Good to be the King!

[kirkpatrick]

[blockquote]
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On 2/18/2003 8:03:05 AM Hopeful wrote:

I hope Kirkpatrick is not implying that without the purchase of TWA, we would have been worse off!
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[/blockquote]
No. AA would have a little more cash to burn, but the basic problems would still be here.

MK

 

[Hopeful]

If Carty had young child restricted in F/C then he should have purchased a ticket for the tyke!

 

[A/C FIXER]

We all know hindsight is 20/20, in retrospect since "THE CAPO" booked over a month in advance he could have got a 21day in advance tix and got an upgrade at the gate, or he could have shown the rest of the company he cares if he had bought 1st class tixs, F/C R/T is around 1600.00 give or take a few bucks, times 3= 4800.00 - AN I/D 20 = 3840.00. Now if I were making 7.4 MILLION I sure as hell would be able to set an example and buy a few tixs, so that this backlash wouldn't happen.

 

[Oliver Stone''s Apprentice]

[blockquote]
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On 2/18/2003 7:44:34 PM flydcoop wrote:

but did the DC clan confirm Y because E F/C booking was not available?

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[/blockquote]

No, they booked Y because Don's son isn't old enough to fly in F.

And yes, there is a different cash value assigned to vouchers vs. the face value, based on a combination of actual redemption rates (i.e. if only 45 out of 100 vouchers issued are actually redeemed) and some other accounting factors which make my head spin...

Check out in RES: F*PSM/A5P


[blockquote]
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On 2/18/2003 7:44:34 PM flydcoop wrote:

have you ever worked at an airport in the trenches? Level 3 manager in Pax Svc or Ramp Svc counts as "in the trenches".
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[/blockquote]

Yes, I've been in the trenches. Buried somewhere in my attic are some very stylish shirts with red carbon smears on the sleeves to prove it... Started as a domestic ticket lift agent in ORD, worked international before we had IT5, transferred to JFK as a redcoat and later to DFW. Last agent job was at the ticketing help desk at HDQ.

 

[KCFlyer]

Can't win, can he? Are you sure he paid 21 day advance, or did he pay for an unrestricted ticket and just book early to insure that he had a seat on the flight. Note to Don, next time, charter a jet.

 

[ClueByFour]

[blockquote]
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On 2/18/2003 4:55:58 PM eolesen wrote:

The ON list is included in the email that the APA members are forwarding to all of the news media. Don and his son show as having been checked into seats 7A and 7B.

WNP, since you're the expert around here, where exactly is row 7 on a MD80? Last time I checked, it was still in coach. Has it moved?

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[/blockquote]

Still in coach. I had 7B out of DFW a few weeks ago.

Carty should have known to pick better seats in Y. Granted, his kid probably can't do the exit row, but the overheads over 7A/B are usually full of equipment and/or crew luggage .

Next time, were I Uncle Don, I'd simply charter a jet ex-DAL and save the headache.

 

[TWAnr]

[blockquote]
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On 2/19/2003 12:33:30 PM KCFlyer wrote:

Given all that, he should have done one of two things - Either quietly pick up the phone and charter a jet, or quietly pick up the phone and book a trip on Delta. He can't win.
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[/blockquote]

Come on. He could have bought positive space tickets on AA (at a 20% employee discount) or traveled space available just like every other employee. From what I read on another bulletin board, the next flight to PVR, that Friday, had open seats (two and a half hours later, AA359 @ 12:54 p.m.).

 

[KCFlyer]

Sorry WNP but in looking for ways to take a vacation without incuring the wrath of labor, flying free on Mexicana wouldn't cut it. That's why I said quietly book on a competitor.

 

[BDLDFW]

[blockquote]
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Actually, Mexicana would have loved the PR to have flown him for free.
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[/blockquote]

Too bad Mexicana doesn't fly DFW-PVR or DFW-anywhere.

 

[KCFlyer]

[blockquote]
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On 2/19/2003 12:42:01 PM TWAnr wrote:

Come on. He could have bought positive space tickets on AA (at a 20% employee discount) or traveled space available just like every other employee. From what I read on another bulletin board, the next flight to PVR, that Friday, had open seats (two and a half hours later, AA359 @ 12:54 p.m.).
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[/blockquote]

From what I read he did buy positive space, if one is to believe the evil eolesen. Then he gets dissed because he bought postive space but expects an F class upgrade at the gate, or he bought positive space at 30 day advance fares and should have paid full fare. No matter how you slice it - he can't win.

 

[flydcoop]

eoleson - You have MOST definitely been in the trenches...JFK agent is right up there with MIA for the chaos factor!

KCFlyer - No one here is denying DC a vacation, however with the requested cuts and current financial situation, the man's actions are under extreme scrutiny.

 

[KCFlyer]

[blockquote]
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On 2/19/2003 11:44:51 AM flydcoop wrote:

eoleson - You have MOST definitely been in the trenches...JFK agent is right up there with MIA for the chaos factor!

KCFlyer - No one here is denying DC a vacation, however with the requested cuts and current financial situation, the man's actions are under extreme scrutiny.
----------------
[/blockquote]
From what I've read in this thead:

1. Carty and family had 3 FC passengers give up their seats to accomodate them

2. Carty was booked in coach

3. No CEO would fly coach

4. Carty is too old to have young kids

5. Eolesen is in managment, therefore cannot be trusted

6. Agents don't offer vouchers so I can fly FC

7. Sitting in coach was "shared sacrifice"

8. Booked a month in advance to upgrade to F at the gate. Should have paid full fare.

Given all that, he should have done one of two things - Either quietly pick up the phone and charter a jet, or queitly pick up the phone and book a trip on Delta. He can't win.

 

[WingNaPrayer]

Actually, Mexicana would have loved the PR to have flown him for free.

 

[bagsmasher]

Guys, does it really matter? This trip is not even a drop in the bucket. Carty wasted $3 billion on TWA. Give me a break.

 

[MrMarky]

If the guy actually paid for tickets of any kind, he oughta be fired for stupidity.

Come on now. If I was the CEO of an airline I sure wouldn't be paying for seats on my own airline.

And employees have no room to talk. Sure we'll hear stories about how you paid for this flight and paid for that flight. But everybody knows that by and large, you fly for free or pretty close to it, often in first class.

Give the guy a break. It's his airline and he's entitled to fly it for free, in first class as far as I'm concerned. And if somebody got bumped in order to accommodate him, well I suppose that's just the way the turbine spins.

How many passengers can tell stories about being denied an upgrade and then when making your way back to coach seeing uniformed employees sitting in the first class seats you couldn't get.

If you want to criticize the "king" let's use some legitimate gripes, like $5.3 billion in losses over the past two years. In my book that should earn him a free first class ticket ONE WAY to the retirement villa of his choice.

And yes, hindsight being 20/20, I would also have to side with those who feel his purchase of TWA was a bad move. It was a great move for the unions (who opposed it) since it's kept a whole lot of them off the streets. But as far as adding value to the airline's balance sheet, as things have turned out that would be a pretty tough argument to support. Not that AA wouldn't be going belly up anyway even if they hadn't bought TWA.

Most of these major airlines remind me of the dot-com boom. I could never understand what the sustainable model for producing a profit was. As it turns out, that's because there wasn't any, not because I was too stupid to see it. Same thing with the big airlines. Did they ever really think they could sustain a profitable enterprise indefinitely by funding it through rip-off pricing on the backs of their best customers? And to add insult to injury, when everything starts to go in the toilet, how do they respond?? By going after two groups -- their employees and their customers! Sounds like a plan to me.