Alaska Airlines' Flight Disruptions To Persist Through June

SEATTLE — Alaska Airlines' rough patch will continue at least through the start of June, possibly longer.

Airline President & CEO Ben Minicucci posted an open letter to Alaska employees Thursday, explaining that the ongoing pilot shortage will continue through the end of May, but promising relief in early June, and a return to normal operations by August.

Alaska's pilot shortage began in April, with the airline short 63 pilots necessary to fly its full schedule. The shortage has forced the airline to cancel roughly 50 flights a day, about four percent of its total operations, Minicucci said, and because flights are already full, many passengers have been unable to rebook their flights or have faced "extraordinarily long hold times" trying to find help.

"Since April, we have canceled too many flights, disrupted too many plans, stretched our teams too far and haven’t taken care of you or our guests in the way we intend," Minicucci's letter opens. "Our operational challenges come down to not having enough pilots to fly our spring schedule. There are no excuses. The leadership team and I take responsibility and we’re executing a plan to get this right and ensure it doesn’t happen again."

The airline claims the pilot shortage is due to training delays, though a protest from the Air Line Pilots Association also interrupted several flights in early April.

Starting in June, the airline says an additional 114 pilots will be joining the lineup, allowing them to reduce pilot hours back to April's levels. Alaska will also graduate a new class of flight attendants, allowing for greater flexibility and better schedules. By July, Minicucci says the airline should be "back to flying a reliable and well-staffed operation" with the addition of 50 more pilots, 400 flight attendants and 200 reservation agents.

But until then, the airline is thanking workers for weathering the storm.

"I hear every day from employees, friends, neighbors and guests about how disruptive this has been," Minicucci writes. "Just like all of you, I feel this deeply, and I am committed to getting this right. I’m grateful for each of you who are working so hard to take care of our guests and our operation through this incredibly tough situation. We have the knowledge, the people and the experience to get back on track to realize the bright future ahead of us."