Like its brethren in the industry, Alaska Airlines has been caught up in the perfect storm hitting aviation at the moment - a dearth of workers with an abundance of travelers.
The solution? Senior Alaska Airlines executives, better suited to, well, a suit and tie, have begun taking shifts this month working baggage both outside on the tarmac and below ground in the vast network of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, according to the Seattle Times newspaper.
The daily reported that Alaska Airlines asked managers and back-office personnel to volunteer to help out over the July 4th holiday weekend and through August.
"There are gaps in some frontline areas, which are putting strains on the operation," read one memo from Brooke Vatheuer, Alaska's vice president of strategic performance at its Seattle hub, to employees. "The expectation is for management employees to sign up for five full shifts."
Last week, on what turned out to be the biggest day of airline traffic since the pandemic hit in March of 2020, the Times reported that Alaska Airlines senior vice president Andy Schneider, hoisted bags off the conveyor belts beneath the north satellite terminal on the 6:30 a.m. shift and stacked them on carts as high as she could.
"I'm about 5 foot 4 and not very beefy," she said, adding that it got harder as the rows of bags on the cart grew higher. "By the third row, I was struggling. But it was fun."
Schneider and her fellow management colleagues had to sign up for computer-based training that would take four to five hours, followed by on-the-job training during the first shift.
Those who do five shifts will qualify for passes to book free flights at any time. But that's not even enough incentive for some.
On the management sign-up sheet that's visible on the internet, the newspaper reported that as of late Wednesday night, July 7, the shift starting at 6:30 a.m. the next morning on Thursday still had nine out of 10 volunteer slots unfilled.
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