Ata Acquisition/merger A Diversion?

[WNjetdoc]

Crap, you figured it out, we were hoping no one would be able to see what really happened. You must have some friends high up in the company? It took some real players to see what happened, dang.

Do me a favor, don't tell anyone else, ok? I just talked to Dougy at U about you and he says there is a position for you at headquarters, so just fax them an internal transfer form and mention me on the cover letter, good job!!

Now get the hell out of here and remember, shhhhh.

Some mentioned at work today that AWA's attempt to acquire/merge with ATA was probably a diversion to the AWA merger with US Airways.  If it was a diversion it worked beautifully.  Southwest blocked AWA from acquiring/merging with ATA by buying some gates in Chicago, but by doing so it allowed AWA to pursue it's real goal (without Southwest interference) of merging with US Airways and becoming the truly first National/International Low Cost Carrier.  After the annoucement in May that AWA and US Airways were to plan a merger and seeing the complexity of the deal it was clear no way another airline had time to come up with a better or even as good a deal.  Southwest would have loved to see our merger fall thru, but may have had no means to block it.  Is Doug and team really that slick?  It's nice to think it's true!

[post="293060"][/post]​

 

[700UW]

I kid you NOT!

As long as the mechanics were still doing tug duty and cleaners were still making 50K+ per year, there was NO WAY that USAirways could compete in the marketplace. I certainly blame Siegel for the error. For some crazy reason he was hell-bent on getting out of bankruptcy in record time and didn't bother to finish the inevitable pounding of labor that is so easily done in bankruptcy.

Those are the facts. They are NOT in my way. They just ARE.

[post="293278"][/post]​

First of all the mechanics were only pushing planes at CLT, DCA, LGA, PHL, PIT and BOS and that was if they were not tied up doing mtc. Getting rid of utility saved only about $24 million per year as they had to buyback the costs of hiring vendors of doing the work.

Utility made $36k a year to make $50,000 you had to work a ton of OT, there was only utility at 8 stations on all three shifts and 10 third shift stations. So 81 stations were cleaned by vendors, ramp or FAs on turn around flight and 63 stations had RONs done by ramp or vendors.

I was directly involved with the IAM M&R negotiations.

And the mechanic and related in the first concessions gave almost $300 million in concessions.

I hope you happy with mtc before ACTS takes over knowing the ST MAE is the low bidder.

Once again, I know I was involved.

 

[EricLv2Fish]

Crap, you figured it out, we were hoping no one would be able to see what really happened. You must have some friends high up in the company? It took some real players to see what happened, dang.

Do me a favor, don't tell anyone else, ok? I just talked to Dougy at U about you and he says there is a position for you at headquarters, so just fax them an internal transfer form and mention me on the cover letter, good job!!

Now get the hell out of here and remember, shhhhh.

[post="293280"][/post]​

I admire your creativity. I"ll be sure not to mention this to anyone, but it may not matter as I'm sure others may have been thinking similiar thoughts anyway. You think Doug would really consider me? I knew I should have asked him at the Livery Unveiling Event if he had any positions open at corporate....RATS! I was standing right next to him....DARN!

 

[barbeetantrums]

Crap, you figured it out, we were hoping no one would be able to see what really happened. You must have some friends high up in the company? It took some real players to see what happened, dang.

Do me a favor, don't tell anyone else, ok? I just talked to Dougy at U about you and he says there is a position for you at headquarters, so just fax them an internal transfer form and mention me on the cover letter, good job!!

Now get the hell out of here and remember, shhhhh.

[post="293280"][/post]​

Periwinkle!!!

 

[SpinDoc]

First of all the mechanics were only pushing planes at CLT, DCA, LGA, PHL, PIT and BOS and that was if they were not tied up doing mtc. Getting rid of utility saved only about $24 million per year as they had to buyback the costs of hiring vendors of doing the work.

700UW:

You fail to note the "hidden" costs of having
employees versus using vendors. First you
have to spend a ton of money hiring and
training each employee, then you have to
pay health insurance, unemployment insurance,
workers compensation insurance, and vacation
costs. With U's mostly senior work force, those
costs were rising. With a vendor, you pay
a specific cost and let them figure out how to
pay their employees.

Outsourcing is not without peril, as we all
know from the reservations experiment.
If the vendor is not producing quality work,
then the cost/benefit does not weigh out.
Remember, using vendors is all about
controlling costs, it's not a personal
assessment of the ability/inability of an
employee to do a specific job. It was
imperative to get the overall costs down
to obtain outside financing for the merger,
and so far, it has worked.

I'm positive that we will see the demise
of the overseas reservations offices
by year end. HP management has a plan,
but they have to let the costs bottom out
before they can train new employees in
the U.S. who will start at $11.52 per hour
with generally lower benefit costs.

I might add that one of WN's advantages
in keeping their costs down has been their
slow and steady expansion. Each time they
expand, they bring in new employees at
the lower end of the scale which offsets
the higher paid employees at the top of
the scale. At some point, their expansion
will slow down to the point where their
costs will rise and they will have to
lower compensation rates accordingly.

 

[700UW]

Spin doc since you were not at the table and did not see the data, I am telling you the elimination of utility on saved the company $24 million, as you have to pay for the buyback of services.

And don't count on this company bringing any work back in-house, Crellin and Paladini are going to the new company.

And one more thing, why can't you type and post like the rest of the board?

Your postings look like poetry as they do not fill the area like the rest of the posters.

 

[SpinDoc]

And one more thing, why can't you type and post like the rest of the board?

Your postings look like poetry as they do not fill the area like the rest of the posters.

[post="293633"][/post]​

Mac OS 9.2 and Netscape. If I type any
further than half way across the area,
it looks even worse.

I'm not saying they are going to bring
reservations back in-house at the same
levels they had before, what I'm saying is
that the contracts with the foreign offices
will be terminated within the next 6 months
due to the fact that HP has a web site that
works, and it will be the surviving web site.
Because it works, more people will be
using it to purchase their tickets, eliminating
the need for large numbers of reservations
personnel. Also, with the simplification of
fares and other policies, there will be less
need for customers to contact reservations
and talk time will be reduced. Henceforth,
the need for the foreign offices will at
some point be unnecessary.

Watch and learn 700. US management
spent the last 2.5 years showing the other
carriers how to get rid of costly employees,
and once fully combined with HP, US will
have low costs and will drive the other
legacy carriers to do the same thing.

 

[700UW]

Where have you been?

AA, CO, DL, NW and UA have gotten or sought concessions from their employees.

And if US was smart they would void abrogat the contracts while in chapter 11 in order not to have to pay penalites, but I disagree I believe they will continue to outsource res as there is nothing stopping them.

And not everyone has a computer or wants to book on the internet.

 

[jimntx]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the most obvious reason for SWA lack of interest in U--fleet incompatibility. SWA's basic business plan requires that everything be standardized unless there is no other choice. I don't believe I have ever seen an airplane in SWA livery that was other than a B737. Have you?

 

[SpinDoc]

Where have you been?

AA, CO, DL, NW and UA have gotten or sought concessions from their employees.

And if US was smart they would void abrogat the contracts while in chapter 11 in order not to have to pay penalites, but I disagree I believe they will continue to outsource res as there is nothing stopping them.

And not everyone has a computer or wants to book on the internet.

[post="293821"][/post]​

700:

Do you HONESTLY believe that the new US
will be able to sustain any large number of
repeat customers if they have to deal with
MNL and MEX reservations personnel for
any extended period of time? Believe me,
the experiment was NOT about outsourcing
for the long term, it WAS about covering the
phones during the CWA buyout/transition
at the lowest possible cost.

 

[700UW]

Hey Jim,

I have

 

[jimntx]

So? At one time WN flew 727s. And, at one time AA, UA, and DL flew DC-3s. However, WN does not now, nor has it for many years, flown anything except B737s.

 

[supercruiser]

I don't believe I have ever seen an airplane in SWA livery that was other than a B737. Have you?

[post="293827"][/post]​

Those SWA 727's were leased from People Express.

 

[PHX-F/A]

Those SWA 727's were leased from People Express.

[post="294390"][/post]​

The purpose of leasing them had to do with the delivery of their -300's. I don't know if there was a delay in their order and they needed the longer range and capacity. But I remember seeing them all the time in the Spring and Summer of 1985, back when I was hired as a ramper.