Maddog-
While TWA employees may have had lower wages, their contract language and rules made them some of the least productive. Remember that the IAM held out as long as it could to even allow RJ's on the property.
One point many of you missed that rotate made is that some of these leaders went on to be sucessful elsewhere. Was it Edwardson that left UA because even though he was Greenwald's pick the unions didn't like him? He went on to do a great job at his next company last time I read about him.
Admittedly, it is a combination of issues. I contend that one of the biggest problems that legacy airlines face is that they are simply playing under a different set of rules. They were formed during a regulated era. A time in which having a diverse fleet really didn't matter. A time in which they had to serve certain communities. A time in which the was no competition on labor costs for the most part. While the industry was deregulated over 20 years ago, this is a business that has too many pieces to change that quickly. If you were building an airline today, you probably would outsource heavy maintenance. Years ago, however, outsourcing wasn't even a term for most businesses. Now that you've investing in hangars, tools, stands, space, people, etc. you can't simply wake up on Tuesday and say we're done with it. This isn't, however, just an airline issue. Look at Ma Bell...AT&T is still trying to figure out how to operate in this environment and they were broken up just after the airlines were deregulated. Railroads had a long and slow process to get to where they are today...they did have one advantage though...property. All that land that the tracks are on are owned. That gave them something to leverage. Airlines didn't have as much of that. We'll see...it's a changing world.
While TWA employees may have had lower wages, their contract language and rules made them some of the least productive. Remember that the IAM held out as long as it could to even allow RJ's on the property.
One point many of you missed that rotate made is that some of these leaders went on to be sucessful elsewhere. Was it Edwardson that left UA because even though he was Greenwald's pick the unions didn't like him? He went on to do a great job at his next company last time I read about him.
Admittedly, it is a combination of issues. I contend that one of the biggest problems that legacy airlines face is that they are simply playing under a different set of rules. They were formed during a regulated era. A time in which having a diverse fleet really didn't matter. A time in which they had to serve certain communities. A time in which the was no competition on labor costs for the most part. While the industry was deregulated over 20 years ago, this is a business that has too many pieces to change that quickly. If you were building an airline today, you probably would outsource heavy maintenance. Years ago, however, outsourcing wasn't even a term for most businesses. Now that you've investing in hangars, tools, stands, space, people, etc. you can't simply wake up on Tuesday and say we're done with it. This isn't, however, just an airline issue. Look at Ma Bell...AT&T is still trying to figure out how to operate in this environment and they were broken up just after the airlines were deregulated. Railroads had a long and slow process to get to where they are today...they did have one advantage though...property. All that land that the tracks are on are owned. That gave them something to leverage. Airlines didn't have as much of that. We'll see...it's a changing world.
