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On 10/21/2002 4:37:34 PM FA Mikey wrote:
No we have not given any money back. So far only USAIRWAYS has gone down that road. AA and Don Carty have not asked. They see, there are other ways wee can work together to save this company with out putting it on the backs of its faithfull employees.
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Please tell me you don't really believe that. There are no such things as faithful employees as far as the upper crust at AMR are concerned, employees are chattel nothing more, nothing less.
If you believe for one moment that your jobs will not become a barganing tool in all this industry mess, then you won't believe it when AA files for chapter 11 and graciously accepts the court's help with holiding it's creditors...and the unions...at bay!
No one wants to address the singlemost reason behind all the industry woes, and that's bad management, pure and simple. When times were good (read: when business travelers were lining up like sheep to a slaughter) management took on a spend-spend-spend attitude and failed to see that with technological advances on the loom, that the fat times weren't going to last forever.
I totally discount 9/11 as any type of factor in the business traveler slump. Simply put, corporate travel finally stood up and said NO. The only thing 9/11 has put a dent in is the leisure traveler which most airline corporates equate to garbage in tow anyway. Pricing isn't going to get anyone back to the airports, a return of civil liberties, even a modest one will go a long way in accomplishing that.
If United goes chapter 11, then AA will have no choice but to follow suit because they sure as he11 won't be able to compete with UA in bankruptcy with their code-share USAir in bankruptcy too. Together UA and USAir would clean up the majority of available travel dollars.
Just like the government waits for the holidays to yank young men from their homes and send them off to play toy soldier for the generals in some third world country, this airline will use the holidays as the perfect time to crap all over their employees in such massive amounts you'd think corporate was eating epsom salts!
Mike...a positive attitude only goes just so far, and you've been fairly upbeat on the board in the face of many negative postings. You're setting yourself up to be one of those that falls the hardest. Ease up on then gung-ho bit...its blocking your ability to read between the lines!
I'm sure many appreciate your attitude of saving the company by working together but you have to face the facts, you can't save the company that you worked for a year ago, those days are gone, and that company, just like the existing one has too many employees, too many managers, too many planes, flies to excessive destinations and will continue to bleed like the Nile until some of it goes. The industry analysts predictions are still pretty close...AA needs to shed 30,000 employees and 300 planes. I'm not able to do the math but I don't know how far back in seniority on the AA side 30,000 employees would go - something like 1991?