Bob and the Merger Bubble
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Dont call me Shirley
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link to full NYT article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/opinion/...amp;oref=slogin
Op-Ed Contributor
Charge More, Merge Less, Fly Better
By ROBERT CRANDALL
Palm City, Fla.
THIRTY years ago this fall, Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. Since then, America’s airline system has greatly deteriorated.
Our airlines, once world leaders, are now laggards in every category, including fleet age, service quality and international reputation. Fewer and fewer flights are on time. Airport congestion has become a staple of late-night comedy shows. An ever higher percentage of bags are lost or sent to the wrong airports. Last-minute seats are harder and harder to find. Passenger complaints have skyrocketed. Airline service, by any standard, has become unacceptable.....
NewHampshire Black Bears
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"AS USUAL".................(uncle) Bobby is RIGHT....AGAIN !!!!!!!!
The MAN has NO Equal !
The MAN has NO Equal !
T
The Goose
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"AS USUAL".................(uncle) Bobby is RIGHT....AGAIN !!!!!!!!
The MAN has NO Equal !
Bears, that's 'cause Uncle Bob is a real businessman, not a wanna-be like what we have now.
NewHampshire Black Bears
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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
'Goose',,
I can't argue with your post ONE BIT.
You are SO RIGHT !
T
The Goose
Guest
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
'Goose',,
I can't argue with your post ONE BIT.
You are SO RIGHT !
I've said it many times; Crandall was a bastard, an SOB, and quite a few other things, the mention of which would quickly get me a trip to the proverbial cornfield - he was all those things, but he was ours!
It's really doubtful with the "kinder and gentler" nonsense business of today we'll ever again see anyone with that level of business acumen. They're all being replaced by the snot-nosed frat-brats; the yuppie/preppy sort of type-As that shouldn't even be given employment cleaning the head or shoveling muck, let alone running a corporation.
Planesight
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OOPS 🙄
But hey, all hail this non-"snot-nosed frat-brats; the yuppie/preppy sort of type-As" industry consultant.
But hey, all hail this non-"snot-nosed frat-brats; the yuppie/preppy sort of type-As" industry consultant.
Ah, the Wall Street Journal editorial wasn't written by Uncle Bob, but the NYTimes one sure was...
Robert Crandall, the chief executive of American Airlines from 1985 to 1998, is the chief executive of an air taxi startup.
T
The Goose
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ual777fan, you beat me to it - went back to the NYT article and checked. Yep - it's Uncle Bob, Robert L. Crandall.
Never heard of the Robert W. Crandall (Brookings) but hey - if that's how he gets attention, ...
Planesight
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I was just about to edit my post too. Sorry about that.
I bet Robert W. Crandall's birth name is something like Theodore Morton and he just went for the money name.
T
The Goose
Guest
OOPS what?
You're quoting the wrong paper.
I've got a sub to the WSJ also and read the article taking note of the authors. American's Robert L. certainly doesn't need help writing his mind like this fellow (Robert W.) obviously did.
Airlines Are Safer Than Ever
By CLIFFORD WINSTON and ROBERT W. CRANDALL
April 19, 2008; Page A11
By CLIFFORD WINSTON and ROBERT W. CRANDALL
April 19, 2008; Page A11
This is the WSJ article
eolesen
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Bob can speak his mind all he wants because he's not accountable to anyone but Jan...
If Arpey speaks his mind, he stands to pisses off employees, shareholders, the FAA, or other regulators. It's a no-win situation when you're the head of a multi-billion dollar corporation.
If Arpey speaks his mind, he stands to pisses off employees, shareholders, the FAA, or other regulators. It's a no-win situation when you're the head of a multi-billion dollar corporation.
TWU informer
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Not to worry E.
I am sure one of Arpey's hired consulting firms will tell him what to say and when to say it.
Arpey wouldn't qualify to was Cracndall's laundry.
eolesen
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You're certainly entitled to your opinion. I had to present projects with both of them, and to think one would be able to do a better job is more than just a little simplistic.
It's like saying the Koziatek would have done better in 2003. Compared to Little, maybe yes, maybe no. Would Denise Hedges or Pat Gibbs have done a better job in 2003? Maybe yes, maybe no.
Bob was good at managing the growth of AA and getting AA thru deregulation. He didn't know how to deal with the realities of codeshares or alliances, and he made things entirely too personal with the unions. Had he been at the helm in 2003, AA would have restructured the way Steenland did at NWA. Axes swinging without a lot of regard for alternatives... Maybe that's what should have happened, but I for one am glad that calmer heads prevailed.
Employee villification of Arpey seems to center on one issue, and one issue only: executive compensation. Keeping costs low and revenues high is far more important to shareholders and more likely to keep AMR a going concern. Whatever fault you want to find with AMR management, that's one area where AA has excelled compared to the other airlines. Gerard gets it when it comes to cost control. So does Bob. Don? Forget it. He was all about ego, and more worried about his driver showing up on time or his trophy wife getting a first class seat for the day trip to a spa in Houston....
It's like saying the Koziatek would have done better in 2003. Compared to Little, maybe yes, maybe no. Would Denise Hedges or Pat Gibbs have done a better job in 2003? Maybe yes, maybe no.
Bob was good at managing the growth of AA and getting AA thru deregulation. He didn't know how to deal with the realities of codeshares or alliances, and he made things entirely too personal with the unions. Had he been at the helm in 2003, AA would have restructured the way Steenland did at NWA. Axes swinging without a lot of regard for alternatives... Maybe that's what should have happened, but I for one am glad that calmer heads prevailed.
Employee villification of Arpey seems to center on one issue, and one issue only: executive compensation. Keeping costs low and revenues high is far more important to shareholders and more likely to keep AMR a going concern. Whatever fault you want to find with AMR management, that's one area where AA has excelled compared to the other airlines. Gerard gets it when it comes to cost control. So does Bob. Don? Forget it. He was all about ego, and more worried about his driver showing up on time or his trophy wife getting a first class seat for the day trip to a spa in Houston....
WingNaPrayer
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He's trying to start another airline, so anytime he sees a microphone, his mouth goes into full gear.
Admire the man all you like, but he hasn't been the head of a major scheduled passenger traffic airline for just over ten years now and for anyone to think he has an inside grip on the way things are today is just mis-directed hero worship.
It is my unbiased opinion that if it were he at the helm of AA right now instead of the overpaid baggage handler they have now, that labor would be bitching just as long and just as loud as they do now - perhaps even moreso.
All the man is trying to do right now is appear to come off as the man with all the answers and a hook to the inside track of what is wrong with large legacy carriers, in order to sound like the consumate airline-gawd to benefit his own upstart. He doesn't have all the answers, he has opinions. If he were to take the reigns of a major carrier right now he would be lost in a world that changed at least three times over since he was last in it.
I remember much of the Crandall years, and most of you old timers hated his guts! Now it seems he's one of the gawds, right up there with Zeus and Apollo.
If he were any good or of any use at all, I would think that AMR would hire him as a consultant and negotiator for their now due union contracts. But he isn't, and they didn't.
Leave him be and let him have his little five seater skeeter jet upstart. He'll have to pay the same price for fuel, probably more, as the rest of them and he'll be dealing with his own labor problems. If he grows the upstart like he claims he can, it won't be long before the unions are knocking on his door too! :disguise:
Now that I've poo pooed on your Uncle Bobby, how many tongue lashings do I win? Or do I get the golden prize for saying what thousands of your co-workers agree with?
Admire the man all you like, but he hasn't been the head of a major scheduled passenger traffic airline for just over ten years now and for anyone to think he has an inside grip on the way things are today is just mis-directed hero worship.
It is my unbiased opinion that if it were he at the helm of AA right now instead of the overpaid baggage handler they have now, that labor would be bitching just as long and just as loud as they do now - perhaps even moreso.
All the man is trying to do right now is appear to come off as the man with all the answers and a hook to the inside track of what is wrong with large legacy carriers, in order to sound like the consumate airline-gawd to benefit his own upstart. He doesn't have all the answers, he has opinions. If he were to take the reigns of a major carrier right now he would be lost in a world that changed at least three times over since he was last in it.
I remember much of the Crandall years, and most of you old timers hated his guts! Now it seems he's one of the gawds, right up there with Zeus and Apollo.
If he were any good or of any use at all, I would think that AMR would hire him as a consultant and negotiator for their now due union contracts. But he isn't, and they didn't.
Leave him be and let him have his little five seater skeeter jet upstart. He'll have to pay the same price for fuel, probably more, as the rest of them and he'll be dealing with his own labor problems. If he grows the upstart like he claims he can, it won't be long before the unions are knocking on his door too! :disguise:
Now that I've poo pooed on your Uncle Bobby, how many tongue lashings do I win? Or do I get the golden prize for saying what thousands of your co-workers agree with?
