SEA 737

As of March 2, 2009, there will cease to be a 737 Base in Seattle. Affected pilots (including this one) were officially notified today. We're down to about 15 Captains and 15 First Officers and only one departure and one arrival a day from Seattle. Sad. Right now we have guys having to go to TK for landings to stay current so I guess it's about time they shut it down.

Last one out turn out the lights!

SEA 737 for not much longer.....

fireman0174

Still have the 767 and 777 domicile in SEA?

JetPilotMike

Now they will sell the rest of the gates to Alaska and put out a press release stating how great it is they raised some additional "capital."

757Driver

Heard the same thing's going on at Termianl 6 in LA.

UAL is supposedly dumping the leases on those gates and returning them to CAL.

We're being told to look for a new LA base sometime next year.

RockyBoy

They have been saying that since 1999. Good luck on that.

757Driver

You're right but when Kellner shows up in LA, talks about it with the station manager and brings the director of airport services along for the ride, somethings up.

GuppyPuppy

I am so sorry that this is happening. When I was looking for my "final" job, United and Alaska were my top two choices. What I really wanted was a west coast domicile. Seattle was at the top of the list for me. I happened to get hired at United, but never heard a peep from Alaska. Good enough...United had all the same domiciles as Alaska at the time I was hired...ANC, SEA, LAX. Even though United just trailed Alaska in my tope two choices of carriers, I was happy to be there. Soon after I was hired, ANC shut down. Then I put my bid in for SEA. I figured I was about 6 months from holding SEA on September 11th. Then I found myself out on the streets less than a year-and-a-half later. I was still hoping to get back to United and eventually get a SEA domicile.

It is sad to me that when I got my "poop or get off the pot" recall notice at United that it didn't make sense to go back. What would I have gone back to? A friend of mine (UA pilot living near SEA, ORD based) told me that he thought UA would just attrition out the SEA domicile. It would shrink to a point where it would no longer be feasible to keep it open. Sort of like HNL. I know that SEA was one of the most sought after and senior domiciles in the United system (F/A's too). There were pilots with many years seniority at the company who chose to stay 737 F/O's on reserve in SEA who could have held 737 captain in ORD. Same with the F/A's. Twenty years seniority would get you a reserve line. That's where I wanted to be and United had that to offer me...at least for a little while. To me, Seattle and the PNW is the best place to live in the lower 48. While I'm not there yet (too far to commute to the east coast), I hope to be there one day.

I'm glad I didn't go back to United. While I'm not certain that I would have been furlouged for a second time, I would have been in the bottom 950 on the list who have been scheduled for furlough this round. We'll see if all 950 lose their jobs. I wound up not accepting my recall to United. Who would've thunk it??? The diminished chances of holding SEA was but one of the many reasons I didn't return to my "dream job" at United.

I hope that you and the other displaced pilots will some day make it back to SEA with United. Good luck and my condolences.

GP (former Shuttle pilot)

SEA 737

They do. Small group but still there. The base stays alive with the one Narita trip on the 777. They got rid of all the management (except for a single F/O who turns the lights on and off) and three ladies who still handle some admin stuff for us. Other than that, it's pretty well decimated.

SD

SEA 737

Well, it is what it is. I think you made a good choice in not coming back if you have something viable going. The guys getting ready to go through a second furlough are understandably bummed about it. I've been here 20 years and have seen it all, the good (few and far between), the bad ( rotten management all along) and the ugly ( between about 6 idiot CEOs, hateful management, and no business plan, it has been mostly ugly).

Actually this bump will help me. There have been no bids the last couple years so being able to get back to the 767 will help me financially even though I have to go to ORD to fly it. I flew it for three years as CAP before the 2002 bump to the guppy and the schedules and flying were very civilized.

For a long time they talked about "attritting" the 737 base here but I just don't think that was viable any more with only one departure a day.

So, we'll see what happens.

sd

WEACLRS

I've heard this too from several different directions. The "rumor" is to expect a small 737 LA base on the January bid.

I heard the UAL leases on the LAX facilities are not being dumped by UAL, but rather not being renewed by CAL. In other words, CAL wants the space back.

We'll see...