Jim (BoeingBoy) posted this in another thread, but I felt that it needed a thread of it's own. What a remarkable difference in management styles.
Doug's message from the latest 'Plane Deal' released Friday - it seemed appropriate to this thread......
A Message from Doug
Dear Fellow Employees:
This past week the merger between US Airways and America West Airlines became official. US Air ways has emerged f rom bankruptcy and together with America West, formed the nation’s fif th largest airline. Together we have formed one of the most financially stable airlines in the industr y with over $2.5 billion in cash and a reasonable debt load. This should allow us to withstand whatever this turbulent industry may throw at us.
As CEO of the new US Air ways, I wanted to let you know my thoughts about this merger and the road ahead. First, I am extremely excited about our future together. I believe that we are not just building an airline that will survive the years ahead; I believe we are going to build the best airline in the world.
To do that, we will need to embrace the following four goals:
1) We will be a low cost carrier:
Our industry has changed forever. Low cost carriers are expanding rapidly. Larger airlines like Delta and Northwest have filed bankruptcy to get their costs down to our level. Our customers demand safe, reliable and courteous service at a reasonable fare. To be the best airline in the world, we simply must be efficient. We must not waste money on things that customers don’t care about (or aren’t willing to pay for). We must be resourceful and figure out ways to meet our customers’ needs with fewer resources than our competitors.
Importantly, I do not believe this means that our employees need to give more. Both the US Airways employees and the America West employees have made tremendous sacrifices over the years and I do not anticipate further requests for contract concessions or pay reductions. We just need to work together to ensure we’re being as efficient as possible.
2) We will run a reliable airline:
More than anything, customers today want reliability. They want to know that they will be on-time and that their bags will be there when they land. The biggest negative about keeping the US Airways name is that, unfortunately, customers today do not perceive it to be a reliable air line. This must change. Our goal will be to regular ly be in the top three of all major airlines in on-time performance and baggage handling. We can and achieve this goal, and management ’s job will be to ensure you have the tools you need to make it happen.
3) We will be customer-friendly:
While reliability is our customers’ primary need, there are other product attributes that are important to their purchase decision. We will have a product offering that we are describing as “ business casual,†which basically means we will cater to our important business customers, but not in an overly formal way. We will fly to places that people want to fly to and our expanded, combined route network will be very helpful in that regard. We will be a global airline with a large, domestic hub-and-spoke network complemented with the shuttle operation and international ser vice. We will price our product fairly, but intelligently. We will not attempt to gouge passengers as we know this will only invite low-cost competition. We also will do our best to avoid ridiculously low fares that fall below our cost of providing service. In short, we will use the customer-friendly but profitable America West pricing model that we introduced in March 2002 and which has been reluctantly (but not wholly) replicated by every other major airline.
Our product offering will also be “business casual.†We will have first class cabins, airport clubs, in-flight video and an industry leading frequent flyer program enhanced by our inc lusion in the Star Alliance. We will provide our coach customers with the value-added option of purchasing meals on board. And yes, we will give our customers pretzels.
Most importantly, we will encourage our customer contact and front line employees to be professional but not rigid. We will certainly have policies and procedures, but we will encourage you to take care of our customers as you see fit and give you the latitude to do so. We understand that you know how to do your jobs better than we do and we want to be sure that you are given the f reedom to do just that.
4) We will treat our employees with respect:
We cannot do any of the things above without the full energy and effort of each of you. We must pull together and work as a team if we are to reach our goals. America West and US Airways employees must work together and treat each other with mutual respect and a spirit of camaraderie. Most importantly, the company must treat its employees with respect. We will communicate regularly and candidly. We may even use humor on occasion, which serves as a good reminder that while we take our work seriously, we do not take ourselves so seriously. We will listen to each other and respond professionally and respectfully. When the company has news to report, whether good or bad, we will do our best to do so in plain English, not corporate babble, and we will always be honest and open.
If we can do all of these things well – and we will – we will create the best airline in the world; one that customers want to fly and a place where people want to work.
Finally, on a personal note, I’d like to thank all of you for your encouragement and support throughout this process.
To the America West team, thank you for getting us to this point. You are an exceptional group of people and your resourcefulness and spirit are the only reason that America West is here to make this merger happen. The past four years as your CEO have been the most rewarding and enjoyable of my career. Thanks for believing in me as much as I believed in you. It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with you and I'm looking forward to our next chapter together.
To the US Airways team, thank you for giving me a chance. I’ve had the opportunity to meet with many of you already and have been impressed with your spirit and enthusiasm. I understand that you have been through a lot over the past few years and at times have felt betrayed by management. While I wish that you all would believe that we are different and trust us out of blind faith, you do not owe us that. Trust is earned and I, along with the rest of the leadership team, plan to earn yours. I only ask that you give me the chance to do so.
In closing, this past Tuesday was a great day. Thanks to all of you who paused and celebrated our amazing collective achievement. But let’s not think for a second that this is the end of the road. Indeed, it is just the beginning. We have much work ahead, but the people that made this happen can accomplish great things. Working together, we can accomplish anything. Let ’s go show the world how truly amazing the new US Airways is going to be.
Thank you again for your support. I’m honored to be a part of the team.
Doug's message from the latest 'Plane Deal' released Friday - it seemed appropriate to this thread......
A Message from Doug
Dear Fellow Employees:
This past week the merger between US Airways and America West Airlines became official. US Air ways has emerged f rom bankruptcy and together with America West, formed the nation’s fif th largest airline. Together we have formed one of the most financially stable airlines in the industr y with over $2.5 billion in cash and a reasonable debt load. This should allow us to withstand whatever this turbulent industry may throw at us.
As CEO of the new US Air ways, I wanted to let you know my thoughts about this merger and the road ahead. First, I am extremely excited about our future together. I believe that we are not just building an airline that will survive the years ahead; I believe we are going to build the best airline in the world.
To do that, we will need to embrace the following four goals:
1) We will be a low cost carrier:
Our industry has changed forever. Low cost carriers are expanding rapidly. Larger airlines like Delta and Northwest have filed bankruptcy to get their costs down to our level. Our customers demand safe, reliable and courteous service at a reasonable fare. To be the best airline in the world, we simply must be efficient. We must not waste money on things that customers don’t care about (or aren’t willing to pay for). We must be resourceful and figure out ways to meet our customers’ needs with fewer resources than our competitors.
Importantly, I do not believe this means that our employees need to give more. Both the US Airways employees and the America West employees have made tremendous sacrifices over the years and I do not anticipate further requests for contract concessions or pay reductions. We just need to work together to ensure we’re being as efficient as possible.
2) We will run a reliable airline:
More than anything, customers today want reliability. They want to know that they will be on-time and that their bags will be there when they land. The biggest negative about keeping the US Airways name is that, unfortunately, customers today do not perceive it to be a reliable air line. This must change. Our goal will be to regular ly be in the top three of all major airlines in on-time performance and baggage handling. We can and achieve this goal, and management ’s job will be to ensure you have the tools you need to make it happen.
3) We will be customer-friendly:
While reliability is our customers’ primary need, there are other product attributes that are important to their purchase decision. We will have a product offering that we are describing as “ business casual,†which basically means we will cater to our important business customers, but not in an overly formal way. We will fly to places that people want to fly to and our expanded, combined route network will be very helpful in that regard. We will be a global airline with a large, domestic hub-and-spoke network complemented with the shuttle operation and international ser vice. We will price our product fairly, but intelligently. We will not attempt to gouge passengers as we know this will only invite low-cost competition. We also will do our best to avoid ridiculously low fares that fall below our cost of providing service. In short, we will use the customer-friendly but profitable America West pricing model that we introduced in March 2002 and which has been reluctantly (but not wholly) replicated by every other major airline.
Our product offering will also be “business casual.†We will have first class cabins, airport clubs, in-flight video and an industry leading frequent flyer program enhanced by our inc lusion in the Star Alliance. We will provide our coach customers with the value-added option of purchasing meals on board. And yes, we will give our customers pretzels.
Most importantly, we will encourage our customer contact and front line employees to be professional but not rigid. We will certainly have policies and procedures, but we will encourage you to take care of our customers as you see fit and give you the latitude to do so. We understand that you know how to do your jobs better than we do and we want to be sure that you are given the f reedom to do just that.
4) We will treat our employees with respect:
We cannot do any of the things above without the full energy and effort of each of you. We must pull together and work as a team if we are to reach our goals. America West and US Airways employees must work together and treat each other with mutual respect and a spirit of camaraderie. Most importantly, the company must treat its employees with respect. We will communicate regularly and candidly. We may even use humor on occasion, which serves as a good reminder that while we take our work seriously, we do not take ourselves so seriously. We will listen to each other and respond professionally and respectfully. When the company has news to report, whether good or bad, we will do our best to do so in plain English, not corporate babble, and we will always be honest and open.
If we can do all of these things well – and we will – we will create the best airline in the world; one that customers want to fly and a place where people want to work.
Finally, on a personal note, I’d like to thank all of you for your encouragement and support throughout this process.
To the America West team, thank you for getting us to this point. You are an exceptional group of people and your resourcefulness and spirit are the only reason that America West is here to make this merger happen. The past four years as your CEO have been the most rewarding and enjoyable of my career. Thanks for believing in me as much as I believed in you. It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with you and I'm looking forward to our next chapter together.
To the US Airways team, thank you for giving me a chance. I’ve had the opportunity to meet with many of you already and have been impressed with your spirit and enthusiasm. I understand that you have been through a lot over the past few years and at times have felt betrayed by management. While I wish that you all would believe that we are different and trust us out of blind faith, you do not owe us that. Trust is earned and I, along with the rest of the leadership team, plan to earn yours. I only ask that you give me the chance to do so.
In closing, this past Tuesday was a great day. Thanks to all of you who paused and celebrated our amazing collective achievement. But let’s not think for a second that this is the end of the road. Indeed, it is just the beginning. We have much work ahead, but the people that made this happen can accomplish great things. Working together, we can accomplish anything. Let ’s go show the world how truly amazing the new US Airways is going to be.
Thank you again for your support. I’m honored to be a part of the team.
