Iv: Alpa –a New Genesis ---“a Stephen King Thril

[Traveler]

IV: ALPA –A New Genesis ---“A Stephen King Thrillerâ€---

There are many variables to consider, but if we could oversimplify the makeup of the entire airline industry, you might say, on the one hand, there is: --The Market Place; The Customer base; and The Demand for air travel. And then on the other hand, continuing with the simplified model, we have: --The tools and facilities used to service that market place, that customer base and that demand for air travel.
The various Communities (Markets) have people who wish to travel, perhaps, for reasons of business or pleasure. And to satisfy that demand, there are these Airports which have Hangars, Airplanes, Gates, Tugs and other assorted tools and facilities.

So now---The wickedly bizarre world of a Stephen King Thriller. A World where an Airline arrests operations, and all these Markets and People vanish? All the Hangars, Airplanes, Gates, Tugs and other assorted tools and facilities disappear? Concourses are vacated forever as demand for air travel ceases to exist in, once, flourishing Regional and National markets of Air Commerce.

Is this a page from Mr King’s Thriller, --“Four Past Midnightâ€. A short story where an Airline slips through a rift in space and time. Travelers mysteriously vanish. Airports and terminals come to a standstill. While,... Off in the distance... We listen... It’s the approach!!... The approach of those malevolent creatures from Hell, inspired by Stevey’s nightmarish imagination!... Langoliers!!... Creatures, Mincingly devouring every remaining remnant of Airline breath and life.
No!??... Not buying the concept?

Do You mean to say the Markets still exist? Demand for air travel still exist? Incredibly, as it remains, are you to believe that Travelers will demand and enjoy the same commercial business and leisure trekking, as they had before Management started the Airline’s descent into the great abyss? Are you saying that the tools used to meet the demand still exist? The Hangars, the Airplanes, the Gates, Tugs and all the other assorted tools and facilities---still exist and will again actively sustain the same demand for Air-Travel?

Well then... It really is a Stewardship, isn’t it? Management only borrows all these Earthly essentials, as well as, the abstracts of Market Share, Goodwill and Brand Loyalty, in the business of running a successful enterprise.
Management doesn’t own the Market, the Equipment or the Employees. Executives and Managers, you might say, are just Transients, trying to make a neat fortune, as temporary custodians of such rudiments of Air Commerce. Win or lose, they shrug their shoulders and move on to the next custodial Stewardship, to try again, in this or other industries.

Must be nice to be untethered and free. Surviving any consequence with comfort and grace. Immune to a fate’s harsh reality of voracious Langoliers, brutally visited upon these competitively-challenged Execs.

 

[WestCoastGuy]

HUH??? :blink: What the hell's this all about?

 

[Traveler]

V: ALPA -A New Genesis

---“Consolidation is not an optionâ€---

The Executive, as a professional courtesy, possesses a natural immunity to the Langolier. But those who once toiled within the bowels of hangers and Concourses,--What is the ultimate fate of these Airline Employees? Is (S)He also immune? Did these dedicated Airline workers survive as the Hangars and Concourses have survived the ravages of poor Management? Or have the rapacious Langoliers devoured the employees of this failing or failed carrier?

In the eyes of the Executive, --The Airline Employee is not immune to Stephen’s Langoliers.

Here are the Sage words of a Celebrated Airline Executive: “Consolidation is not an optionâ€, Crandall said. “It’s cheaper and more efficient to allow a competitor to fail and buy the assets afterward.â€

No... There are no lateral moves across Corporate boarders for the lowly Airline Employee. Indeed... The Executives and Assets survive. But... The employee is feast for the Langolier! (S)He’s vanished in the rift of time and space. Their voice is hardly the wisp of a spirit departed. ---Shouts of protest without sound or substance to the notice of Elected Politicians or Corporate entities.

 

[Dog Wonder]

Shouts of protest may not work, but action will.

 

[Traveler]

A New Genesis for ALPA-VI:

“Tentacles of joblessness, economic distress and failure reach out and strangle surrounding communitiesâ€

If the Airline Employee is to remain sanely rooted in reality. If the Langoliers haven’t devoured these employees. Then where do these employees go? Are they tethered or untethered? If the employees are tethered to something, then what are they tethered to?

How about Market Share? Are the employees occupationally tethered to Market Share? Do the employees stay after Management leaves? We’ve already decided that all the Passengers in the Market are still there. That’s the product in this industry, isn’t it? After Airlines fail, there remains a demand for both the Leisure and Business Traveler. These enduring customers will have their travel requirements satisfied regardless of who serves their market. So let’s look at Market Share.

No matter how you divide it up, the total Market share is 100%. Total Market share was 100% before a particular Airline comes into a market. And total Market share remains a 100% when a particular airline leaves a Market. Total Market share of a Region is 100%. Total Market share of the Nation is 100%. The Total International Market share is also 100%.

It stands to reason then, that in any particular Region, this Total Market Share is divided up amongst various Airline Tenants of that Market. One Airline might have 50% of the Market, while the others might have 20%, 15%, 10% and 5% respectively. Altogether, this obviously adds up to 100%.

Statistics on Market Share can vary month to month or year to year. From local Airports to Regional Markets to National Markets to International Markets. One could probably find out what the “See-Saw†Market Share is at any point in time. You see, --there are public and private industry entities, which regularly keep track of such things as --Market Share. So we might agree. One can easily track market share, as well as the migration patterns of customers with respect to this market share. It’s unfortunate that employees can’t tether themselves to the migration patters of customers rather than the fates of failed Airline Stewardships.

Employees tethering themselves to plant and equipment. Tethering themselves to Airport Facilities. To the various Airline resources, tools and equipment. Secured to the Airplanes, the Gates, Tugs and all the other assorted tools and facilities still existing and being used after the slow demise of failed Executive Stewardships.

Let the competitive battles, as well as the fatalities, be strictly among the Nation’s few Airline Executives while the vast multitude of the Nation’s Airline Employees, for the most part, remain intact and unscathed. Imagine the Cost efficiencies. Consider the savings in Training and Indoctrination Expenses. The transitional ease of a Federally licensed, rated and qualified, specialized workforce, readily integrated under new corporate governance. It’s a turn-key operation for those who whish to pick up the voided Market Share generated by progressively failing or wholly failed Managements.

More than just the turn-key, cost savings, to the acquiring Steward of the business or Market Share; Consider some other benefits and savings. Look at the local and national economies dependent on the gainful employment and spending patterns of thousands of Airline Workers. Think of the savings for all those overtaxed social programs, which ordinarily must absorb the short and long term economic burden of the thousands of unemployed.

Just think about it. The Airlines need to save Money. Passengers want cheap fares. Conquering Airline Leaderships, assume control, with exceptional abilities and a talent for operating Airlines more efficiently. --These New Leaders deservedly take possession of both the voided market share and the associated tools of the trade. Creditors are thrilled to parcel their residual equity stake and debt instruments amongst the industry’s top-notch Airline Stewards.

And those local economies. With smooth employment transitions from one failed Stewardship to Another; Local Economies won’t fear, their delicate economic equilibrium being upset in the Real Estate and Retail sectors. Small businesses won’t close their doors because of bigger businesses being run-down or shut-down by unimaginative Airline Leadership, --as tentacles of joblessness, economic distress and failure reach out and strangle surrounding communities . Small time, local Commercial Creditors and Venders won’t have to worry about bad debts or economic distress due to a rash of disenfranchised Airline Employee personal bankruptcies.

And the benefit to local, state and federal social programs. Imagine, if you will, the only people collecting unemployment insurance and foodstamps are the Airline’s Executives and Managers --The vanquished stewards of a failed leadership. That’ll take allot of pressure off the taxpayers and the already stressed State and Federal economic social assistance programs. Social Programs can more adequately tolerate the social economic burden of a few Executives vs. the customary thousands of disenfranchised Airline Employees.

 

[PITbull]

"No... There are no lateral moves across Corporate boarders for the lowly Airline Employee. Indeed... The Executives and Assets survive. But... The employee is feast for the Langolier! (S)He’s vanished in the rift of time and space. Their voice is hardly the wisp of a spirit departed. ---Shouts of protest without sound or substance to the notice of Elected Politicians or Corporate entities".


If I am understanding your point....then response is this:

Total market share is 100%, then as certain airlines "cease to exist", new airlines will erupt to goble up lost markets, AND THOSE EMPLOYEES WHO WISH TO BE EMPLOYED IN AVIATION WILL SEEK THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

Crendall may think it better for airlines to fail and others to then gobble up assets, but that only means growth for the airlines that enter those markets and you need more people to absorb the added growth. (100% market share intact).

Just as passengers who demand air travel, employees are still in that equation, with shifted loyalty.

Langoliers will not devour the the airline employees. They are the Langoliers.

Imagine that...if you will.

 

[Traveler]

A New Genesis for ALPA-VII:

--- “Thousands of Men and Women would be better served by clearly accepting one premiseâ€---

On a proportionate basis, its unfortunate that, dedicated professionals, can’t seamlessly, continue to serve the same customer base once served before. Employees are indifferent to the Stewardship of Management. Let them come – Let them go. It would be most appropriate that the Communities, the Industry, the Nation, and the fates of Thousands of Men and Women would be better served by clearly accepting one premise, --Executives are completely responsible for the success or failure of any given commercial enterprise.

They and they alone bear the ultimate responsibility of leading an institution to success and prosperity while providing a beneficial service to loyal patrons of the communities they serve. Certainly there are those who deservedly accept the acclaim and the reward for such success. Then of course there are the rest who merely accept the reward in spite of a failed stewardship.

Executives of failed Corporations consistently make seamless transitions in life, leaving with their measure of the wealth extracted from the investors, employees and taxpayers. Often enough, in the Airline Industry, this wealth did not come from the profit and prosperity of leading a successful enterprise. This wealth has been mined from the sacrifices of employees, investors, communities, customers and taxpayers. In contrast, those who have provided service to these communities and have had the least control over institutional success or failure, have become the most devastated. Additionally, the communities served, as well as the taxpayer, on a national scale, must continue to bear the ongoing burden in the form of personal bankruptcies, foreclosures, collateral failure of community support, services and small business enterprises, as well as the ongoing stress and strain on State and Federal social assistance programs.

The Airline Industry is often described by knowledgeable industry observers in the National Community, more appropriately, as a Utility rather than a Business. The nature of its services and its product are essential to the Nation’s Transportation Infrastructure and is a vital resource for our National and International Economy. Further, The Industry’s security is, --a vital issue of National Security.

Let’s be realistic though. There’s such a thing as economies of scale. That’s what usually happens to big companies when they swallow other companies of lesser stature. The combined operation requires fewer workers and assets when duplication and redundancy is figured in. If we can absorb merely 80% of the workforce and assets in a combined operation, ---the devastating effects of Airline failure would still be beneficially attenuated. The surviving entity, of course, will no doubt become more efficient and more productive. The community will naturally be better served by a stronger Airline with more resources and greater diversification of destinations and services. The lower costs of reduced redundancy and reduced waste from duplication will allow for the ability to compete with lower fares.

 

[Traveler]

If I am understanding your point....then response is this:

Total market share is 100%, then as certain airlines "cease to exist", new airlines will erupt to goble up lost markets, AND THOSE EMPLOYEES WHO WISH TO BE EMPLOYED IN AVIATION WILL SEEK THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

Crendall may think it better for airlines to fail and others to then gobble up assets, but that only means growth for the airlines that enter those markets and you need more people to absorb the added growth. (100% market share intact).

Just as passengers who demand air travel, employees are still in that equation, with shifted loyalty.

Langoliers will not devour the the airline employees. They are the Langoliers.

Imagine that...if you will.

[post="202770"][/post]​

“

You’ve nailed it. ...most insightful.

The point of all this is that we have become trapped by the archaic paradigm of how we compete with Management for the value of our services. Management has evolved since deregulation while the Professional Associations representing each labor group have stagnated, --still set in the age of Airline Regulation.

Look at the clever ways Management has evolved with respect to redefining the value of labor. They’ve broadly got us fighting one-another instead of (us) tapping the strength of our unity and resolve. ---Not just talking about the small, autonomously isolated branches of National Associations but also the Unity and Cooperative nature of Labor groups across Corporate boarders on a more National Scale.

The point about Lateral Mobility... Management has it---Associations’ Members don’t. Therefore, Management justifies for themselves---for the Executive, the Manager and the Corporate Administrator---the necessary incentive of Compensation and Benefits to keep their corporate group on the property. Why? Because the can easily make the lateral move, across Corporate Boarders with no loss to quality of live.

Airline Employees, on the other hand are trapped within the system designed by architects of an ancient era of Regulation. Consider, “if you willâ€, the rest of America’s workforce. It’s difficult to find any trade of a specialized nature which doesn’t have this lateral mobility. Many in the services industries, trades with highly specialized skills, advanced technical training and etc.---are recognized for the value of their knowledge, skill or experience they bring to the Corporation. Their value is recognized and maintained as they make the lateral move within their industry or across industry boarders.

Within our specialized professions, however, we created our own set of rules as it pertains to lateral mobility. We’ve imposed these rules upon ourselves. Our Archaic Association Structures play into the strengths of Management. Their bottom line is; “If you don’t like our offer, go somewhere elseâ€---“What better way to find a new job than when you’ve already got one... so just sign the dammed contract –OK!!!â€

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear this? ...You get a mental flash of a careers worth of training, skill and experience being worth squat in a lateral move. You’re going to start over as a new “first-graderâ€. This professional restriction wasn’t imposed by Managements over the years. It was the resolve of our own national trade associations. Management knows the crippling limitations of our professional alternatives. They value our skills accordingly. They’ve evolved---We haven’t.

Not saying we abandon the structure of our National Associations. But... It’s time for some evolutionary changes which would ultimately benefit Members of these Associations Nation Wide.

Thanks for responding to the Essay (rant –or whatever).

 

[PITbull]

Traveler,

Just as in "nature"...when there is imbalance in our universe and appears off kilter...there is that "response" that brings it back to an equalibrium state. Call it God, or mysticism, or scientific process...the strive for a continued "balance" does occur.

Where there is a "ying"; there is the "yang".... and so be it with humanity....

"Where there is evil, there is goodness. Where there is victimization; there is justice. Where there is wrongfulness; there is righteousness.

"Balance" applies to the airline business too. It appears "off kilter" for now...but watch how this happens..."THE YANG" is coming.

Your writings are always so intriguing (never a rant) and only forces one to ponder...