Several years ago (try 2000) when United was at the top in size and pay most of you desperately wanted a job at the big UAL. Now that it has taken a fall and rebounded (perhaps with not much grace) and is making fighting stand to stop the proliferation of not only the LCC white trash haulers but to continue old line carrier standards (quality pilots, fa's, mechs and COMPETENT training depts) I say STOP bashing UAL. I can say the same stuff about AMR and especially NWA and DAL. As far as CAL 2 C11's in the previous 2 decades says it all. Stop bashing the old line carriers predicting demise and root for the remaining 5 that are left. My gosh these carriers who rent everything own nothing pay nothing and never had are trying to ruin your job and by many standards have. I know this as I work for one currently but not much longer. Southwest is the only one I respect that is until take productivity cuts. It always comes down to the lowest bidder. Ticket prices must go up...for everyone. If you work for a legacy...respect those who do were all in this together if you don't well to hell with you the war is on!
For all the UAL haters, make funners, etc
- Thread starter boeing787
- Start date
KCFlyer
Veteran
When you refer to the customers of your competition as "white trash haulers", you have in effect insulted over 75 million potential customers. So...is bashing the customer not the same as bashing a given airline?
FWIW, airfares DO need to rise. Yet I just read on another board where someone flew from Atlanta to LA and back (on a different bankrupt airline) for $250. Too bad it cost them almost twice that to fly them.
Take a look at the average O & D fare today compared to 20 years ago. Truly scary. No wonder this industry is always in failure mode. There is not a shred of economic sanity to be found.
QA4Jet-A
Veteran
Oh, I got your point all right. Funny, I see UAL Flight Crews on our LCC "White Trash" airplanes often hitching a ride. Does that make them "White Trash"? All have always been very polite on the flight, in the Hotel Vans, and even sitting around in the Lounge, getting "Sauced". I have never Bashed UAL or any Carrier. We, most, are professionals, who understand, or try to, the business. I would venture a guess that alot of LCC's consist of former Legacy Carrier employees who were either laid off, shut down, or just plain quit. We don't need another War, we have one already with Terrorists. If you want one, Flame away....
I agree with your observations, on the jumpseat, in the van, and out to dinner all the other airline employees I encounter are great people for the most part. They don't carry on with any crap about how their company is better than another, and appreciate that when on top it is only a matter of time before the order of things changes.
I don't agree that any LCC is a refuge for Legacy employees, it is simply a more profitable sector as cheap airfares ruled due to 9-11 and various other items. To hypothesize that anyone is better off at anyone carrier from now on is ignoring the very cyclical nature of the industry, and the inevitable changes that are coming due to inflation, expiring fuel hedges, business cycles, etc, etc.
In a few years things will look very different in the industry, so enjoy it while your at a successful carrier and chalk it up to good luck, many of us had our choice of jobs at several airlines and chose the best at the time. That choice will look better or worse at different times in the future.
JBG
I can understand some pilot groups taking pay cuts, but not why they went so far below the largest 'low cost" carrier. They should have refused to go any lower than SWA rates.
Actually, SWA comming all the way up to UAL rates in the 90's and beyond would have been better. But SWA was proof of concept that if you undercut everyones pay, you'll get stock options and grow faster, now we all get to deal with that legacy.... :down:
It took BK for UAL to get SWA payrates or lower
