Management Screw ups.........tell me!

[jimntx]

Your memory may be accurate. There have been sporadic attempts since 9/11 to staff certain high-revenue, longer flights with a extra f/a--particularly if it was a deluxe dinner service (the few we have left) in F/C. I haven't seen that happen in awhile, though.

 

[FWAAA]

I realize that the B9's require the fourth, but even back in 2007 and 2008, I recall seeing a fourth flight attendant more often than not on my ORD-West Coast and MIA-Central America flying (which was the only places I would see the 738s).

Guess it was just a perception and not reality... or maybe it's just taking a really, really long time to convert airplanes? When did the new config start to roll out?

The 738 reconfiguration (of the 1999-02 deliveries) began last June, boosting the seating from 148 to 160. The new 738 deliveries began in 2009.

I may be misremembering things, but I thought there were some 738s that had always been staffed with four FAs (like the transcons and the ORD-West Coast flights) to help with meals, but maybe it's been one of the two in the back assisting the First Class FA. If it's just been three FAs, they've worked pretty hard to deliver good service to the 20 F seats (in the old days) and the 16 F seats in more recent history.

Hey, there's another screwup: Removing those four F seats from the 738s. I know there will be FAs who disagree (there were FAs posting here years ago that 20 F seats was too many), but AA added F seats to over 100 MD-80s in the 1990s expressly to make upgrades easier - at least that's what AA publicly said in the press releases and the annual report when 100+ MD-80s were improved from 14F to 20F.

I haven't bought many stickers in recent years since EXPs were given complimentary domestic upgrades, but I have been behind Platinums and Golds at the counters when they get out their credit cards to buy upgrade stickers - a few years ago, the execs said that upgrade stickers represented about $120 million in annual revenue - dunno the current estimate. There are elites who only upgrade when they can do it with their "free" earned stickers, but there are also elites who buy large numbers of them.

 

[MCI transplant]

<_< ------ In my travels down here in the V.I., I heard that it seems that AA's Management in SJU used to have most third party line maintenance contacts sewn up at the SJU Airport. But lost out to a outsider, because AA wasn't servicing them properly! ------Now that there has been cut backs at SJU, AA's crying the blues about it!!!

 

[wcs]

How often was minimum crew actually used?

Domestically=almost always. It became a problem in the early phase of the conversion. Some flights were planned with 3 some with 4 FAs, depending on the SCHEDULED aircraft configuration. It prevented making aircraft swaps outside a crew base or at the last minute because of cabin manning. Now, by policy, all 737 flights are manned with 4 minimum despite cabin configuration since October. So all the 148 seat aircraft are flying with 4 in the cabin no matter the service level or stage length.
I wonder how that will be reflected (spun) on productivity charts in the near future?

 

[Deleted member 14439]

OMG, We had a good one today. As many of you may or may not know @ AFW our supervisors run the overtime list manually. So today our supervisor calls us all in the breakroom to run the list. He proceeds and by the third name, uh wait I need to make a call. Well this debacle went on for nearly 40 minutes. 40 minutes of at least 40 AMTs sitting in a breakroom. I understand our line brothers have a computer based system for overtime. This thing today just left me in a daze.....WOW

 

[chris perry]

1. No check = kick off delays
2. Elimination of hyd bleeding on ps (big jump in hyd overheats)=ots
3. service check
4. Eimination of Mel crews ( mels are climbing again) can you say fine?
5. Staff admin ( vacations not included in manning sheets) Creates inaccurate manning,employees dont have accurate schedule,until someone gets around to putting in.I just finished a vacation week they thought I was awol for three days into vacation. We bid in oct for vactions ( how long has AA been in business ?)
6. Cash program = questionable parts no LMP parts should be in this program
just to name a few....

All avoidable problem screw ups.....

We all have been here long enough to see the problems and solutions...... Yet management fails to see....

 

[Frank Szabo]

I'm not certain why we continue to gripe about these idiots - the old saying is:

"If you can't DO, teach, manage, or soupervise."

This adage didn't come about for the hell of it - rather, it definitely has its basis solidly grounded in FACT.

The major problem re: this behavior is that IT IS NOT confined to AMR - that's only the part we see on a daily basis and are most familiar with. It's really not a wonder why we seem to be losing ground to third world entities like China and the rest.

 

[eolesen]

5. Staff admin ( vacations not included in manning sheets) Creates inaccurate manning,employees dont have accurate schedule,until someone gets around to putting in.I just finished a vacation week they thought I was awol for three days into vacation. We bid in oct for vactions ( how long has AA been in business ?)

Sheesh. Sabre still hasn't fixed that? We asked for that to be fixed back in 2003... The process of importing vacation into StaffAdmin is a total clusterfrack. Online vacation bidding would have fixed that to a large degree, but Sabre had no interest in building it just for AA, and AA ITS had no interest in paying for the custom development. And yes, definitely a management failure.

 

[Hopeful]

Sheesh. Sabre still hasn't fixed that? We asked for that to be fixed back in 2003... The process of importing vacation into StaffAdmin is a total clusterfrack. Online vacation bidding would have fixed that to a large degree, but Sabre had no interest in building it just for AA, and AA ITS had no interest in paying for the custom development. And yes, definitely a management failure.

Sabre is well into the process of being phased out in virtually every aspect of AA's operation. In maintenance, we hardly use Sabre anymore and many of the maintenance portals are non-Decs based. It is a desire of AA to be rid of Sabre within a couple of years. They are moving towards a Windows based standard.

 

[chris perry]

Sabre is well into the process of being phased out in virtually every aspect of AA's operation. In maintenance, we hardly use Sabre anymore and many of the maintenance portals are non-Decs based. It is a desire of AA to be rid of Sabre within a couple of years. They are moving towards a Windows based standard.

Kinda funny then,why was staff admin just launched in aircraft maint ??????? If we are getting rid of sabre???? Im sure the cost of the bye passes over a 8 year period would more than pay for development of a workable program. Staff Admin is a failure as used.I cannot even rely on it for a work schedule in avionics.If you change crews during a bid,your days off are wrong as well as vacation. So its just up to you to figure work schedules,add in rotating days ,shift bids every three months = confusion.....We have been in business more than 50 years still cant figure out a simple crew list... Plus add in the fact that no ne in admin wil answer a phone call or post a phone number on Jetnet. Simply a failure.....

 

[Frank Szabo]

Kinda funny then,why was staff admin just launched in aircraft maint ??????? If we are getting rid of sabre???? Im sure the cost of the bye passes over a 8 year period would more than pay for development of a workable program. Staff Admin is a failure as used.I cannot even rely on it for a work schedule in avionics.If you change crews during a bid,your days off are wrong as well as vacation. So its just up to you to figure work schedules,add in rotating days ,shift bids every three months = confusion.....We have been in business more than 50 years still cant figure out a simple crew list... Plus add in the fact that no ne in admin wil answer a phone call or post a phone number on Jetnet. Simply a failure.....

The "wizards" of TULE have recently brought on line a supposed computer based maintenance "system" that's supposed to be wondermous. Unfortunately, it's been a rather poor joke - more screwed up than the proverbial football bat.

It has been said some IT "brains" from NWA were the authors but, personally, I'd be rather ashamed to admit I had anything to do with a cluster of that magnitude.

 

[chris perry]

The "wizards" of TULE have recently brought on line a supposed computer based maintenance "system" that's supposed to be wondermous. Unfortunately, it's been a rather poor joke - more screwed up than the proverbial football bat.

It has been said some IT "brains" from NWA were the authors but, personally, I'd be rather ashamed to admit I had anything to do with a cluster of that magnitude.

These wizzards are for sure on the bonus pool.....But AA has a history of half way doing things,so funding may have been cut and the program half up and running so the wizzards may not be to blame.....