Q.You 're going to spend August 23 (tthe day of new livery unveiling)
burning expensive fuel,wasting work hours and money on ground support
to take a tour around the country in a new plane! WHY?! We can wait to
see the plane ike everyone else. A: First,let 's dispel the notion of this
even being a huge waste of money and time. While we agree that any
unnecessary cost right now is a bad idea,we also believe that
sometimes you have to spend a little to make a little.Fuel for the
trip is going to run around $330,000.There are other costs too,as the
writer notes, like crew pay,ground crew,gate activities, food, and hotels
for positioning people for the event but we firmly believe the media
publicity we will receive (aand are already receiving in anticipation
of the unveiling) will far surpass the outlay.From a return on
investment perspective,we can buy ONE full page ad in USA Today for
$1150,000 and have that same ad line bird cages on Wednesday (tthe day
after the event).Or,we can stage a cool event where employees get a glimpse
of what the new airline 's culture will be like,see how we 're going to
position the fact that we are four airlines coming together as one,and
take media along with us so they can write their own perspectives and
communicate the new look/strategy to the public.
It 's also important to note that both teams, US Airways and America
West, deserve some fun. There has been an extended period of time where
things have not been so fun. There 's nothing fun about bankruptcy and
there 's absolutely nothing fun or funny about a pay cut or
furloughs.We 're not trying to gloss over the past or say,"Hey, have a
cupcake and it 'll all be OK!"" Not at all. But we do believe that one day
to bring the new livery to employees in our five key cities is an
appropriate celebration of the fact that we 've made it this far,and that
we have a lot of pportunity ahead of s.
Q: Why did US Airways employees get invited to ride on the plane and
not AWA employees? A: We'll clear this one up right now:Neither airline 's
employees were issued a blanket invite to ride on the plane.US
Airways employees were asked to ride wearing their retro uniforms
from their days as PSA, Piedmont and Allegheny Airlines employees.
Some America West employees were also invited along to do the same,as
were labor leaders from both airlines, as they are an important part of
the future too. The purpose of the day though was to bring the airplane
to YOU,so hope to see you next Tuesday in ne f the five cities.
Q.This past week, you named more executives and I noticed that there's a
VP of Culture Integration. What does hat mean? A. Since the merger
announcement,Doug has continually said that creating one positive culture
will be the most challenging aspect of this merger.Accordingly,Doug has
taken the lead on cultural integration for the new airline;however,we
still need him to run the company.We will rely on Larry
LeSueur,former VP,Phoenix Hub and Tower and an employee with more than
20 years at America West, to help lead
the charge.He will work closely with the Corporate Communications
department because the culture really starts with making sure everyone is
looped in and understands the goal and how they fit n.
It 's also important to note though,that culture is not driven by one
person (uunless you 're talking about Gandhi or someone of that
caliber);;rather it is driven by all of us. Culture influences every
decision we make. Front line actions,how we spend capital, what we invest
in,how we treat each other, what kind of policies we put into place,how we
celebrate and how we operate.It is hard to define; yet you instinctively
know a good one when you are part of a good one,and likewise you know a
bad one when you are in hat situation.
It 's probably good to acknowledge the obvious: Culture is not about
getting in a circle and singing kum-ba-yyah. It is not about BBQs or
parties,although celebrations are good for the soul and will be part of the
new US Airways. We fully recognize that we have to run a great airline
and all of us want o be art of inning eam.
It'ss sort of like Maslow's hierarchy
eople meet their needs in order of
importance.For example,basics,like food and water,come before
entertainment.
Likewise,no one wants to have a BBQ on the ramp when our A14 is less
than we would like,we can 't get bags connected with our customers,and
there 's a line stretching out from the help desk that has no end. So
culture will start by running a great airline that we're proud of,people
meet their needs, in order of importance.And along the way, we 'll take time
to applaud great performance (iindividual and collective),celebrate and
have some un.
burning expensive fuel,wasting work hours and money on ground support
to take a tour around the country in a new plane! WHY?! We can wait to
see the plane ike everyone else. A: First,let 's dispel the notion of this
even being a huge waste of money and time. While we agree that any
unnecessary cost right now is a bad idea,we also believe that
sometimes you have to spend a little to make a little.Fuel for the
trip is going to run around $330,000.There are other costs too,as the
writer notes, like crew pay,ground crew,gate activities, food, and hotels
for positioning people for the event but we firmly believe the media
publicity we will receive (aand are already receiving in anticipation
of the unveiling) will far surpass the outlay.From a return on
investment perspective,we can buy ONE full page ad in USA Today for
$1150,000 and have that same ad line bird cages on Wednesday (tthe day
after the event).Or,we can stage a cool event where employees get a glimpse
of what the new airline 's culture will be like,see how we 're going to
position the fact that we are four airlines coming together as one,and
take media along with us so they can write their own perspectives and
communicate the new look/strategy to the public.
It 's also important to note that both teams, US Airways and America
West, deserve some fun. There has been an extended period of time where
things have not been so fun. There 's nothing fun about bankruptcy and
there 's absolutely nothing fun or funny about a pay cut or
furloughs.We 're not trying to gloss over the past or say,"Hey, have a
cupcake and it 'll all be OK!"" Not at all. But we do believe that one day
to bring the new livery to employees in our five key cities is an
appropriate celebration of the fact that we 've made it this far,and that
we have a lot of pportunity ahead of s.
Q: Why did US Airways employees get invited to ride on the plane and
not AWA employees? A: We'll clear this one up right now:Neither airline 's
employees were issued a blanket invite to ride on the plane.US
Airways employees were asked to ride wearing their retro uniforms
from their days as PSA, Piedmont and Allegheny Airlines employees.
Some America West employees were also invited along to do the same,as
were labor leaders from both airlines, as they are an important part of
the future too. The purpose of the day though was to bring the airplane
to YOU,so hope to see you next Tuesday in ne f the five cities.
Q.This past week, you named more executives and I noticed that there's a
VP of Culture Integration. What does hat mean? A. Since the merger
announcement,Doug has continually said that creating one positive culture
will be the most challenging aspect of this merger.Accordingly,Doug has
taken the lead on cultural integration for the new airline;however,we
still need him to run the company.We will rely on Larry
LeSueur,former VP,Phoenix Hub and Tower and an employee with more than
20 years at America West, to help lead
the charge.He will work closely with the Corporate Communications
department because the culture really starts with making sure everyone is
looped in and understands the goal and how they fit n.
It 's also important to note though,that culture is not driven by one
person (uunless you 're talking about Gandhi or someone of that
caliber);;rather it is driven by all of us. Culture influences every
decision we make. Front line actions,how we spend capital, what we invest
in,how we treat each other, what kind of policies we put into place,how we
celebrate and how we operate.It is hard to define; yet you instinctively
know a good one when you are part of a good one,and likewise you know a
bad one when you are in hat situation.
It 's probably good to acknowledge the obvious: Culture is not about
getting in a circle and singing kum-ba-yyah. It is not about BBQs or
parties,although celebrations are good for the soul and will be part of the
new US Airways. We fully recognize that we have to run a great airline
and all of us want o be art of inning eam.
It'ss sort of like Maslow's hierarchy
eople meet their needs in order ofimportance.For example,basics,like food and water,come before
entertainment.
Likewise,no one wants to have a BBQ on the ramp when our A14 is less
than we would like,we can 't get bags connected with our customers,and
there 's a line stretching out from the help desk that has no end. So
culture will start by running a great airline that we're proud of,people
meet their needs, in order of importance.And along the way, we 'll take time
to applaud great performance (iindividual and collective),celebrate and
have some un.
