The Alaska Pilots Podcast

San Diego Base & Bid

This episode goes into details about the San Diego base, how it came to be, and the contractual language that is associated with vacancy and displacement bids. Joining the discussion is the Alaska Chair – Will McQuillen, Membership Chair – Tom Samson, and Membership Committee Member – Will Swoveland. Not only will you hear about contractual language and concepts that will help you decide how to bid, but the committee will also share news about a new seniority tool coming out soon to assist pilots in planning and prepare for such changes. 

 

Ala.Alpa.Org

AlaHal.Alpa.Org

ALA-HAL: State of the Merger After SOC

With Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines attaining Single Operating Certificate (SOC) status at the end of October, the two airlines are now a single carrier from the FAA’s perspective. To discuss how this marks an important transition for our pilot groups, Alaska MEC Chair Will McQuillen and Hawaiian MEC Chair Larry Payne sit down to offer their perspective on the state of the merger and what comes next with respect to our joint contract negotiations and the evolution of the airline. They also discuss recent hiring trends, route announcements, and important changes to our contract language that will come into effect later this year.

Ala.Alpa.Org

Alahal.Alpa.Org

Summer 2025 State of the Union

In this episode, Communication Chair Kyle Johnson sits down with MEC Chair Will McQuillen and Executive Admin Drew Coyle. This is a summer update highlighting important issues such as block in times, September ALV, hiring/growth, and jumpseat priority. Other merger related issues are also discussed; a brief negotiations update and a reiteration of the SLI process and timeline.

Alahal.alpa.org  

Ala.alpa.org 

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SFV hotline number: 833-303-5667 

ALA-HAL: Aircraft Orders, New Base, and JCBA

In this episode, our Alaska and Hawaiian MEC Chairs, Will McQuillen and Larry Payne, sat down to provide their thoughts on the recent announcements about the Seattle 787 base and the future aircraft orders. The discussion also touched on the status of JCBA negotiations and what pilots can expect moving forward. 

https://ala.alpa.org/

 

2025 Mid Year Update

In this episode, Communication Chair Kyle Johnson sits down with MEC Chair Will McQuillen, Executive Admin Drew Coyle, and Negotiating Committee Chair David Wilhelm. A mid-year State of the Union is the focus for this podcast. There are discussions about the latest Joint/MEC meeting that took place on May 19-21, which leads into topics including JCBA updates, Seniority List Integration processes, hiring and future outlooks. The Surf to Summit tour just launched, which is also talked about in this episode, highlighting the importance of unity as this merger moves forward. 

 

https://ala.alpa.org/

https://alahal.alpa.org/

 

ALA-HAL Merger Status Update (May 2025)

In this episode, our Alaska and Hawaiian MEC Chairs, Will McQuillen and Larry Payne, as well as our Joint Negotiating Committee Co-Chairs, David Wilhelm and Doug Grant, all sat down to provide an update on the status of our Alaska-Hawaiian merger and the state of our Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) negotiations. Through the episode, we covered several topics, including the union’s actions during the last six months to prepare for negotiations, the importance of unity, current perspective on negotiations, and what happens once a Tentative Agreement is reached. 

 

Alaska Hawaiian Joint Website

Joint MEC Meeting, Merger Update, and OTRPB

In this episode, Communications Chair Kyle Johnson sits down with MEC Chairman Will McQuillen, Executive Admin Drew Coyle, and Negotiation Chair David Wilhelm to discuss topics such as JCBA, SLI, and Company milestones. Also discussed, an overview of an agreement on premium pay reserve blocks (OTRPBs) and the timeline for their implementation.  

 

Alaska and Hawaiian Merger Website

OTRPB 

Merger Committee Update

 

 

Merger Update

In this episode, Host Strategic Communications Chair David Campbell discusses updates about the merger between Alaska Airlines and  Hawaiian Airlines with MEC Chair Will McQuillen, Vice Chair Garin Tentschert, Secretary Scott Rubin, and Treasurer Dan Richards. Also discussed are the issues revolving around the recent company standing bid and allocation of flying.

Merger Committee Update November 18, 2024 

MERGER FLIGHT PLAN

Alaska and Hawaiian Merger Site

Meet the Negotiating Committee Chairs of the Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines Pilots

With the merger transaction between Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines now final, the separate pilot groups from each carrier will continue the process of combining into one. A significant part of that includes negotiating a Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) under which the new combined pilot group will work. The Master Executive Councils (MECs) of each pilot group, as part of the Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA), have elected six pilots (three from each airline) to negotiate with Alaska Airlines on their behalf. This episode introduces the Negotiating Committee Chairs from each MEC—Alaska MEC Negotiating Chair David Wilhelm and Hawaiian MEC Negotiating Chair Doug Grant. The hosts, Alaska MEC Communications Chair David Campbell and Hawaiian MEC Communications Chair Mike Davis, discuss with Captains Wilhelm and Grant the process of negotiating a JCBA, the importance of working together as a new single unified pilot group, and what the pilots may expect in the next few months, including contract education and pilot input via survey and polling. 

ALA HAL JOINT MERGER WEBSITE

First Joint Alaska/Hawaiian MEC Episode

In this episode, Co-hosts Alaska Communications Chair David Campbell and Hawaiian Communications Chair Mike Davis interview Alaska MEC Chair Will McQuillen and Hawaiian MEC Chair Larry Payne. Captains McQuillen and Payne discuss the vision they share for the collective future of a combined pilot group and the critical importance of pilot unity, engagement, and feedback in upcoming contract negotiations. 

In addition to the episode’s audio content, please watch the video linked below to hear more from the two Union Chairs and other pilots from each carrier.  

VIDEO  

JOINT MEC WEBSITE