WN expanding in DEN

[does this plane go to paris]

WN announced new nonstops between DEN and SAT, DEN and IND and an additional flight between DEN and LAS for a total of 8 roundtrips per day. Between F9 filing for BK and UA's stunning Q1 loss, who does it hurt more. Been thinking that it was very possible for CO and UA to merge but now am thinking why would CO rush into a merger. Why not let WN bleed either F9 out or inflict more pain on UA and get a lower stock loss? Interesting time's folks.

 

[scuba]

This act by WN proves that UA MGMT does not have their eye on the ball to ensure that they protect what is theirs. The pilots action in 2000 gave F9 status of being an airline. Now, when UA has the chance to squash a competitor what do they do, they allow WN to expand. If I were running things at UA, I wouldn't care about the loss, but I would assist WN in getting rid of F9 once and for all. Then I would concentrate on getting WN out of my hubs. You don't see WN in MSP, and likewise, you shouldn't see WN at DIA and they even left SFO for a while. IIRC WN even served DEN years ago, and ran away because they couldn't compete against UA. So what has changed? Oh that's right, nobody is thinking long term what damage WN will do to UA at DIA. UA MGMT is so obsessed with merging that they will stop nothing from that happening. So, the way I see it, until there is a change at UA, there might as well be a fire sale for UA to disband themselves to the highest bidder. The pilots won't support any type of merger and would rather be walking the streets as they proved in 2000. AFA, well lets just say that they could really care less. IAM? All they care about is the fat cats. And lets not forget IAM/AMFA/Teamsters....what do they really want? LCC is so messed up that any purchase of them is a complete waste of time, and CO backed out so I would say that now the posibility of life without UA is becoming a real reality.

Well, I guess all the golden eggs have been choked out of the goose and now it has all come home to roost with the very unions that have run the airline down the same tube of TWA. Isn't it ironic that AA might get the very thing that has kept UA flying high above them for years for pennies on the dollars?

Now, if I were in charge of UA this is what I would do.....right now without haste.

I would seek union support to put a stop to any more traffic encroachment by any low cost carrier. I would keep those planes flying and put the nail in the coffin of F9. I would then lock up the leases of the gates at DIA for 99 years, longer if possible. I would make it so nobody on Wacker made no more than 125% of the highest paid pilot. Those who don't want to work for that, well there is the door have a nice day, life whatever. I would then plow 50% of the profits back into expansion, fleet renewal. I would hire people who were hungry to make a difference in headquarters and would look at each opportunity as it presented itself. I would streamline the fleet with all American made products. I would either get Boeing to build a plane that was fuel effective for small markets, or I would support Bombardier in puttting a plant in the United States, thus supplying more jobs to American citizens. I would then, make it a point to take it straight to the American public how my company was seeking to help the economy and grow the economy and a purchase of a United Airlines ticket was actually a payment to an American worker. I would then insource all my reservations with reservaiton pods in low income spots around the country and get those Americans working at jobs other than Wal-Mart or McDonalds. I would tie my CSR's/RSSR's pay to minimum wage, therefore, since they are the lowest paid, they are not forgotten. As for the flight attendents, well they would have two choices, better pay with more work requirements, such as turn cleans, or same pay and I will hire cleaners to clean at each stop, which is a proven waste of money. Furthermore, ever been on a United Flight that is a through flight, those flight attendents are up and down the ailse requesting trash. On a terminating flight, well they don't care, it is somebody elses mess to clean up.

If needed I would move the headquarters away from Chicago for lower rent, better tax savings, but the one thing I would do is let about 50% of all management go in the company. Why? Well, when I left UA in 2005 we had more supervisors, SD's in our little line station than we had at any time prior in the companies history. Why on earth does a station with less than 10 mainline flights need two supervisors, a station manager and 14 SD's? Because of bloated poor management. Every single station would be visited by me personally in the first 100 days to prove it is a whole new day at United as we help the United States overcome the recession and most of all, we help our employees. Helping employees means more than providing a paycheck. It means giving them an incentive to work for the very best, which is what I would aim to make United Airlines. Simply the Best!

After the 50% reinvestment to our company, the next 10% would go to stockholders. I would require that each employee purchase 100 shares of stock by their 10th anniversary with company assistance, therefore they also would earn some of that 10%. 10% of the earnings would go back to community outreach goals, naming rights, etc. The remaining 30% would be split between all employees based upon earnings. While 30% doesn't seem like a lot, and when it is negative, obviously there would be nothing to give back, but 30% of what the company earned during ESOP would have amounted to over $2.67 billion dollars returned to the employees, (that almost offsets the $4.9Billion extracted from the employees durign ESOP.) Well, I bet if the average UA Employee during that time looked for that type of payout they wouldn't see it now would they? From 1995 to 1999 United earned a profit of $8.9Billion dollars. Wiped out because of lack of direction, leadership and greed from one union in particular. I bet if the pilots could take it back they would.

But let us look forward, instead of giving up on the goose, lets revive the goose and fly it higher than it has ever been. It would take a lot of hard work, managers, supervisors putting in more than 40hours a week, less SD's, less Supervisors, less directors, less Sr Mgmt. It would require a national advertising campaign to help the average American citizen realize when they fly on United, they help the United States. International would require a different approach. But Boeing and UA teamed up before, and I'm sure they could again to make UA a success, not just a success, but a huge success. But that is just my idea, and who am I?