APA Hosts Strike Preparedness Summit

[wingit88]

Unfortunately, there's just no trust by either side in the other. Management is frustrated with having to answer for every little thing to people who don't know the business very well. When I say management, I'm not just talking about Arpey...it's the Analyst in Finance who busts his/her butt everyday and sees how bad things are for a lot less than their friends make doing the same thing and every pilot/mechanic/flight attendant out there makes some snide remark about how useless they are yet couldn't explain the fundaments of anything the analyst does. For the workers, it's seeing things not working and hearing about a bonus with a quarterly loss. It's hearing about the industry in turmoil when you're 5 years from retirement and hoping you win the race.

The answer isn't as simple as one would like either. For managment to change to what the frontline people want would likely kill the company. For the front liners to change would get the union heads voted out of office.

I don't envy those analysts that have to deal with the airline's finances day in and day out, nor do I pretend to even begin to understand all of the intricacies involved. I don't think we give these folks the credit they deserve - it is not their fault the numbers are not favorable and they certainly do not call the shots on how AA spends its cash or awards its bonuses. And although we don't want to admit it, the best way to get ourselves back what we gave up is to make sure this airline does not go further south. I don't think toying with the idea of a strike is the best way to do this.

 

[chalkoutine]

Ever tried to run a airline without pilots? Everyone else can be replaced, ie farmed out.

So why couldn't pilots be farmed out also? Some pilots view themselves as working for APA and not AA.

 

[Bob Owens]

So why couldn't pilots be farmed out also? .

They can, Didnt Brittish farm out some of its pilot work?

Some pilots view themselves as working for APA and not AA

I think they know who they work for and I think they know who is for their best interests. So even though they are employed by AA they realize that in order to prosper they must stick together in the APA.

Posted by flyhigh;
The answer isn't as simple as one would like either. For managment to change to what the frontline people want would likely kill the company. For the front liners to change would get the union heads voted out of office.

Well it hasnt killed SWA, in fact they are prospering. For the front liners to change into what managemnent wants they would be homeless and have to work till they die.

 

[FrequentFlierCA]

They can, Didnt Brittish farm out some of its pilot work?



I think they know who they work for and I think they know who is for their best interests. So even though they are employed by AA they realize that in order to prosper they must stick together in the APA.



Well it hasnt killed SWA, in fact they are prospering. For the front liners to change into what managemnent wants they would be homeless and have to work till they die.

I wonder about the pilots sometimes... it seems like APA doesn't "get" that their highly volatile and confrontational approach could cause permanent damage to the company that pays pilots' salaries. That money sure doesn't come from APA. But APA's dues sure do come from that salary money. APA should fight for the pilots, but as a customer I find its tactics unprofessional and abrasive, and the billboards and ads turn me off from AA. I know that's why APA wants so they can pressure management, but at the end of the day it's all about the dollars, and when I choose to fly CO or DL instead, that's less revenue for the company and one more reason management can give for not granting the pilot raise demands.

As for SWA, it's not a level playing field because their costs (for now) are so much lower.