Carty Should be held accountable!

[wings396]

You can't blame Carty for what is going on in the indusrty. ALL airlines except the LCC are in a tailspin with no end in sight. Being an employee of US, we have had nothing that even looked like management for years. If you want to compare blunders we can talk all day. As much as we don't like it, our wages are all going to take a big hit. As far as the TWA deal, remember that UA & US was in the works at the time and Carty had to do something to keep AA up to the size of a possible UA/US combo. The only way that we will ever keep our wages is for our companies to use the WN corporate structure. And we all know that it will take a lot less of us to do so.

 

[AC AA LA FA]

The TW deal Carty was thrust into was to capture market share and was done out of a form of desperation as a result of the brewing US/U deal...As business decissions go-who knows if it will go down in the books as one of the most clever big business transactions-but in reality it really didnt skew things all that much as relates to todays situation. Nobody could have known the impact of all the forces at work, and how it has targeted the bottom lines at all US industries. But AA management, revisiting the same half brain solutions-to what today are serious issues-that need dynamic, effective approaches-that will impress the public, the shareholders and the employees is nowhere to be found. The good old boys network, the huge Texas sized egos and short sided efforts is more of the same..It seems that they stick their heads in the sand- to points such as 1/2 of the United States.(western half) can not be reached from point A to B-either thru a hub or not on AA therefor effectivly driving passangers to other carriers to bulid their elite status and loyalty to. When time is of the essence, and quick dynamic change is a MUST in this day and age-you never have and just will not ever see it come from Carty and Co. IMO-that is the biggest threat to AAs future

example-how can one get to and from SEA PDX SFO LAX SAN PHX TUS SLC DEN ABQ ELP..ect on AA? They cant-Is this not an issue? One half of the entire contry neglected by the largest carrier in the world? The numbers in both population/revenue can not be ignored..with very few exceptions..this is true.and sad..for those of us who have anything invested in AA

 

[Hopeful]

I realize the events that were coming into play to pust Carty into doing something. But I find it ironic that he says the problems of AA and the industry in general began as early as 2001. Going into further debt during a downturn is hardly a genius move.

 

[RV4]

[blockquote]
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On 2/7/2003 10:03:18 AM eolesen wrote:

[blockquote]
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On 2/7/2003 534 AM RV4 wrote:

When are you going to offer your solutions instead of complaints?
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[/blockquote]

And you consider that suggesting to get rid of Carty is a real solution? All it does is remove a figurehead. It doesn't fix the cost problem, the debt problem, or the revenue problem.
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[/blockquote]


Excuse Me? I never said Carty should be removed? Nor did I ever agree with whomever did submit that as a solution?

 

[RV4]

[blockquote]
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On 2/7/2003 1218 PM eolesen wrote:

I don't disagree with your list of reasons why the industry is in the toilet, but you've pointed fingers at everyone else but labor. Hopefully, that was just an oversight.
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[/blockquote]

And likewise, you have never pointed the finger at the supply vs. demand problem which is the fundamental basis of our Capitalist economy and labor does not control that.

Lowering wages is NOT going to fix the problem! It will only extend the problem and it's length of stay.

If United gets lower lease payments on aircraft and keeps all planes flying, AA will have to match that success also. If United fails to Chapter 7, AA could make huge profits from our voluntary "PERMANENT" concessions because the supply vs. demand will be corrected plus lowered wages.

How long would it take if United fails and AA makes huge profits before the company will agree to volunteer and restore the $1.8 billion to labor?

Corrections in Supply vs Demand a.k.a. CAPACITY is the real issue that will turn the industry around.

 

[WingNaPrayer]

Holy christ you finally said something that has an appearance of making sense!

 

[RV4]

[blockquote]
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On 2/8/2003 814 AM WingNaPrayer wrote:

Holy christ you finally said something that makes an appearance of sense!
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[/blockquote]

Do you wish to have another thread locked, shutdown, or face complete deletion?

 

[flyhigh]

Will Fix/Kirkpatrick:

You fix supply...that's how. Just because LF's are the same approximately, means nothing. It's also on reduced capacity. Supply needs to be rationalized in order to make sufficient revenue on a route.

As for ignoring the Western 1/2 of the country...the problem with that arguement is the fact that the West already has enough service (WN, UA, AS, DL, HP). For AA to show up (as they found out) now would be adisaster for AA. Now, I agree that they need to find a fix for the West (better codeshare with AS or create one with HP), I think one thing they could take from TWA is the Focus city idea. Not every city needs to be a hub, but with a mix of M80's and RJ they should be able to come in to cities like DEN, SLC, etc. and offer a limited amount of flts tot the top 5-10 O&Ds east & west. By doing this they could reduce hub capacit & congestion, and increase overall mkt presence/share.

 

[will fix for food]

[blockquote]
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On 2/8/2003 959 AM kirkpatrick wrote:


Revenue is the answer.

MK
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[/blockquote]


It is true that ticket prices are at an all time low, but how do you get people to pay more? How do you increase the price and still get the same amount of people wanting to fly?

 

[Bob Owens]

[blockquote]
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On 2/8/2003 9:55:28 AM will fix for food wrote:

[blockquote]
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On 2/8/2003 959 AM kirkpatrick wrote:


Revenue is the answer.

MK
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[/blockquote]


It is true that ticket prices are at an all time low, but how do you get people to pay more? How do you increase the price and still get the same amount of people wanting to fly?
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[/blockquote]

Raise the fare.
If the fare is raised by $20 to $30 will people all of a sudden decide to drive or not go at all? Sure we may lose "market share" but how many planes does Jet Blue or those other discount carriers have? Discount carriers, including SWA only account for 16% of the market. SWA alone accounts for 10% and a lot of the time they have thier own markets like ISP to PVD, routes that nobody else wants. We have been through this before, once the airlines secure thier concessions all of a sudden "pricing power will will make a miraculous return. In the meantime we will be stuck with the concessions. Let Carty and the other executives wory about the airline. Giving concessions will not provide any guarantees, they can blow those savings too.As a worker you can not insure the survivability of the company even if you worked for free, the critical decisions that determine whether the company survives are made by those at the top. All you can do is decide how much you sell your time for and do your best to insure that the one who buys it gets a fair value. We came to an agreement with the company as to what the rates will be. The agreement lasts until 2004. In 2004 we can discuss modifications to those rates. Just as we had to wait from 1995 till 2001, the company has to wait till 2004.

 

[kirkpatrick]

Capacity isn't really the problem. When I started over 30 years ago, load factors averaged in the high sixties. They still do. There's a reason for this. When loads get much higher, passengers have trouble booking a flight at the time they want. When loads get lower, there are too many seats in the sky and the airlines respond by cutting flights.

What were the loads during the heyday of the mid nineties? I think you'll find them right about where they are now; hovering around 70%.

Revenue is the answer.

MK

 

[RV4]

[blockquote]
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On 2/8/2003 10:32:31 AM Bob Owens wrote:


Raise the fare.
If the fare is raised by $20 to $30 will people all of a sudden decide to drive or not go at all?
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[/blockquote]

Maybe a short war that drives oil to $60.00 per barrel and doesn't last beyond the mega carriers fuel hedge time frame, then it could actually be cheaper to fly than fill up your tank and drive?????

Interesting thought isn't it?

Reduce capacity until the price received for a ticket turns a profit. If all airlines workers give concessions, there will still be a price war to keep customer base.

Who was it that began the 40% ticket sale on January 1st? Can you say AA?

Reminder:

American Airlines Says, 'Happy New Year!' With Low Fares And More Room Worldwide

Wednesday January 1, 9:20 am ET

First Sale of the Year Brings Discounts to More than 200 Domestic and International Destinations


FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- American Airlines today announced it will ring in 2003 with a fare sale offering discounts for winter and spring travel of up to 40 percent off leisure fares. The Low Fares, More Room, Worldwide Fare Sale cuts prices to more than 200 domestic and international destinations with AAdvantage® miles offered for all travel plus the added value of more legroom throughout coach on American Airlines. Fares apply to travel on American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection® to most domestic and international destinations.
"For everyone whose New Year's resolutions include getaways, Happy New Year!" said Dan Garton, American's Executive Vice President -- Marketing. "This sale has just the right destination for everyone: Latin America and the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, Japan and of course, the United States. We suggest customers book early to get the best selection of seats to their favorite winter and spring vacation spots."

American is the only airline offering more legroom throughout the entire coach cabin, giving more passengers more room than any other airline. To create this product, American over the last two years removed a total of 9,600 coach seats from its entire domestic and international fleet of more than 800 jet aircraft.

 

[Winglet]

Carty et al want PERMANENT concession from labor theoretically to compete with the LCCs at a time when there is gross overcapacity and ticket prices are ridiculously low.

Does ANYONE have the slightest doubt that when the economy picks up that the major airlines are caught with significantly reduced capacity, that they won't RAISE prices to whatever the market will bear? And how much of that do you think is going to come back to labor? My guess is that management is going to say "pound sand, pal." You agreed to the "permanent" wage cuts.

Managments see this as their golden opportunity to break the backs of the unions.

 

[kirkpatrick]

[blockquote]
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On 2/8/2003 1104 PM Winglet wrote:

You agreed to the "permanent" wage cuts.

Managments see this as their golden opportunity to break the backs of the unions.
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[/blockquote]
That's why I think any concessions should be tied to a "snap-back" schedule. This schedule could be linked to profit levels.

MK

 

[RV4]

Profit levels wouldn't be the answer because Capital Invesment can cause profits to be low while expansion and worth still rises.

Snap Back should be tied to all aspects of corporate advancement.

Fact is, supply vs. demand is the problem and worker concessions are not the solution.