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Airline Ceo Ratings
- Thread starter Hatu
- Start date
KCFlyer
Veteran
Gerard Arpey may be a very intellegent individual but he has one major problem.He inherited Don Carty's disaster and probably will not be able to overcome it.Mr.Arpey,after all,was the CFO during the SEC filing fiasco.He had to know about the golden parachute retirement fund for the top 42 EXU's.The management of this company cares so much about its employees that it is trying to be released from the obligation of making payments to the employees pension fund. Its just a matter of time[ to Chapter 11] The management can use every excuse in the book[wages too high-high fuel costs-9/11-]ect. but the fact remains that their incompotence got us into this condition.May GOD Bless Robert Crandall and this 18+ years AA employee who had confidence in his leadership because AA was his baby and his legacy.
You're probably right. It's rather like the situation when Bear Bryant retired at Alabama. I've forgotten which one said it, but one of the MAJOR college coaches was asked if he was interested in the job. His response, "I do not want to follow Bear Bryant at Alabama, but I wouldn't mind following the guy who follows Bear Bryant at Alabama."goingboeing said:
Actually Arpey was President & COO, not CFO.
As for calling AA Crandall's baby, I've got an old article in front of me where he's stating that AMR should get out of the airline business. Why do you think RDU and BNA were shut down. BNA was loosing money, but RDU was profitable. He didn't want to buy more planes to fund MIA expansion. He wasn't interested in growing the airline anymore as it didn't make sense. If you think AA would be much different under him, you're right, only it would be smaller. Carty was far more concerned with the airline (as shown by his sale of terciary business units).
As for calling AA Crandall's baby, I've got an old article in front of me where he's stating that AMR should get out of the airline business. Why do you think RDU and BNA were shut down. BNA was loosing money, but RDU was profitable. He didn't want to buy more planes to fund MIA expansion. He wasn't interested in growing the airline anymore as it didn't make sense. If you think AA would be much different under him, you're right, only it would be smaller. Carty was far more concerned with the airline (as shown by his sale of terciary business units).
local 12 proud
Veteran
- Mar 5, 2004
- 4,265
- 4
yea flyhigh your probably right about that, but crandall also stated in a interview here recently that buying a failing airline in the tulmutious downturn of our industry was not very prudent. and i think most of us would agree in fact it was a "BLUNDER"
He states that in hindsight. I think Crandall would have made a similar decision...same advisors. Do you think TWA people met with Carty? No...they met with a variety of AA people who advised Carty who made a final decision which was brought to the board to make the FINAL decision. And chances are Crandall would have been more easily enticed to purchase his former employer for brevado reasons...to have his last laugh. In hindsight, bad idea, no doubt. At the time, Carty purchased $4.5 billion in annual revenue for $1 billion. At most $1 billion of TWA's revenue was going to be in play leaving $3.5 billion for AA/AE to gain. And given AA's fleet, possible more as they could optimize fleet utilization more and get better RASM on the flights.
What killed Carty is what killed Mullin...bad PR not the purchase of TWA. Get over that dead horse.
I would look at how much this company has turned around in such a short time.
What killed Carty is what killed Mullin...bad PR not the purchase of TWA. Get over that dead horse.
I would look at how much this company has turned around in such a short time.
Robert Crandall preached growing AA from the inside every year from mid 80's to mid 90's at the Tulsa President conferences.He only deviated from this a couple of times in the purchase of Air Cal and Reno Air which were small carriers and relatively young airlines.TWA was a different story,old established mainline carrier with lots of problems and former CEO's that gutted the company.[Class,can you say Carl Icahn?] Buying a weak airline[TWA] and merging it with a strong airline [AA]was a bad move as it dragged down the strong airline[AA].The downturn in the airlines had already started by the spring of 2000 and 9/11 compounded the existing downturn.
It is pathetic when you fly with 85% load factors and cannot turn a profit. Wages and benefits are not the issue as LUV is the most heavily unionized airline.The AA leadership is in denial relating to the current business traveler.The Travel Depts of companies now refuse to pay the high prices for F/C seats.The internet has leveled the playing field for ticket prices to the consumer.If the AA management doesn't make some radical changes and soon we will join the long list of Chapter 11 participants.
It is pathetic when you fly with 85% load factors and cannot turn a profit. Wages and benefits are not the issue as LUV is the most heavily unionized airline.The AA leadership is in denial relating to the current business traveler.The Travel Depts of companies now refuse to pay the high prices for F/C seats.The internet has leveled the playing field for ticket prices to the consumer.If the AA management doesn't make some radical changes and soon we will join the long list of Chapter 11 participants.
