Aircraft Maint Attrition

[Vortilon]

This company is all about using the "Delphi Technique" now to control employees. Using JLTs and ALTs along with various consulting groups, and they are succeeding. Look at the divide and conquer methods with all these various victim groups created within the company. All under the guise of promoting diversity, and the sheep all fall for it.

The company has lost it's focus. This comes down to failed leadership. Arpey might be a nice guy, but that isn't helping, when he is getting his butt kicked around the system. In addition, there is no progress in union negotiations whatsoever. Nothing positive ever, just the same old tired excuses

 

[The Goose]

This company is all about using the "Delphi Technique" now to control employees. Using JLTs and ALTs along with various consulting groups, and they are succeeding. Look at the divide and conquer methods with all these various victim groups created within the company. All under the guise of promoting diversity, and the sheep all fall for it.

The company has lost it's focus. This comes down to failed leadership. Arpey might be a nice guy, but that isn't helping, when he is getting his butt kicked around the system. In addition, there is no progress in union negotiations whatsoever. Nothing positive ever, just the same old tired excuses

While I'm glad to see others are beginning to see how being "Delphied" works, check back in these posts - you'll find that I made a comment about it 2+ years ago.

It's not a matter of the "sheep" falling for the tricks; even sheep can be led by competent leadship but this top-to-bottom manner of idiocy goes far beyond that.

 

[Bob Owens]

Total Line count = 3610
Total OH count =5856
Total Title I=9466

I believe thats quite a bit less than what we had before the purchase of TWA.

Line Maint has maintained their total headcount over the past year, in fact it went up one, OH has been cut by 420, so aircraft maint lost 419 heads over the last year.

OH saw a 7% cut in heads from Nov of 2008 to Nov of 2009. I dont recall anybody being laid off out of maintenance over that period so all of that 420 was through attrition. Many line mechanics were hanging on, hoping for the VBR, we have at least 10 in our Local who will be gone come the new year.

With MCI slated to close thats another 300 heads before normal attrition.

At this rate we will be below 9000 in less than a year.

One figure I found suprising is that OH only has 4764 A&Ps, in other words only 1154 more than the line.

The companys total headcount is down to 68342. Does anybody out there know what year we had only 68000 employees and what the total revenue that year was?

AA is slated to bring in around $22 billion this year. So if we look at revenue per employee it comes out to an enviable $322,000. Thats a pretty remarkable number when you consider that we do our OH in house which would tend to drive that figure lower (more employees means a bigger divisor so the end result is smaller). Even with that I think the figure is favorable when compared to other legacy carriers. If you factor out OH so you could compare apples to apples the figure jumps up to around $355,000, "AA has least productive workers in the industry"? Arent workers supposed to produce revenue?

 

[FWAAA]

The companys total headcount is down to 68342. Does anybody out there know what year we had only 68000 employees and what the total revenue that year was?

That's just AA's employment. Including that other airline (Eagle), total AMR employment is still above 82,000 fte.

AA is slated to bring in around $22 billion this year.

AMR revenue will be about $20 billion this year, not $22 billion. For the first nine months, total revenue was just under $14.9 billion. So full year will be about $20 billion. $2 billion of that will be Eagle revenue.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?...GU9MQ==&t=1

So if we look at revenue per employee it comes out to an enviable $322,000.

If you're gonna include Eagle revenue, you should include Eagle employee counts when dividing. Either that or subtract the Eagle revenue. Subtracting the Eagle revenue ($2 billion) leaves AA with about $18 billion of 2009 revenue, not $22 billion. $18 billion divided by 68,342 AA employees is just over $263,000 per employee, not $322,000.

Thats a pretty remarkable number when you consider that we do our OH in house which would tend to drive that figure lower (more employees means a bigger divisor so the end result is smaller). Even with that I think the figure is favorable when compared to other legacy carriers. If you factor out OH so you could compare apples to apples the figure jumps up to around $355,000, "AA has least productive workers in the industry"? Arent workers supposed to produce revenue?

Gross revenue per employee is irrelevant, but at least you should use the correct numbers.

 

[MCI transplant]

<_< ------ Correct numbers, yes!---- "Irrelevant", no!

 

[Bob Owens]

Gross revenue per employee is irrelevant.

Well I could say the same thing about CASMs, RASMs, and all those other BS figues they throw out at us. Irrelevant to you but not to me. When the company claims we are the highest paid and the least productive then the figure is relevant.

 

[FWAAA]

Well I could say the same thing about CASMs, RASMs, and all those other BS figues they throw out at us. Irrelevant to you but not to me. When the company claims we are the highest paid and the least productive then the figure is relevant.

It's irrelevant because it doesn't reveal anything about employee productivity. If revenue per employee was a meaningful stat when determining employee pay, then ExxonMobil employees must be really productive employees, since XOM took in nearly $6 million per employee in 2008. More than 20 times the revenue per employee than at AA. By this faulty logic, XOM employees could all make a million dollars each with money left over.

Gross revenue per employee is meaningless because it ignores the other costs necessary to produce that revenue.

Nevertheless, if you want to compare the revenue per employee of AA to other airlines, at least use the correct numbers. For AA mainline, it's about $263,000 for 2009 as I calculated above. Delta's revenue per employee (excluding the revenue attributable to contract regionals) is about $295,000. Looks like DL's employees are much more productive than AA's employees. Do you see the irrelevance now?

When you use the actual numbers, AA's mainline employees are "less productive" on a revenue-per-employee basis than DL (including NW) and WN. I'm too lazy to calculate it for UA and CO, but I suspect that both employee groups outpace the AA "revenue productivity" with which you are fixated.

 

[Hopeful]

When you use the actual numbers, AA's mainline employees are "less productive" on a revenue-per-employee basis than DL (including NW) and WN. I'm too lazy to calculate it for UA and CO, but I suspect that both employee groups outpace the AA "revenue productivity" with which you are fixated.

Tell me, how would calculate a mid level or level manager or executive productivity?

 

[The Goose]

I would be interested in hearing that answer myself - just what exactly does constitute "productivity" for management personnel?

 

[FWAAA]

Tell me, how would calculate a mid level or level manager or executive productivity?

Beats me. I assume that their supervisors have devised various metrics for evaluating their performance. Perhaps the number of computer solitaire games per hour? Number of posts to USAviation.com per hour? What does it have to do with Bob's erroneous assertions of AA's financial performance? Looks like deflection to me.

My posts in this thread are simply to correct the misinformation posted above by one of your local Presidents. Isn't he a former member of the TWU negotiating committee?

 

[The Goose]

Beats me. I assume that their supervisors have devised various metrics for evaluating their performance. Perhaps the number of computer solitaire games per hour? Number of posts to USAviation.com per hour? What does it have to do with Bob's erroneous assertions of AA's financial performance? Looks like deflection to me.

My posts in this thread are simply to correct the misinformation posted above by one of your local Presidents. Isn't he a former member of the TWU negotiating committee?

One cannot correct misinformation unless there is actually a set standard to work by. In this case of management productivity, none exists - either side is free to inject their own "facts" (or BS, as the case may be) to acheive their desired results since these calcs aren't subject to GAAP or FASB rules.

Even though the $ per employee metric is almost the only way to assign a value to the guy on the floor, it's still flawed - you and Bob have different things to include in the calculations. Until you two (or anyone else, for that matter) agree on what items to to include in the calculations none of them will make any sense, but only provide fuel for an argument between the sides - thus, more deflection of the actual issues from the problems' souces - the company and its pet union - and more distraction for the already apathetic rank and file.

That said, workers have figured for years any measurement of management's productivity was based upon a rather simple test - moisten their lips and stick them to the ceiling. The last one falling to the floor was the most productive.

 

[Boomer]

For the last several years, American Airlines has displayed an annual measure of each and every employees' costs: it is called the Total Value Statement.

Employees are identified by their cost center through their individual employee number.

If we really want to drill down to costs per employee job number; the TVS is the beginning of a discussion about what each of the employee groups contribute to the costs per ASM.

Just get the data per job number out and let the discussion begin.

My suspicion is that AMR has the data, and has advised the Leadership of the contractual groups as to the particulars; but, the unions have agreed with AMR to not make those figures known.

 

[FWAAA]

AA has an employee productivity dilemna, but it doesn't look like AA thinks that about the TWU.

AA's propaganda site, www.aanegotiations.com places a lot of emphasis on productivity of pilots and FAs and discusses the need to increase productivity among those groups. On the TWU sections, there is no mention of any need to increase productivity among the mechanics or ramp.

Bob Owens has no doubt heard the word "productivity" in his negotiations with AA, but my guess is that that word was really more applicable to the pilots and the FAs. AA has already increased mechanic and ramp productivity by furloughs (ramp, primarily) and not replacing the attrition (both ramp and mechanics).

 

[AANOTOK]

AA has an employee productivity dilemna, but it doesn't look like AA thinks that about the TWU.
AA has already increased mechanic and ramp productivity by furloughs (ramp, primarily) and not replacing the attrition (both ramp and mechanics).

And it's shown consistently in the DOT rankings. You don't have the resources to get the job done, then........

 

[MERV]

Good point, we also have to look at these one world alliances and the impact it potentially has on doing work on our aircraft. South America and Europe already do ps, A checks, work cards on our aircraft and not considered outsourcing.

Yea they do because we don't have A/C MX in those cities so usually FBO,MRO or Service contractor gives us that service!!!!!!! They do same here in JFK swissport and many other contractor handle A/C MX for those international carriers!!!! We do servicing many non alliance members at JFK when need it!!!!!!