Got to love management that loses money when fuel high and loses more when fuel is low.
I say we double their bonus award for superior skills.
They definitely got caught with their pants down around their ankles on this one. They tried to do the semi-right thing (albeit too late) and it ended up backfiring. Fuel was
never going to stay as high as it was and airlines, one of the largest consumers, should have known. What goes up, must come down - just like jets.
I have to say, it was a joy driving when gas was $4gal. The roads were relatively uncluttered and traffic was more at what the roads were designed for. Now that gas is back down under $2gal, people are out driving willy-nilly again.
Jet fuel was high and they added flights - gotta beat that competitor on those small station routes - can't let the little guy have squat! Now, jet fuel prices drop and the only way to save their precious executive suites is to park planes, slash capacity, and pull even more headcount out of an already struggling economy.
What they don't seem to be understanding is that when you're in a recession - and only at the front door of one, people don't have money for tickets. Flying is a luxury for most, a necessity for a few.
If the true purpose here is to strip the airline of all the copper, then walk away with laden pockets - then just give the unions what they want and get it over with. Labor will be happy for a short while and the perks-heavy executives can walk away blaming the unions for the complete and utter failure of a once great airline.
The suits can cry 'protect the investors' all they want but the truth is, they don't care about the stockholders, it's just an age-old battle cry. AMR stock hasn't paid a dividend in quite some time and I sincerely doubt it ever will again, at least, not in it's present form. AMR stock is nothing more than a day trader stock, not something you buy as a long term investment. I wonder how much of it is propping up pension funds.
If AMR wants to seriously save the airline, then close ORD. Consolidate operations into their southern hubs and the savings from thousands of de-icings a month alone would cover the bumps the unions want! Metaphorically speaking of course!
In a recession suffering economy, there is literally nowhere for labor to go. If you don't like the way the airline is run, go work somewhere else. I'm sure a part of that theory figures somewhere into the AA business model. AA is not only management heavy, they are seniority heavy as well. There are a lot of old timers that management has been unsuccessful at getting rid of. 20 years in seniority is at the low end now.
By early next summer, it won't be 3.1 billion. They'll be lucky to have point five billion and the creditors will be crying foul. -- let's hope I'm wrong on that one.
Everyone have a great weekend!
