My two cents

[curious1]

This is my .02 cents of ideas to help US to be profitable again.

Have every FA sell everything under the sun like G4 does. G4 agents sell shuttle tickets, Broadway show tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, etc and their flight attendants make a nice commission off of every sale.

Join DL & AA in eliminating the DCA & LGA restrictions at the federal level. Federal law trumps the city so the PANYNJ restrictions at LGA will be invalidated. US wins in DCA, DL wins in LGA. AA wins by being allowed to fly nonstop to LAX, SJU and the rest of the Caribbean from LGA and possibly DCA and it makes all of their lots more valuable. Right now they lose a lot of money in LGA.

Reevaluate company buyouts. Some employees would quit for as little as $5,000 or $10,000. You could eliminate a $40,000 a year employee and replace them with a $20,000 a year employee saving the company money in as little as 6 months (less vacation time, lower over time, lower holiday pay). Layoffs do the exact opposite by keeping the $40,000 employee and eliminating the lower wage one and you save on unemployment.

Charge $5-10 for the first European bag checked. Other airlines will follow.

Co-location in PHX. Bring UA, HA & CO into terminal 4 in PHX. They can lease gates from you, saving money; it saves gas by not driving interline bags across two terminals, it's easier for passengers to connect in the same terminal.
Co-location in BOS. Bring UA to terminal B to help pay rent.
Co-location could have worked in LAS by bring AC, HA, CO & UA into the A-B gates but you are cutting the hub.

More Interline agreements. With GIG/GRU service you need one with Tam airlines. Brazil has lots of interline connection opportunities. With OSL you need an SAS agreement, ZRH you need Swiss airlines and as many more as you can get.

This is off topic but, you can also show goodwill to the ramp employees by opening up JFK to the ramp to help with all of the LGA jobs to be lost with the DCA/LGA gate swap.

 

[ChockJockey]

Co-location in PHX. Bring UA, HA & CO into terminal 4 in PHX. They can lease gates from you, saving money; it saves gas by not driving interline bags across two terminals, it's easier for passengers to connect in the same terminal.

Unfortunately T4 in PHX doesn't have enough gates to accommodate such a move, at least not until the final concourse goes up on the South side, whenever that's going to be.

T2 with its 12 gates is almost 50 years old and will be the next to get bulldozed. The last concourse to be built onto T4 will have eight gates would would probably be enough for CO and UA. Not sure about AS and little ZK when T2 goes. The new west terminal is years down the road.

Well at least AC's at T4 now, I agree it would be handy to have the Star Alliance co-located in PHX.

 

[nycbusdriver]

Join DL & AA in eliminating the DCA & LGA restrictions at the federal level. Federal law trumps the city so the PANYNJ restrictions at LGA will be invalidated. US wins in DCA, DL wins in LGA. AA wins by being allowed to fly nonstop to LAX, SJU and the rest of the Caribbean from LGA and possibly DCA and it makes all of their lots more valuable. Right now they lose a lot of money in LGA.

This is basically a sound idea. Not really sure about the federal law trumping the rights of the extremely powerful quasi-governmental agency known as the PANYNJ. The federal government controls the airspace, but an encroachment like that on state property would have serious ramifications that I know the FAA would never attempt, and Congress would likely stay away from it, too. I think PANYNJ should have the right to control how their airports are operated. I disagree totally with the perimeter rule for LGA and DCA, as the reason for those rules is now moot due to the great expansion of service at EWR, JFK and IAD over the past few decades.

You also mention that elimination of the perimeter rule for LGA would open up "the rest of the Caribbean" for AA non-stops. Despite the occasional misinformed flight attendant who announces on arrival at LGA: "Welcome to LaGuardia International Airport," LGA is not an international airport at all. There are no customs facilities for arriving schduled airline flights. Unless an international flight arrives from a precleared foreign airport, it cannot land at LGA. There is only one of these actually in the Caribbean, and that's Aruba. San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Croix are US territories, so those would work, too. Although nowhere near the Caribbean (check your map), Freeport, Nassau and Bermuda also have preclearance.

 

[safety stud]

Reevaluate company buyouts. Some employees would quit for as little as $5,000 or $10,000. You could eliminate a $40,000 a year employee and replace them with a $20,000 a year employee saving the company money in as little as 6 months (less vacation time, lower over time, lower holiday pay). Layoffs do the exact opposite by keeping the $40,000 employee and eliminating the lower wage one and you save on unemployment.

Here's a thought for you... Lets's just say they decide to do the things you say. They eliminate the higher paying jobs, including mechanics, gate agents, flight attendants... and yes and most importantly PILOTS... Do you really want to fly on an airplane flown by a pilot with no experience. Do you really want to have the mechanical integrity determined by someone right out of tech. school. Do you really want your safety and well being provided a flight attendant by some kid right out of high school with no clue as what to do in a real emergency. And do you really want your ticket set up by a tech geek more interested in using an ipod rather than providing you what you need?..... HMMMMMMM....

I think not...

Just my opinion...

 

[HP2USFA]

Here's a thought for you... Lets's just say they decide to do the things you say. They eliminate the higher paying jobs, including mechanics, gate agents, flight attendants... and yes and most importantly PILOTS... Do you really want to fly on an airplane flown by a pilot with no experience. Do you really want to have the mechanical integrity determined by someone right out of tech. school. Do you really want your safety and well being provided a flight attendant by some kid right out of high school with no clue as what to do in a real emergency. And do you really want your ticket set up by a tech geek more interested in using an ipod rather than providing you what you need?..... HMMMMMMM....

I think not...

Just my opinion...

Not all of the new hires are right out of high school. Case in point: my entire class (now on furlough in the West) consisted of no one below the age of 30. Most of us were previous FAs and came with much more experience than was being taught in basic. And we'd be lucky to make 20k.

I would fathom a guess that the same would hold true for almost every other technical/professional position. Do not confuse low pay with low skill requirements. There are still flight hour requirements to be hired by all the majors. Just because we pay them crap doesn't mean they don't know what they are doing.

Just something to think about.

 

[autofixer]

I honestly don't believe the public cares about experience. They just want cheap. It seems they are willing to take their chances that the planes fly themseves--they don't--and the F/As are only there to serve beverages, which they are not willing to pay for and the airplanes majically repair themselves by little elfs.

Now that cheap has gotten us an official 10.2% unemployement rate (The real rate is 17.5% http://rawstory.com/2009/11/real-unemploym...te-stands-175/) let's see how the public likes what they have sown. Cheap has gotten our manufacturing base moved offshore and the banking and financial system is about to move offshore with upcomming new regulations. What's left? We are in a full fledged 5 alarm depression, just like our grandparents had, and I don't know what LCC can do to stay above water. Who is going to fly to the Caribbean if they have no job or they are in fear of losing their job?

I for one am very concerned about our nation, let alone LCC.

 

[freedom]

I honestly don't believe the public cares about experience. They just want cheap. It seems they are willing to take their chances that the planes fly themseves--they don't--and the F/As are only there to serve beverages, which they are not willing to pay for and the airplanes majically repair themselves by little elfs.

Now that cheap has gotten us an official 10.2% unemployement rate (The real rate is 17.5% http://rawstory.com/2009/11/real-unemploym...te-stands-175/) let's see how the public likes what they have sown. Cheap has gotten our manufacturing base moved offshore and the banking and financial system is about to move offshore with upcomming new regulations. What's left? We are in a full fledged 5 alarm depression, just like our grandparents had, and I don't know what LCC can do to stay above water. Who is going to fly to the Caribbean if they have no job or they are in fear of losing their job?

I for one am very concerned about our nation, let alone LCC.

Applauds

standing ovation

 

[rvolkcpa]

I honestly don't believe the public cares about experience. They just want cheap. It seems they are willing to take their chances that the planes fly themseves--they don't--and the F/As are only there to serve beverages, which they are not willing to pay for and the airplanes majically repair themselves by little elfs.

Now that cheap has gotten us an official 10.2% unemployement rate (The real rate is 17.5% http://rawstory.com/2009/11/real-unemploym...te-stands-175/) let's see how the public likes what they have sown. Cheap has gotten our manufacturing base moved offshore and the banking and financial system is about to move offshore with upcomming new regulations. What's left? We are in a full fledged 5 alarm depression, just like our grandparents had, and I don't know what LCC can do to stay above water. Who is going to fly to the Caribbean if they have no job or they are in fear of losing their job?

I for one am very concerned about our nation, let alone LCC.

You said this very well. We are so obsessed with price that we fall prey to cheap imports from China. Then we learn that the toothpaste, pet food or whatever has cheap filler ingredients that can poison us. Sheetrock from China has resulted in unhealthy homes that have to be gutted and rebuilt to become habitable.

Wal-Mart is hailed as a great retailer, but if everyone in this country worked for Wal-Mart wages, nobody could afford any frills.

I've been reading Sully's book. I hope a lot of people read it. His book should make a lot of people respect the professional airline employees who get them to their destinations safely.

 

[Twicebaked]

This is my .02 cents of ideas to help US to be profitable again.

"Have every FA sell everything under the sun like G4 does. G4 agents sell shuttle tickets, Broadway show tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, etc and their flight attendants make a nice commission off of every sale. "


Flight attendants ARE NOT sales people!!!! They are there for safety..
Would you suggest we get commision for every heart attack victim that we save, commision on the number of people we pull from burning wreckage????
This as got to be the most arrogant, ignorant, and clueless statement I have ever read regarding the job of a flight attendant!

 

[Dog Wonder]

Applauds

standing ovation

Some people would rather live in fear than turn on the light.

 

[luvn737s]

Now that cheap has gotten us an official 10.2% unemployement rate (The real rate is 17.5% http://rawstory.com/2009/11/real-unemploym...te-stands-175/) let's see how the public likes what they have sown. Cheap has gotten our manufacturing base moved offshore and the banking and financial system is about to move offshore with upcomming new regulations. What's left? We are in a full fledged 5 alarm depression, just like our grandparents had, and I don't know what LCC can do to stay above water. Who is going to fly to the Caribbean if they have no job or they are in fear of losing their job?

I for one am very concerned about our nation, let alone LCC.

How many folks are going to buy an airline ticket ( or much else for that matter) if they don't have any idea how much their health insurance premiums are going to jump of if they'll even have a job should their current employer decides it's not willing to submit to the extrotion being cooked up in the US House today.

Depression? I passed depression a year ago last October. This country can't withstand the stuff this administration is ccoking up. :down:

 

[Dog Wonder]

What is 'extrotion'?

 

[ChockJockey]

What is 'extrotion'?

I think he means extrosion, which is the outward rotation of a limb or an organ.

No need to thank me.

 

[Dog Wonder]

I thought it might be when your ex (if you had one) needs more lotion from her new friend.

But that would be extrlotion.

 

[Ralph]

If this thread ever actually had a topic, it's lost to the ages now. We shall give it a decent burial. Move along folks, nothing to see here.