step never taken in the past. Despite objections from ALPA (the union representing Alaska Airlines pilots) management moved forward with their plan. In this episode, host Strategic Communications Chairman Captain David Campbell discusses, among other topics, the Company’s changes with MEC Chairman Captain Will McQuillen and Negotiating Committee Chairman First Officer Chris Gruner.

Listeners may also be interested in reading the latest Chairman’s Message dated November 2, 2020 in which MEC Chairman McQuillen addresses this topic.