2014 Fleet Service Discussion

[roabilly]

AA has never done it's own catering on a large scale, however I think some small stations use to put ice on. AirCal and TWA both had commissary/provisioning before AA took them over, and AA eliminated that function very soon after. AA's thought was if they had to pay Skychef's to come out and put food on the flight they can put the soda, ice, etc...on as well. AA owned Skychefs for many years, so maybe AA got it on the real cheap.

Generally, contractors such as Skychefs charge astronomical fees called "Door fees". What this means is... for every service entry they pull a truck onto, the Airline is charged the fee just for them being at that door. Some Aircraft have three or four doors and galleys. The supplies are ADDITIONAL charges, and they are marked-up several hundred percent above retail. It is for that reason outsourcing is not always a cost saving pursuit. Especially in a hub where several hundred, to a thousand doors are serviced a day!

 

[ograc]

I'll give you a little time to be in your "learning curve" because you seem like a good guy.

But I'm not very patient and I expect people to fall in line kinda quickly.

Remember your most successful people have to know how to pivot.

Be a little careful with how you address people who have been in this industry much longer than you. I've got the battle scars over thirty years to be a little pessimistic about the intentions and agendas of this company going forward. In the meantime... I don't give a damn about your patience or your expectations of members to fall in line kinda quickly! Apparently you're on a learning curve yourself. I would advise you stand down. You will give me a little time? Check your ego at the door. I'll give you time to retract your post. 

 

[PHXConx]

Be a little careful with how you address people who have been in this industry much longer than you. I've got the battle scars over thirty years to be a little pessimistic about the intentions and agendas of this company going forward. In the meantime... I don't give a damn about your patience or your expectations of members to fall in line kinda quickly! Apparently you're on a learning curve yourself. I would advise you stand down. You will give me a little time? Check your ego at the door. I'll give you time to retract your post. 

 
 
If you guys are going to have a pis*ing contest let me know so i can get up wind...  

 

[DFWFSC]

Generally, contractors such as Skychefs charge astronomical fees called "Door fees". What this means is... for every service entry they pull a truck onto, the Airline is charged the fee just for them being at that door. Some Aircraft have three or four doors and galleys. The supplies are ADDITIONAL charges, and they are marked-up several hundred percent above retail. It is for that reason outsourcing is not always a cost saving pursuit.
 
For the most part AA has eliminated the need for catering at most out stations by double catering in the hubs. I recently flew SMF-DFW in first class and the FA stated all she had was cereal and a bagel because that's all they send in the night before on the same plane. That's pretty sad on a 3.5 hour flight if you paid full fare for FC.  At AA the outsource cleaners provide all the cups and coffee, napkins, sugar, etc.

 

[WeAAsles]

Be a little careful with how you address people who have been in this industry much longer than you. I've got the battle scars over thirty years to be a little pessimistic about the intentions and agendas of this company going forward. In the meantime... I don't give a damn about your patience or your expectations of members to fall in line kinda quickly! Apparently you're on a learning curve yourself. I would advise you stand down. You will give me a little time? Check your ego at the door. I'll give you time to retract your post. 

I don't retract anything I say. Whether it's wrong or right it's what I said and I live with my words. But you have just as much right to call me out for those words and I'll take the punches to the face for them.

Remember something though that the things you say are a mindset that many others on here that read have. And if you are the leader that I think you are then it's time to not use those words anymore and lead by stronger words.

Stir and inspire the masses. Don't remind them of how many times they've been whipped. 

And it wasn't ego that I just gave you, it was arrogance. Sometimes just a drop of arrogance is not a bad thing and doesn't need to be taken personally.

 

[roabilly]

 

Generally, contractors such as Skychefs charge astronomical fees called "Door fees". What this means is... for every service entry they pull a truck onto, the Airline is charged the fee just for them being at that door. Some Aircraft have three or four doors and galleys. The supplies are ADDITIONAL charges, and they are marked-up several hundred percent above retail. It is for that reason outsourcing is not always a cost saving pursuit.
 
For the most part AA has eliminated the need for catering at most out stations by double catering in the hubs. I recently flew SMF-DFW in first class and the FA stated all she had was cereal and a bagel because that's all they send in the night before on the same plane. That's pretty sad on a 3.5 hour flight if you paid full fare for FC.  At AA the outsource cleaners provide all the cups and coffee, napkins, sugar, etc.

 

Look for more meal service to be made available for purchase (Buy On Board)... DP found that this is a significant revenue stream along with baggage fees. DP is running the new AA, and I foresee many of his past business successes ultimately getting implemented there

 

[WeAAsles]

 
 
If you guys are going to have a pis*ing contest let me know so i can get up wind...  

Hope not. I like what the guy writes.

 

[Bob Owens]

Be a little careful with how you address people who have been in this industry much longer than you. I've got the battle scars over thirty years to be a little pessimistic about the intentions and agendas of this company going forward.

I have no doubt that you have scars, all of us that have been around for the last thirty years have them, unfortunately most of them were not received in 'battle" (EAL, NWA and a few other exceptions), most have been self inflicted as we accepted the scars because we were told if we didn't we would get worse. If they were battle scars then we would have something to be proud of, instead they are marks of shame. By the way I too am very pessimistic about the intentions of management, seeing how they treat their own is a good indicator. The fact is that they took everything they did without any real resistance, they came and took it all and it cost them nothing, not one day of operation lost.  You guys exited BK EIGHT YEARS ago, and now you are voting on a deal that brings you up to what AA came out of BK less than a year ago with. How pathetic is that??!!  VOTE NO and make it public that you want and expect the full support of your coworkers in the TWU to get a contract that is not one where the terms were set in BK. Don't forget profit sharing either!

 

[DFWFSC]

Look for more meal service to be made available for purchase (Buy On Board)... DP found that this is a significant revenue stream along with baggage fees. DP is running the new AA, and I foresee many of his past business successes ultimately getting implemented there

AA does quite well with the BOB sales, however they don't seem to be putting enough on the flight. DFW FA's have said that by the 5th or 6th row in coach everything is sold out. Maybe the lack of space. I think you can pre-order your BOB when you buy your tickets online.

 

[ograc]

I don't retract anything I say. Whether it's wrong or right it's what I said and I live with my words. But you have just as much right to call me out for those words and I'll take the punches to the face for them.

Remember something though that the things you say are a mindset that many others on here that read have. And if you are the leader that I think you are then it's time to not use those words anymore and lead by stronger words.

Stir and inspire the masses. Don't remind them of how many times they've been whipped. 

And it wasn't ego that I just gave you, it was arrogance. Sometimes just a drop of arrogance is not a bad thing and doesn't need to be taken personally.

Stir and inspire the masses. I agree. Never let them forget what they have sacrificed and the mistakes made in the past is also a part of the equation going forward. remind them of who the true enemy is in the ensuing battle. Do not mislead that the New AA has turned over a new leaf and is willing to suspend their assult on labor. The membership must be prepared to fully support the Joint Negotiating Team going forward. The war is not over. If you want to regard this strategy as seeing the glass half empty so be it. I say it is a more realistic expectation, based on both companys' labor history. I choose to lead by preparing the members to expect to fight for any gains. I choose to lead by trying to build solidarity among both IAM and TWU members. For members of both unions to realize a good JCBA will require this solidarity. BTW... Arrogance and true leadership mixes about as well as oil and water. 

 

[WeAAsles]

No you win this battle and take the spoils. You make sure your army is fed and strong so they can finish the war.

Fact: The Company has 10 Billion dollars in the bank and projected profit for years to come.
Fact: Parker made many promises to Wall Street and has something to prove.
Fact: Delta is ahead of us in synergies and Parker wants to catch up to that.
Fact: The company is going to need a JCBA more than we need to give it to them.

The Section 6 part doesn't mean anything since the best case scenario would be a PEB and a Congress imposed contract? Sure we'll tell Congress to go to hell and strike anyway, right. Sure!

If the company doesn't want to deal with us you hit them where they really don't want to be hit. You muck up the works. You throw Doug's own words back at him to the investors.

The man has something to prove don't forget.
 

 

[WeAAsles]

Stir and inspire the masses. I agree. Never let them forget what they have sacrificed and the mistakes made in the past is also a part of the equation going forward. remind them of who the true enemy is in the ensuing battle. Do not mislead that the New AA has turned over a new leaf and is willing to suspend their assult on labor. The membership must be prepared to fully support the Joint Negotiating Team going forward. The war is not over. If you want to regard this strategy as seeing the glass half empty so be it. I say it is a more realistic expectation, based on both companys' labor history. I choose to lead by preparing the members to expect to fight for any gains. I choose to lead by trying to build solidarity among both IAM and TWU members. For members of both unions to realize a good JCBA will require this solidarity. BTW... Arrogance and true leadership mixes about as well as oil and water. 

+1

But I think every good leader has to have a little arrogance. Or at least be a little cocky.

 

[WeAAsles]

The National Mediation Board has approved Transport Workers Union of America's request for an election that would put Frontier's Denver ramp workers under its umbrella.
Ballots were mailed Wednesday to 400 employees who do work including baggage handling and guiding aircraft at the gates. Votes will be tabulated July 10.
Frontier employees say the goals of unionization include job security, grievance procedures, defined work rules and benefits.
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_25997200/denver-frontier-airlines-ramp-workers-voting-unionization?source=rss

 

[ograc]

No you win this battle and take the spoils. You make sure your army is fed and strong so they can finish the war.

Fact: The Company has 10 Billion dollars in the bank and projected profit for years to come.
Fact: Parker made many promises to Wall Street and has something to prove.
Fact: Delta is ahead of us in synergies and Parker wants to catch up to that.
Fact: The company is going to need a JCBA more than we need to give it to them.

The Section 6 part doesn't mean anything since the best case scenario would be a PEB and a Congress imposed contract? Sure we'll tell Congress to go to hell and strike anyway, right. Sure!

If the company doesn't want to deal with us you hit them where they really don't want to be hit. You muck up the works. You throw Doug's own words back at him to the investors.

The man has something to prove don't forget.
 

To hit them where they really don't want to be hit. To muck up the works will require solidarity and determination by the members and the JCB Committee respectively. If this is the path we are forced to follow it will take considerable time and resolve. The combined membership should be prepared for this. DP will not retreat without a fight. 
Lock and Load!
p.s. DP would like to prove he has accomplished a successful merger and declare mission achieved. But in the end he has made millions either way.

 

[WeAAsles]

To hit them where they really don't want to be hit. To muck up the works will require solidarity and determination by the members and the JCB Committee respectively. If this is the path we are forced to follow it will take considerable time and resolve. The combined membership should be prepared for this. DP will not retreat without a fight. 
Lock and Load!
p.s. DP would like to prove he has accomplished a successful merger and declare mission achieved. But in the end he has made millions either way.

I'm going to tone down the ego a little now and show my humble side.

I don't think it's all about the money to guys like Parker. They get paid no matter what and they know it. I think the lure to prove something is stronger than that for him? Remember awhile back the big boys were laughing at him as he tried to marry just about everyone. They tried to make him feel like the laughing stock of the industry from Amwest on up. Well now he has the big chair and has a legacy he wants to put behind him for the history books "He saved American Airlines" Don't think for one second that doesn't mean something to him.

I also think he thought the TWU would knock the IAM pain in the asses out of the way? OOps. That wasn't part of the plan, an association. So that and the entire leadership change within the TWU is an unknown to him. What direction is that going to take?

I'm sure right now he has a few questions running through his mind?