Another Way Of Doing Business

avek00

Senior
Aug 28, 2002
391
0
Take a look at:

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050228/dam047_1.html

What's interesting to note is that neither the company nor the unions felt the need to battle in public - they kept the company's dirty laundry behind closed doors as much as legally possible, minimizing fears among customers and investors. Just some food for thought.
 
avek00 said:
Take a look at:

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050228/dam047_1.html

What's interesting to note is that neither the company nor the unions felt the need to battle in public - they kept the company's dirty laundry behind closed doors as much as legally possible, minimizing fears among customers and investors. Just some food for thought.
[post="251553"][/post]​


Last time I looked they were not in Bankruptcy and way better off then USAirways. I didn't read the article but searched it for the words layoff or furlough and didn't find them.
 
Aren't you folks among those that think US Airways needs to improve employee relations?

Didn't CO do a great job of reforming its employee relations?

Couldn't US Airways learn from others who have already been down the path of down-trodden airline, multiple bankrupcies, employees forced to accept concessions, etc?

Seems to me, this is a good point.
 
funguy2 said:
Aren't you folks among those that think US Airways needs to improve employee relations?

Didn't CO do a great job of reforming its employee relations?

Couldn't US Airways learn from others who have already been down the path of down-trodden airline, multiple bankrupcies, employees forced to accept concessions, etc?

Seems to me, this is a good point.
[post="251559"][/post]​

Seems to me it is a whole different ballgame now and the other airlines are using USAirways as their scapegoats to get the needed cuts from their employees. In other words USAirways is the leader now to follow when it comes to taking advantage of employees.

This is also a perfect example why the employees cuts will never win the war. As soon as or soon after one airline takes the lead and makes employee cuts the others need and will follow with their own. They need to compete with employees costs just as they do with airfares.
 
Know what the difference is?

Simple..

They had Gordon Bethune.. A former Piedmont Exec that was kicked out of
USAir because he would not join the party line..

Gordon was a leader.. He had vision.. He knew what he needed to do to get CO
back on it feet and he sold his idea to his employee's..

Was he perfect? Nope.. No leader ever is.. But he was a leader and he brough
CO back from the Brink of non existance..

Lakefield, USA320 and the rest.. Nothing but a bunch jackasses.. No vision at
all.. All they know is that labor is the problem not the leadership..

CO had vision.. US has none..

Thats the difference.
 
well it is very clear to me that USAIR Should and could learn LESSONS from CO! I flew Co EXP back in Jan from abe to orf and back and their Exp ops is way better than phllys express and let me say that their employees were wonderful too.
 
justaumechanic said:
CO had vision.. US has none..

Thats the difference.
[post="251564"][/post]​

I could not agree more. CO had vision in all aspects of the business, including employee relations. Employees were treated with respect. 10 years of respect later, "dirty laundry" is not spewed on public internet forums. I think that was avek00's point (although I don't want to speak for avek00 - that is what I read).
 
" I think that was avek00's point (although I don't want to speak for avek00 - that is what I read)."

My point exactly - the cuts are indeed painful for CO employees, and yet the dirty laundry was handled in a low-key, class-act manner. No rants by angry union heads in hub-city papers, no ultimatums of bankruptcy and contract abrogation in company PR releases - both sides just sat down and took care of business as best they could.
 
avek00 said:
" I think that was avek00's point (although I don't want to speak for avek00 - that is what I read)."

My point exactly - the cuts are indeed painful for CO employees, and yet the dirty laundry was handled in a low-key, class-act manner. No rants by angry union heads in hub-city papers, no ultimatums of bankruptcy and contract abrogation in company PR releases - both sides just sat down and took care of business as best they could.
[post="251594"][/post]​


I lost track but were they the 6th or 9th airline in line for the cuts oh and I forgot is this their 1st round of cuts they were dragged threw in 3 years? And you said no mention of bankruptcy right?
 
Profile: Gordon Bethune-

'We only win when everybody wins'

Gordon Bethune, who turned Continental Airlines into one of the most surprising success stories of the 1990s, believes you get the best out of people by making them realise they're all in the same boat. An airline pilot himself, and formerly an aircraft mechanic, Continental's chairman has a well-earned reputation for his no-nonsense approach to problems. But that doesn't mean he's a fan of aggressive, macho-style management. On the contrary, he prefers to have everyone on board, and that does much to explain his success since he arrived at the airline in 1994. "We've got investors, customers and employees all in the same canoe. We only win when everybody wins, and nobody wins when anyone loses. That is the difference between losing money and being the best airline in the world," he says.

Time was when Continental was a byword in the business for big losses and bad labour relations. Today, the airline wins one performance prize after another. The latest plaudit came when Fortune magazine listed it among the 20 best employers in the US. Commenting on the listing, Mr Bethune says: "It is a huge change for a company that had the most acrimonious labour relations of any airline in the middle of the 1980s." While his company's staff and their bosses may still have their differences, the days when a group of Continental pilots were convicted in 1986 for making bombs, which they planned to use against their employers, are long gone. "That is how far we've come," he says. "If we could bring ourselves away from that, anyone with a problem can do the same. Don't say we can't fix this airline - if you've got a problem, you've got to know something about how to fix it, where to start." This is where the staff are the key issue. "You've got to find people to help you, so I found 50,000 men and women who wanted to do that."

Mr Bethune's approach to kick-starting a whole new era at Continental was a system of regular, monthly, bonus incentives and praise where it was due. During the last six years, the company has handed over a total of $465 million, or 15 per cent of its pre-tax income, in profit-sharing payments to staff. "We are successful because we share the rewards. Good management is about how you treat people, how you appreciate them and how you measure success. You tell them how much you appreciate what they're doing and then they will want to do it. What does it cost you to tell someone, 'Hey, I think what you're doing is great'?" His attitude appears to have been reciprocated - grateful Continental staff clubbed together to buy their boss a 1996 Harley Low Rider motorbike.

Continental has steadily turned in a profit since its 10-year run of losses ended abruptly in 1995, a year after Mr Bethune took over the airline. Passengers will be pleased to hear that he doesn't believe the secret of success lies in playing the numbers game by filling every seat. "It isn't about getting more butts on the airplane - it's about being reliable and dependable," he says. Unlike its main rival, American Airlines, Continental operates out of Newark airport in neighbouring New Jersey State. The decision to fly from Newark appears to be working to his advantage. Mr Bethune says Newark is more convenient for passengers. It is a comparable distance from central Manhattan.

In both cases, travelling to the city takes about 45 minutes, and Mr Bethune says customs and other airport procedures take less time at Newark. He adds that flying aircraft out of Gatwick and landing them at Newark can take an hour off the journey time from London to New York

Gordy

Question Jan 05: On balance, are you bullish or bearish about the industry's long-term prospects?

Gordon
It's depressing to see this needless slaughter. When you look at every other product in the world, you [peg the] price to the price of oil. It hasn't happened in our business; [there are] not enough smart people [or] discipline. I'd probably go into journalism if I had a choice. [Laughs] [But] this will pass just like everything else. The dot-com bubble didn't last forever, and the bad times don't last forever. There's always going to be a place for good carriers to make a hell of a lot of money.
 
usairways_vote_NO said:
I lost track but were they the 6th or 9th airline in line for the cuts oh and I forgot is this their 1st round of cuts they were dragged threw in 3 years? And you said no mention of bankruptcy right?
[post="251621"][/post]​

But if I recall correctly... They were in BK in 1983... During one BK, front-line employees took paycuts of 50%-100%. Wages stayed depressed, and the company was a basket case for another 8 years when they filed Chapter 11 again. At this point, management took some proactive steps, and the results today speak for themselves...

Its time for US Airways' management and unions/employees to do the same... In fact, changes like this are long overdue. Sadly, I only see very minor gestures and no moves to make the dramatic changes needed... By either side.
 
funguy2 said:
...filed Chapter 11 again. At this point, management took some proactive steps, and the results today speak for themselves...
[post="251783"][/post]​
That's not entirely accurate. It was the second management team after the second bankruptcy that took the proactive steps. If one is to believe the details outlined in From Worst to First, they were but a sneeze from filing 7 when Gordon Bethune took over.
 
mweiss said:
That's not entirely accurate. It was the second management team after the second bankruptcy that took the proactive steps. If one is to believe the details outlined in From Worst to First, they were but a sneeze from filing 7 when Gordon Bethune took over.
[post="251794"][/post]​


you can believe about 10% of what the self promoting Mr. Bethune says. It's easy to get to #1 in on-time performance. just pad your schedule.
 
Once again... just trying to be simple. The argument is that CO's turnaround strategy yielded fantastic, and in this industry, unheard of results... Sounds like the type of thing a struggling company would hope to emulate.