Mesa May Purchase Usairways

[EyeInTheSky]

The victory cup management received for their win over the employees is filled with vinegar, not wine.

Jim

[post="255056"][/post]​

Forget the vinegar, I am sure all of us would love to take a good long whizz in that cup.

 

[700UW]

Lakefield did no such thing, he was only in charge of the International division.

Mr. Lakefield, 60, served as chairman and chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers International from 1995 to 1999, when he retired. In that position, he was responsible for all of Lehman’s activities in Europe and the Middle East, including investment banking, capital markets, asset management and private client businesses. He has served as a senior advisor to the Investment Policy Committee of HGK Asset Management since 2000, and also served as a non-executive director of Constellation Corp., PLC.

Mr. Lakefield joined Lehman Brothers, Inc., in 1974 as senior salesman, fixed income division. While at Lehman Brothers, he held a variety of management positions, including manager, U.S. Treasury primary dealer; sector head, U.S Treasury, corporate, non-dollar and municipal bond divisions; and co-head, fixed income division.

 

[usairways_vote_NO]

I can't find the quote or the article(s) because I don't have time to rummage through some 3,500 hundred Google items. or MSN Search items. Fortune or Forbes I think it was in. I know this because I was more than a little concerned over his appointment as CEO of US.

In fact I still have concerns. The primary issue being his ability to lead the employees through the raging storm of dissent, demoralization & dehumanization that occurs when massive change totally upsets the airline industry applecart.

I see huge positives and negatives and (I?) am fearful of the future. I think Lakefield is up to the task but I wouldn't bet any more money on it than I have in my pocket right now which is about $23.50.

[post="255115"][/post]​

You sure haven't slowed down on your I I I's. 10 of them in a total of 7 sentences plus we get the bonus of knowing how much money is in your pocket. Today is our lucky day!! So is that in one or two pockets? Do you keep bills in a wallet and change in seperate pocket? Inquiring minds want to know!!!!! You don't get bonus though you didn't use "me" this time. You did use "my" once though but you slipped you could have squeezed your 11th "I" before "am fearful" So that offsets your bonus for your "my" use.

 

[700UW]

He is not a leader.

A leader does not have a judge force a 21% paycut on employees making $30K to $50K a year while he takes NO paycut, while he earned $1.1 Million in the same year.

A leader does not tell the press "I can't afford a paycut I have to pay for two places to live", funny he was reiumbursed for living expenses and owns a $1.2 Million house in Jersey besides his house in FL.

A leader does not yell at retirees who's pension he just went to court to terminate, while his and fellow other exectuvies pensions are full funded and say " I wish I never took this job."

A leader does not lie to the press and the government and blame the employees for the Christmas Meltdown, especially after the DOT IG clearly places the blame on management.

A leader does not sit idle and take no action against his executives and management for the PHL fiasco.

With leadership like that, no wonder why US has one foot in the grave and the other very close behind.

 

[usairways_vote_NO]

I did find this quote:

"During a three-decade career on Wall Street, Lakefield rose to head Lehman's European operations and fended off takeover rumors throughout the mid-1990s, surviving a period when Lehman laid off 900 people. He retired in 1999."

This is even from a PIT paper so it was to be true right? The whole story

[post="255120"][/post]​

And I found these quotes and they are from you so it could be true? Not

In general he has been viewed by the business community as a "Quiet Leader" who through his efforts was widely credited with saving Lehman Brothers. He comes with a pretty good pedigree.

One area where he has demonstrated considerable skill is negotiating with the money people to keep the doors open.

[post="254997"][/post]​

Lakefield led Lehman Brothers through some of its toughest times. During that time he managed to rally a demoralized workforce after nearly 900 layoffs and kept the company from being sold.

[post="255050"][/post]​

Hello? Please explain where any of your great comments on Lakefield are relevant to what was said about him in the story. He saved all of Lehman brothers while working overseas?

 

[700UW]

Holding off takeovers? Laying off 900?

Wow what challenge.

US has laid off over 20,000 and has lost money hand over fist, yet they reward the failures of the past executives with MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. And have gotten BILLIONS in employee concessions and still can't figure out how to run an profitible operation.

Lakefield is not a leader, he is just another blood sucking leech at the helm of this company.

Messrs Nagin, Gangwal and Wolf: $35,000,000 Payout for failure!

Messrs Siegel and Cohen $9,000,000 Payout for failure!

Piney might as well give up, Lakefield is no leader, a leader inspires the workers to rise to the challenge, something that Lakefield and Glass have no clue on how to do, there answer to everything is to beat the employees into submission instead of running an airline. Leaders have vision and respect the employees, none of the so-called executives at US have a clue on how to do!

He needs to read Lee Iccoca's book, Lee's salary was $1 a year when the employees gave concessions and the government bailed out Chyrsler.

 

[usairways_vote_NO]

700 It sounds more like he survived getting laid off himself. Like he was lucky not to be one of the 900.

 

[PITbull]

I did find this quote:

"During a three-decade career on Wall Street, Lakefield rose to head Lehman's European operations and fended off takeover rumors throughout the mid-1990s, surviving a period when Lehman laid off 900 people. He retired in 1999."

This is even from a PIT paper so it was to be true right? The whole story

[post="255120"][/post]​

Bob,

Hardly survival mode. Warding off a takeover means the company had value at that time.

In this arena, and this environment, the only value U has is in peices and even that is leveraged to the "gills".

So, there is no magic "rain maker" on this hill.

 

[PITbull]

Jim,

That was certainly a part of it. But also the fact that they put together the GECAS, Air Wisc and other deals that keep them afloat. Did they play hardball with the workgroups and win? Yeah they did! That's what Management is supposed to do.

That management team may pay a steep price for victory. The final chapter has yet to be written. I see some things I like and some things I don't like.

[post="255002"][/post]​

Bob,

What came first...the Chicken or the Egg?

The employees gave $2.5 billion in cost savings in 3 years, and only THEN did GE and Air Wisconsin decide to toss some cash this way.

Keep in mind, (which you already forgot) GE has engines and a/c that need to be in the air in order for them to make money. They tossed in some cash so they could get it back in leases.

Once GE finds places to put their a/c, they'll be taking more out of our airline and hides if this thing doesn't "by some act of god" turn around.

 

[PITbull]

Bob,

You are a funny guy...by painting a nice picture of the guy will not get you a meeting with him.

I've met him on several occasions, up close and personal, ask me what I think?

How can you "rank" Lakefield as #1 CEO....LOL....

You never even met him? How sincere do you think he is?

Let me give you a hint...he agrees, at the moment, with whom ever has his attention at that split second.

Next day...all is forgotten because he is now sitting with someone else who has convinced him of something else.

He flows with the wind and changes his mind like a camellion.

I can't respect a leader who highly depends on the opinions of others to make decisions. Problem with Lakefield is he doens't know this business and therefore can't discern where to lead the company and how to get us there without the same 3 guys (who don't know either) playing the "guessing game".

He is the wrong person sitting in the seat, driving the bus in the wrong direction.

This airline is soley run by the Labor Relations Exec. V.P. His expertise is Labor, and therefore, doesn't know how to run an airline. He only knows how to rip cost savings from employees. The company runs its balance sheet on just those savings.

That is why we are still teetering on the cliff, one small stream of air...we're going over.

 

[usairways_vote_NO]

That is why we are still teetering on the cliff, one small stream of air...we're going over.

[post="255140"][/post]​

To be fair there were others idiots running the show taking USAirways to the brink too. But I agree USAirways is going nowwhere except over cliff until some management gets in that knows how to perform a miracle because that is what it will take at this time or for the bottom of oil fall out.

 

[calibrator]

Bob,

You are a funny guy...by painting a nice picture of the guy will not get you a meeting with him.

I've met him on several occasions, up close and personal, ask me what I think?

How can you "rank" Lakefield as #1 CEO....LOL....

You never even met him? How sincere do you think he is?

Let me give you a hint...he agrees, at the moment, with whom ever has his attention at that split second.

Next day...all is forgotten because he is now sitting with someone else who has convinced him of something else.

He flows with the wind and changes his mind like a camellion.

I can't respect a leader who highly depends on the opinions of others to make decisions. Problem with Lakefield is he doens't know this business and therefore can't discern where to lead the company and how to get us there without the same 3 guys (who don't know either) playing the "guessing game".

He is the wrong person sitting in the seat, driving the bus in the wrong direction.

This airline is soley run by the Labor Relations Exec. V.P. His expertise is Labor, and therefore, doesn't know how to run an airline. He only knows how to rip cost savings from employees. The company runs its balance sheet on just those savings.

That is why we are still teetering on the cliff, one small stream of air...we're going over.

[post="255140"][/post]​

With all your wisdom you freely give to everyone on these boards why don't you take over the reins and guide the ship into bliss for all concerned. ...and use a damn spell checker...it's "chameleon". A solid command of the written words speaks volumes of the writer.


Love me.....

 

[BoeingBoy]

This whole thread started over the comments of "an industry source", perhaps not surprisingly after Dan Fitzpatrick hung around outside the MEC meeting last week and talked to some pilots (was USA320 there by any chance?). So I thought I'd throw this out.....

Mesa Air taking stake in US Airways unclear

Jim

 

[bwipilot]

Pitbull, I thought your last post was well written and had useful input. I especially liked the part where you intentionally mispelled chameleon and sent Francis--no I mean Calibrator over the edge. :}

 

[usairways_vote_NO]

With all your wisdom you freely give to everyone on these boards why don't you take over the reins and guide the ship into bliss for all concerned. ...and use a damn spell checker...it's "chameleon". A solid command of the written words speaks volumes of the writer.
Love me.....

[post="255151"][/post]​

Now if we could get a writing, grammar, and punctuation checker both you and I could be perfect.