Cost Control Suggestions

[AOG-N-IT]

[blockquote]
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On 10/30/2002 7:43:33 AM CS-pro wrote:






What other board has such sensitivity?

I would conclude that our Board of Directors from the past had such sensitivity!! Based on thier levels of compensaton Vs. thier lack luster performance

 

[AOG-N-IT]

[blockquote]
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On 10/30/2002 9:00:24 AM USAirBoyA330 wrote:

As a Flight Attendant I have long said that I would have no problem cleaning the aircraft on turns 1 hour or less. However I am aware that that would put a MAJOR job loss in the utility department. I mean I was written up by a cleaner one time in Philly for helping clean the aircraft when we were running 1 hour late! He said I was taking his job away from him. Since then I have never lifted one finger to help because it's not worth getting some stupid letter about. Then of course you have to keep one eye peeled for catering and run make sure you got what was supposed to be put on the airplane. If they need my help they can ask for it and I will jump right in. You see where the priorities are within the work groups? You would think people would like to work as a team....I guess not?
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[/blockquote]
USAirboyA330, Don't under-estimate the power of suggestion! The expressed purpose of this thread is to present the company with multitudes of suggestions to increase productivity..and cut away at the profit robbing issues that plague us.


If Stupid Union Driven work rules are something that you see as a Negative to the desired effect? Then voice it you should my friend! Now that we have Union representation actually taking seats on our BOD..this is exactly the right chance to be chipping away at the antiquated rules and mindset that has killed our ability to compete..and make a profit.

Never let your spirit of Teamwork become over-shadowed by fears of a letter. Un-less the letter is Pink? The only way it can hurt you is if the person delivering it rolls it into a sharpened point..and jabs you in the eye with it.

 

[USAirBoyA330]

As a Flight Attendant I have long said that I would have no problem cleaning the aircraft on turns 1 hour or less. However I am aware that that would put a MAJOR job loss in the utility department. I mean I was written up by a cleaner one time in Philly for helping clean the aircraft when we were running 1 hour late! He said I was taking his job away from him. Since then I have never lifted one finger to help because it's not worth getting some stupid letter about. Then of course you have to keep one eye peeled for catering and run make sure you got what was supposed to be put on the airplane. If they need my help they can ask for it and I will jump right in. You see where the priorities are within the work groups? You would think people would like to work as a team....I guess not?

 

[Oliver Twist]

This is from another thread I started yesterday. If you can get someone in upper managment to look and actually read it I would appreciate it. I changed a bit of the wording but the essence is still the same. Also, I made up the prices and the market as an illustration.


-------------------------------------------

This is my opinion, take it as you see fit.

Our industry's revenue generating process is broken and should be discarded. The first place we should make drastic changes is in our pricing policies. The fare system in place today can only be called ridiculous. Tue Wed fares with Sat stayovers at $98.00 round trip vs. $1900.00 walk up fares for the same flight. Where is the sense in that? Wearing a red hat on Tuesdays may get you a lower fare, but be advised you cannot change anything unless you want to pay $100.00 for the privilege. Does that make any sense to anyone? I bet 99% think as I do and the whole system needs to be scraped like the garbage it really is. Crandall (AA) had the right idea and the guts to try it. Have 4 or 5 fares for a route- that’s it! What could be simpler? Think of the man-hours, the phone calls, the confusion and the COST a simple fare structure will do away with. I know the nay Sayers are chomping at the bit to kill such an idea, but hear me out. The lines would be shorter and move much faster. Passengers would be far less confused about what they get for their money and on our side the hassles would be 90% less and the stress would be 99% less for both sides of the aisle.

Look at this simple illustration of what it could be like going from ALB to MIA in coach. First class would carry a $50.00 each way premium and be for fare 1-3 only except on day of departure-then anyone can buy a $50.00 upgrade if it's available. FOOD would be served on any flight over 1 hour.

1. Business fare- Walk up: $275.00 each way
2. Business fare- 7 day advance $220.00 each way
3. Leisure fare - 14 day advance $175.00 each way
4. Leisure fare - 21 day advance $150.00 each way
5. Leisure fare - 30+ day advance $125.00 each way

What are the rules you ask? Simple - I like the KISS principal myself.
Rules:
1. Totally refundable for 1 year- voucher after 1 yr.
2. Changeable without penalty - name changes permitted by the named ticket holder only.
3. Advance purchase dates written in stone - no waivers.
4. Standby permitted anytime during the ticketed day if fare class is full, if not full, confirmed.
5. DM rules remain in effect.
6. Stopover rules remain in effect (hidden cities, short checking etc - correct pricing eliminates this anyway.)

This is where the nay Sayers will go nuts I'm sure. But think of it this way. Imagine the shear relief of all passengers knowing it was not a use it or loose it ticket. Knowing that if they screw up the dates, all is not lost. I dare say we at USAirways would have full planes galore with folks paying real money for a real ticket and not taking advantage of the business passenger as it works now. Let us remember one thing, the business passenger has been paying the family vacations way for decades. Lets give everyone a break. How comforting would it be to our passengers knowing they get all the frills of US (seat assignments, DM, FOOD, drinks, interlining bags, and all the rest) without having to follow stupid and insane rules? Imagine what our public image would be like and the number of complaints vs. compliments. All the regular rules not listed above would apply such as the INVOL policy, etc. The only thing that changes is the cost structure. The above fares are for example only, I don't live in either place so I'm can't say what is a fare price, but I suspect we have folks in Crystal City who could.

What about the no shows?? Glad you asked. Since ALL fares allow standby or change at NO cost, I suspect our now show factor would not be an issue. When one person doesn’t show, another one does to replace them. If our goal is to put butts in the seat, then let's give them a reason to sit there and NOT hassle them. Air travel is hard enough as it is without insane rules making it worse. I suspect the load factors would rise and the work for all would be so much nicer. When the employees AND passengers are happy, money flows in by the boatload.

Since we would have fewer and shorter lines and calls to rates etc, the obvious question is, do we need all the folks we have now? The answer is YES, most deffinatly YES. They may not answer as many calls from agents, but they would instead answer far more calls from passengers making reservations. The gate and counter agents would have MORE people to process at a faster and simpler rate. FA and Pilots would fly MORE planes that are fuller and mechanics and cleaners would service more planes. What does it mean? It means we do not cut but EXPAND!!!!!! More planes and more jobs and NO reason to cut salaries or keep sucking it up for 6.5 more years. Let the company take the high road and open contracts before 6.5 yrs and reward us for our hard work instead of slamming the door on careers because of the lack of paying passengers. The above will bring them to us in droves

For once I would like to see US make the first move instead of following all the time. Do I want us to be a SW clone? NO. Do I want my company to make it? YES. Let's take the bull by the horns and pray someone who can make it change reads this and other suggestions and LISTENS.

I may have missed a few points, but the concept is sound I believe. Thank you for your time.

 

[LDKIAM]

Put vending machines in the galleys to get rid of F/A's just like you want to get rid of Utility and Mechanics.

 

[exjetgurl]

[P]CaptBud330-[/P]
[P]You know what you do Bud. Take all the trash that was left in the cockpit (banana peels, apple cores, Goldfish bags, etc..) and put them in the mailbox of the crew that left the plane that way. My hubby does that all time. [/P]

 

[autofixer]

Crandall once said, Revenue is the key! This was at a time when U was shutting down APUs after a certain period of time and single engine taxiing,'ideas that fly'was in effect,etc. And you know what, Crandall was right. We can save, save and save and it won't matter at all in the larger scheme of things; U has to generate more revenue than it costs to operate. It really is as simple as that. A wise man once said,They key to success in business is simple; give your customers what they pay for and get payed what you are owed.

 

[ChairPrefRes]

One idea for res would be for us to outsource our call center services to other companies instead of the reverse...Many small airlines and express carries could contract us to provide res or even frequent flyer functions for them...And at the field maybe the same could be done where we provide services by mechs and fleet service as a revenue enhancing situation instead of us outsourceing to others...Start competing with Timco for business instead of giving it to them...Just a thought...

 

[AOG-N-IT]

[blockquote]
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On 10/30/2002 10:52:27 AM autofixer wrote:

Crandall once said, Revenue is the key! This was at a time when U was shutting down APUs after a certain period of time and single engine taxiing,'ideas that fly'was in effect,etc. And you know what, Crandall was right. We can save, save and save and it won't matter at all in the larger scheme of things; U has to generate more revenue than it costs to operate. It really is as simple as that. A wise man once said,They key to success in business is simple; give your customers what they pay for and get payed what you are owed.
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[/blockquote]
autofixer, You and Mr. Crandal couldn't be more correct about the need to generate revenue...but to say that cutting out on stupid in-affective things won't help is nuts.

Example- If you have personal monthly expenses of say $1500...and your income is only $1400? You are $100 in the bucket per month.

Now, if you examine your budget , and rid yourself of un-necessary or less than prudent costs of even say $150 per month , you are now effectively Solvent..you may not be getting rich...but you are not upside down in terms of your debt to income ratio.

This example is of course a gross over-simplification of U's condition...but it's an easy to follow analogy of what needs to take place.

Certainly Dave and Crew need to be looking at the big issues...and beating the fire out of our Creditors for better terms , that are more in line with today's lending rates...This is an absolute given fact.


The marketing department needs to be exploring options to generate the much needed influx of revenue you mentioned too! , but if we as employee's can find measures to help take away from our horrible imbalance of expendatures? Then everything will come full circle , and we can return to being a financially viable company again.


Folks, We are in the shadows grasp...saying I can't or It won't , is not the awnser...The time to knuckle down and try to save the place is well past overdue...but we aren't done until we or the company officers admit defeat...and throw in the towel.

It's up to you folks..We can either try or quit? I think I would rather die trying to save this company....Than die without putting up a fight. How about you?

 

[UAL777flyer]

Ramp Rogue,

I can honestly tell you that there are good reasons for changing flight numbers and flight times. I always had that question when I worked in Customer Service for TWA at JFK. But now that I work in Scheduling, I've learned why it happens. One big driver of flight times changing is the shift in block times from winter to summer. Winter blocks are longer because the historical prevailing winds dictate that elapsed time increases during the winter. So, if a flight has a block time adjust of + 6 minutes, it can dictate having to change the flight times. Also, for the most part, different aircraft types have different block times because obviously, some engines have more power than others, etc. So if a flight is a 737 in one schedule and an A320 in another schedule, the block times will possibly be different. Block time changes also drive changes to your bank structure at the hubs. You might have to shift a bank 5 minutes earlier or 5 minutes later to ensure your spoke flights connect to the bank. This drives changes in flight times.
It is rare when any two flight schedules are exactly the same. If certain pieces of a schedule are changed or removed or added, you have to make it all fit within your structure, so it will inevitably drive changes. You also get requests from stations for time changes to help them make their operation run better or make better use of their manpower. The list goes on and on.

As for flight numbers, I agree that those should stay as static as possible. I know at UA, we do all possible to keep the same flight numbers. This is for the reason you pointed out: customer familiarity. But there are also times when flight numbers get changed. One reason is when you tie a flight to another flight as a thru flight through one of your hubs. Another possibility for US having to change flight numbers is the upcoming UA codeshare. I know we've had to allocate many more flight numbers for that, as I'm sure US has done as well. Hope this helps.

 

[usfliboi]

Oliver u are kiddin right? Lets do buy one get one free!

 

[DCAflyer]

I think a huge cost savings could be obtained by better utilization of crews and reducing the number of overnights. For instance, if we didn't have 3+45 scheduled between legs and aircraft changes, we could easily make a four day 22+30 a three day trip, reducing ground transportation and hotel costs and reduce per diem payouts. It also reduces the possibility of crews going illegal and having to call out a new crew to finish one flight in a day and paying hotel costs for the out of time crew.

I am sure all crewmembers have stories like this: We were on a 737 trip. The first day was scheuled to be long duty, with five legs. There was a built-in 3+42 layover in PHL between the third and fourth legs. Lo and behold, we had weather in PHL and our 3+42 PHL layover turned into almost 6+00. It bacame evident that we might go illegal. The Captain decided that we were not going on to FLL for our overnight (We're not inclined to do this company any favors) even though we didn't go illegal, we were out of contract so heading onto FLL was optional for the crew. The company sent us to PIT to overnight. The company had to call a standby crew (2 pilots and 3 flight attendants) to work a 2 hour flight from PIT to FLL (they, of course got paid for four flight hours... the daily minimum!). That crew took over our hotel rooms in FLL, but the company had to put us up in PIT... five hotel rooms plus ground transportation. Then, we got up before dawn and deadheaded to CLT. There, we passed the replacement crew from the night before on the jetway (they had worked our first scheduled flight from FLL to CLT) and they headed to another aircraft to deadhead home to PIT. That flight was I believe a little over an hour, plus the deadheading leg, but fell far short of the four hour daily minimum they got paid for. Then we worked the second of our scheduled two flights that day, in to YYZ. We worked a little over an hour, deadheaded a little over an hour, and got paid for four.

So, the cost to the company was five additional hotel rooms, and five additional crewmembers being paid eight hours each for working about three hours (not including deadheading time)

If we didn't have 3+42 built in, we would have missed the weather delay.

 

[DCAflyer]

Rhino said:

No FA should sit on their tush after landing. Clean the airplane.

DCAflyer replies:

Rhino, would you work for free? That is what you are asking us to do. WE DON'T GET PAID WHEN ANY DOOR ON THE AIRCRAFT IS OPEN. Yet, we are required to do our FAA-mandated safety-related duties. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about that. But every time we get an a different aircraft, we have to do our equipment preflights... for free! We board and deplane passengers... for free! If we have a gate hold and an aircraft full of of angry passengers, we have to deal with them... for free! When we help your 80 year-old grandmother get her 45 pound overstuffed bag into the overhead bin, we are doing that for free!

Keep in mind that that layover time is often the only time we can rest and grab a bite to eat. Many times I have only had 10 or 15 minutes between the time we get the last passenger off the aircraft until we have to start boarding again to run into the terminal to grab a burrito. Then it sits in the galley getting cold during by boarding duties (all flight attendants must be on board at their boarding stations during the boarding process!) I can barely scarf a few bites in between doing my cabin checks, then I shove it in a drawer for takeoff, scarf another bite after takeoff and head to the coffee maker.

I don't object to our doing some tidying of the aircraft between legs, but I don't think anybody should be asked to work for nothing. If the airline threw in even $6/hour on these layovers, I would absolutely not object, provided I do have a little time to rest and eat. I am willing to do my part to save the company, and have always pushed for the employees to make our concessions. But asking anyone to work for free is not right.

And your comment about sitting on our tush is downright degrading.

 

[exjetgurl]

[P]USAirBoy330 -[/P]
[P]Your story isn't unique. Back in 1989 after the PSA merger, my crew and I were in SAN. We came on to a pretty messy plane, which we had to board ASAP. So, I took hokey broom and started cleaning the front of the plane (no first class then). The next thing I know, I have some cleaner screaming at me. Telling me he was going to write me up, call my union. I was dumbfounded. The last thing going through my mind was to take away someone's job - I just wanted to clean the damn plane and get home. Anyway, I said sorry. However, he kept badgering me to the point where I started to cry. (Okay, I was only a pup back then very thin-skinned.) The Captain (Craig Reynolds may he rest in peace) just went nuts. Then again anyone that knew Craig knew he was hyper from eating all the candy he carried

 

[DCAflyer]

LDKIAM said:

Put vending machines in the galleys to get rid of F/A's just like you want to get rid of Utility and Mechanics.

DCAflyer laughingly replies:

Errrr, I think the FAA might have an objection or two to that one.