Delta reports record profit for Q4

[metopower]

There are many types of leaders.... Crandall was a builder who succeeded because he had a strong foundation on which to build. It is doubtful that his skill set would work for where AA is now.
AA needs a very special kind of leader. I don't know who it would be but AA's problems run very deep and have existed for a very long time.
My heart breaks as bad as yours when we watch a legend like AA slowly implode - but the airline industry is littered with examples of companies that were unable to recognize and correct their problems.
We will simply have to watch what plays out over the next several months but there is no doubt this will go down as a brutal year for the global airline industry and the US industry will not be exempt.

Might I suggest Ron Allen or Leo Mullen with help from Michele Burns......all this in levity for sure. Wouldn't wish them on my enemies.

 

[WorldTraveler]

Might I suggest Ron Allen or Leo Mullen with help from Michele Burns......all this in levity for sure. Wouldn't wish them on my enemies.

I don't think too many people would disagree with you.... but the simple fact is that no execs can overcome the basic laws of economics that are sweeping thru the industry including that high cost, inefficient producers cannot survive against more nimble competitors.
The fact that Crandall's answer seems to be to reregulate the industry shows that he has as few answers to turn around AA as anyone.

 

[tom barry]

I don't think too many people would disagree with you.... but the simple fact is that no execs can overcome the basic laws of economics that are sweeping thru the industry including that high cost, inefficient producers cannot survive against more nimble competitors.
The fact that Crandall's answer seems to be to reregulate the industry shows that he has as few answers to turn around AA as anyone.

The Following IS hypothetical I realize,........But Fact #:

1. There is NOT a current AA employee who doesn't know "what the score is going forward"

2. What IF the Shareholders, Unions,.........all employees...said to Crandall..."Do WHATEVER it Takes" !

IF that were to happen,

HE, like NO ONE else could turn AA around "on a dime".

That..WT...would be a "sight" to behold !

 

[WorldTraveler]

except that the AA forum is full of people who are NOT willing to give ANYONE the freedom to do whatever that needs to be done to turn AA around.... there have been multiple chances to give alot less than ANYTHING - and many AA people have not agreed to those requests.
.
It also doesn't change the fact that Crandall probably DOES NOT have the management gifts to turn around a company such as AA... there are various types of mgmt styles - Crandall built AA into what it is because AA had a strong foundation. AA's foundation is a lot weaker today and AA is in a far more fragile state relative to its peers than it was when Crandall went to work.
.
Further, mgmt science shows that there are people who have to do the cutting and restructuring - and they generally do not survive past that phase... and then there are people who step into rebuild.
Crandall COULD step in and rebuild AFTER cuts are made - but someone has got to do the dirty work of rebuilding the broken foundation in order for a new, stronger company to be rebuilt.
There is no avoiding the next phase of pain in which AA is in if there is any chance for them to return to anything close to what they were before...
and it is also worth noting that the process of restructuring and cutting will have to occur whether AA rebuilds as a standalone company or if it is acquired largely in whole by another airline. Only if AA is carved up in pieces will the cuts not need to be made - the dead wood will be thrown aside after the choice gems are picked out.