Key Quote

[mrplanes]

Folks:

In the meantime, I hope we can use this opportunity to further re-build the spirit of cooperation and camaraderie that is necessary and that we all understand that the enemy is the other airlines, and not each other.

This was the conclusion of the letter from Seigel regarding the end of the 5%. This is key. IF he means it, we will become successful and profitable. The spirit he speaks of is essential to the success of this, or any, company regardless of the type of business. This is the type of talk leaders talk. Then they walk the walk. Repealing the 5% was a great start. Now, Dave, followup on your peace offering. Motivate. Lead. Show us a vision. Tell us what we are going to become. Tell us how we are going to get there. Put a goal in front of us. Set the expectations for us AND your team high. Very high. Think outside the box. Copy the leadership AND management skills of the successful companies. And invent some of your own. We can get to the promised land of profit and expansion IF you do YOUR part in rebuilding the spirit. We are ready. We always have been. We are better than JetBlue and Southwest. We are better than Delta and American. Tell us where we''re going Dave. We''ll get you there. Count on it. We''re just waiting for a leader. Up to this point I didn''t think you were that leader. Prove me wrong.

mr

 

[PITMTC]

Nice post. I agree with you 100%. We have some of the best employees in the industry. All we need is direction.

I read all the positive posts about the 5% deferral stop and get great feelings when I read that all employees are feeling a little better.

I hope things continue.

 

[Light Years]

Other airlines the enemy? Oh, we know that- they're called Mesa.

100% mrplanes. Give us a goal and a vision (not involving being sold) that includes growth for US Airways employees and a positive, reinvigorated work atmosphere with adequate staffing and we are ready.

 

[N628AU]

Lightyears,

Mesa is the least of the issues for US employees right now. How about the EMB190 order from JetBlue, or the fact that Southwest believes when the new pier is done in BWI in two years, it will be largest airport in the WN system in terms of departures? What about the AirTran order from Boeing, or Atlantic Coast emerging as a new LCC (I personally think that one is either designed to put more pressure on UAL or it is a plan for failure)?

Stop worrying about who flys what in a US color. Delta had Comair, ASA, and Skywest running around forever as independents, and they grew at a much faster clip than US ever did. Continue to do your job every day the best you can, worry about what you can control and not about what you cannot. Your life will be immensely better, I guarantee it.

 

[AOG-N-IT]

N628U is 100% correct. We need to stop pointing fingers at our contract flyers such as Mesa..and worry about those that have the most to gain by our failures...which is anyone capable of flying the east coast on the cheap.

Mesa and the other contract flyers are now part of the big picture..and have been for some time. Don't waste your breath on tryng to de-rail "Our Feeds" to the Hub and Spoke system.

Sure , Everyone would love to be part of the "Mailine"..or reap some of the perks of at least being a WO..if there is any anymore?...but simply put , it can't be that way right now...if ever?

Nobody would like to see Johnny O. out of the picture more than I do. The facts are , we need what they can provide us in the immediate future.

(1) Regional Feeds.

(2) Independent Financing of thier own aircraft, flying in our colors.


Mesa is not without thier flaws..and not having operational spares is a bad thing , when the brown stuff hits the fan...but then again whom in this industry is not without some degree of shortcomings in one manner or another?

 

[Capecod]

"Mesa is not without thier flaws..and not having operational spares is a bad thing , when the brown stuff hits the fan"

Not to change the topic of this thread but just want to clear something up. Mesa operates without spares because U is desperate for the RJ's and has decided to use everyone that is available to them. Trust me, if Mesa could, they would pull a couple off routes and use them as spares instead. The cancellations that this causes has very little effect on the larger U but makes Mesa look like crap. Sorry about the interruption. -Cape

 

[MarkMyWords]

What a great thread.......mrplanes, N628AU and AOG........You couldn't be closer to the bulls eye if you tried. Hopefully once we get our regional growth in place it will eventually lead to growing mainline again. Taking back our lost market share is definitly key to get us up and running again. It will be nice to have at least a part of the airline growing again. Hopefully this will be the first of many steps that we, as an entire airline, take to defending and retaking our turf back.

Let's show the likes of Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and Airtran what we are made of!

 

[abonny]

MMW,
None of us (employee's) know what Dave's hidden agenda might be. His final goal may even be something we would all like to see happen, but he cannot get to the finish line without the support of the employees of U and he will never have their support or regain their trust as long as he continues to treat them as liabilities.

If he continues to let his hired guns, run the show, if he continues to break his word and the employee contracts or if he continues to implement things that were never negotiated, then even his best laid plans will go awry.

Dave has lost the faith, trust and respect of the U employees, his only way to recover would be to get rid of the hired guns and abide by the the employee contracts.

He may still be able to recover but that will take a lot more than the return of the 5%. It is now up to Dave to either build this airline or just be another notorious airline CEO footnote in the history books. If he continues to sick his dogs on the employees, his fate and our is sealed. But if he wishes to take the high road, he has the finest employees in this or any industry who will make him look better than he is and succeed far beyond his wildest expectations, it is his choice. He just needs to lead the way.

 

[mrplanes]

Correct abonny. This dog hunts only if the leader understands the basic concept of employee morale and the importance of a motivated and excited work force along with a vision of what we can become. Dave Seigel holds the key to success. Right now, only he can unlock the potential that this airline holds. And that potential is within the employees. All employees. Not balance sheets. If he chooses, we will do what needs to be done. We have proven our mettle by agreeing to tremendous cuts in pay and working conditions while continuing to provide outstanding performance since the BK.

What we have seen since emerging has been a management who has not performed nearly as well as the workers not to mention the treatment of the assets whom are most important. And that translates into anger, fear, and an us vs. them attitude. When that occurs, no company will succeed. Seigel has apparently recognized this and hopefully now understands that an inept management who tries to nickel and dime his workforce will not work on this property. But the jury is still out. Great first step, but he needs a serious followup too.

We can argue all day regarding airplanes, routes, structure and the like. But he can stop all the hand wringing and angst with leadership. I still think Don Carty would be an outstanding asset here. But if Seigel does what he is supposed to do, we wouldn't need him. Will he? This company could be a cash cow with the right leader. I remain skeptical about Seigel, but I have more hope now than just 2 days ago.

mr

 

[supercruiser]

>>Hopefully once we get our regional growth in place it will eventually lead to growing mainline again. Taking back our lost market share is definitely key to get us up and running again. It will be nice to have at least a part of the airline growing again>>

MarkMyWords,

Haven't you noticed around this industry, that regional growth has been explosive, particularly here? We have pulled mainline out of so many cities and replaced them with Express, that I can't even count them anymore. As a result, mainline has been shrinking faster than a speeding bullet. This brilliant strategy seems to be chasing customers and revenue away in droves, with the resultant inferior service, inability to carry cargo and air freight, let alone the passengers and their bags. Ironically, this has caused even more market share to be given away, never to be regained, as the competition has happily picked it up. Would you like to start a fare war with Delta or American to regain lost market share?

I am extremely skeptical of more regional growth as the answer to our prayers (hundreds of these little planes on order here), as it will just lead to more Express feeding each other in the hubs, as mainline dwindles away. Dave Siegel seems to have a fixation on a specific number of mainline planes, and is attempting (poorly I might add) to run an airline around it, instead of the proper number of planes to handle the proper amount of customers in a network that they want to travel in.

No, waiting for even more regional growth here will not lead to growing the mainline again, but will only lead to continued stagnation or shrinkage and outsourcing of our jobs, while we employees (the ones that are left) wait for the real plan to take place, eventual sale or merger, hopefully before the current mess self destructs.

supercruiser

 

[Light Years]

N628AU

I lost my job. Id be more than happy to continue to do it every day, as would my many laid off friends.

US Airways pretty much IS a regional airline. Sorry for "whining" about the fact that half of its employees are gone and have been replaced with other companies equiptment and people. Best of luck.

 

[N628AU]

Lightyears,

I am indeed sorry to hear that, I have been out of US since November. Keep your chin up, there are good and better possibilities out there.

Supercruiser,

The number of planes has been more of an ALPA issue than anything else. I am sure that Seigel would love to be flexible enough to do what he wants with the fleet, but the 279 is directly related to an ALPA contract, not a Dave Seigel fascination with that number.

Sometimes you need to step back to move forward. I am sure had these boards been available ten or twelve years ago, you would see many of the same arguments about what CO did. Were things peachy for them back then? Hell no. Did they get better? Sure did.

 

[supercruiser]

>>The number of planes has been more of an ALPA issue than anything else. I am sure that Siegel would love to be flexible enough to do what he wants with the fleet, but the 279 is directly related to an ALPA contract, not a Dave Siegel fascination with that number.

 

[PITbull]

Mrplanes,

I love to read your threads, because you speak not only from your heart but with intellect, logic, and reason. I too, feel differently about this mangement now than I did a few days back. Giving this 5% was the absolute right thing to do. I know they could have played "hard ball" with us because their report showed a "pre tax loss of $154 million. However, he missed a great opportunity to unite the employees with his management. As you have read, I'm sure, his letter to the employees still seemed "trite",IMO, and with arrogance. I would have hoped from him that he would have stated as our CEO that it is with greate pleasure to return this deferral back to the employees who through their great dedication and sacrifices have worked so very hard for this company through this transition, and even though we are not quite out of the woods yet, this return is well deserving to the employees of U; his employees. He could have taken all the credit for this, but instead it stated that the decision was made with much reservation, and pressure by the employees. What he implied in his message is "be careful what you wish for", cause we will all suffer the consequences. His "youth" in this kind of business and as a CEO shows. Hell, he should have asked me to write the damn letter. I would have made him look at least much better than he made himself look... He just missed it.

Supercruiser,

I believe you are very correct in your vision of our future, and perhaps the entire industry. Unfortunately, no where in the "business plan" does it call for "mainline" growth; only Mid-Atlantic. This is what concerns me daily. The furloughs will stop on mainline, once Mid-Atlantic is "full blown" and we are all over there.

I will begin to really trust this mangement when the furloughing of "mainline" stops and growth on "mainline" will begin....and that maybe never. And that is my main fear; the loss of a good profession and wage with a great, great company for all of us. IMO, if they stop the furloughing, that will surely indicate to me that mangement has met the threshold and we will all succeed together. At this point, with 20,000 employees gone, I believe it may be too late.

In the meantime, I try to stay focused, while on the frontline, let's concentrate on profits and give them the benefit of all our doubt. If it comes to fruition that "mainline" disappears for U, then I will be sure to take mangement's reputations down and out of here with me.

 

[N628AU]

Supercruiser,

I know that is a minimmum number.

My question to you is, without the feed that US depends on, what butts are going to be in the seats of the mainline aircraft?

The fact is our feed has been eroding since the mid to late 90s. An overly robust economy built on a tech industry that was grossly overvalued hid many of the faults. I blame both management and organized labor for failing to recognize this issue and addressing it then. Had it been, we would be in more shape of Continental, and Delta, our real enemy and it's RJ feed, would not be as large in all likelyhood. It is a shame that what is going on now is happening, but it had to happen sooner or later. You cannot keep running 40 people around in a 737 and continue to burn through the cash the company was going through.