Siegel''s CNBC Interview-6/9

[diogenes]

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On 6/10/2003 8:23:44 AM oldiebutgoody wrote:

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On 6/10/2003 8:13:59 AM tug_slug wrote:

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On 6/10/2003 1237 AM Chip Munn wrote:

For example, at jetBlue Flight Attendants clean the cabins and at US Airways you have Utility personnel, which creates another job category for pay, benefits, and retirement.

Neeleman said 70% of jetBlue''s bookings are done on the internet, where at US Airways you have Rez and Travel Agents, thus US Airways has a greater number of people booking flights, thus more employee expense. Other labor cost areas are items such as US Airways employees are at TOS, whereas jetBlue has new hire entry level employees. In addition, jetBlue has a new single fleet type, where the airline has not hired mechanics to perform aircraft overhaul.

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Chip,
Whats the difference in pay, work rules compensation and benefits for the Pilots at Jet Blue versus US?

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You can''t compare a company that''s only been around for a little over 3 years to US Airways, with pilots that have been here 15-30+ years.

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OBG,

That sure didn''t stop Chip from doing it in his first post on this thread.

 

[diogenes]

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On 6/10/2003 11:48:02 AM PITbull wrote:

With regared to JetBlue CEO salary, he makes $200,000 yearly and had a $150,000 bonus for 2002.

Wonder if JetBlue sits with 33 Vice Presidents? Wonder what the ratio of VPs are to employees in JetBlue and then U? Does anyone know how many employees JetBlue has? U has approx little over 27,000 now.

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I think the ''compare and contrast'' of U''s CEO salary with JB''s is the most telling point of this story.

U may be a bigger airline, but JB makes a bigger profit, and as I understand the social Darwinism that is back in vogue, profits determine who lives and dies.

 

[diogenes]

PB,

I agree the salary is not near as significant or as costly as the decisions, but it IS the principle.

And HE''s the one who compared JB''s labor costs to U''s. If comparing my compensation to my counterpart''s at JB is fair game, sauce for the gander, no?

 

[USA320Pilot]

Tug:

Tug asked: "Whats the difference in pay, work rules compensation and benefits for the Pilots at Jet Blue versus US?"

Chip answers: Tug, to my knowledge JetBlue pilots do not have a traditional contract covered by a CBA, thus it would be difficult to obtain accurate information. Furthermore, I do not have access to JetBlue’s total pilot labor expense when expressed as a percentage of revenue and I would need to contact the ALPA Negotiating Committee or E&FA to be able to conduct an accurate comparison.

However, from casual conversations with JetBlue pilots our current pay rates are commensurate, except US Airways pilots are at W-2 TOS. However, with overtime opportunities (where US Airways’ pilots are the only work group at the Arlington-based carrier who cannot obtain overtime pay), the JetBlue A320 pilots can obtain a higher gross income than their US Airways colleagues.

In regard to work rules, just like with other US employee groups due to CBA's and in the case of pilots because US has multiple fleet types, I suspect JetBlue's pilots are more productive in regard to a block hour to pay ratio.

Finally, both companies currently provide their pilots a Defined Contribution Retirement Plan, although this could change.

In regard to your work group, how does the US Airways and JetBlue machinists compare in "pay, work rules compensation and benefits"? Moreover, who do you believe will eventually conduct JetBlue's A320 and EMB-190 heavy maintenance? Will the work be done in-house or subcontracted, like at some other low cost carriers, which would obviously outsource the work?

Best regards,

Chip

 

[USA320Pilot]

PITBull:

PITBull asked: "What happened to Greg Taylor, hired April 8 2002, VP of planning and VP of USAirways Express Division and brought in by Siegel?"

Chip answers: Prior to joing US, Taylor was VP of Planning at UA and left the Chicago-based airline to rejoin Stephen Wolf at US as the Senior VP of Planning. When Dave Siegel announced his management changes that brought Neal Cohen, Jerry Glass, Doug McKeen, Andrew Norcella and others to US, Taylor was reassigned from his Planning position to US Senior VP of Express.

One week later Taylor left US and returned to UA as its Senior VP of Planning, where he currently resides. Interestingly, sources close to the companies believe Taylor is one of the key UCT architects.

Best regards,

Chip

 

[LavMan]

Chip are you going to answer my questions?

jetBlue as of this past december had 41 airplanes and only 36 mechanics. They have a 5 year $10 million maintenance contract with EADS Aeroframe Services (Airbus), to do anything from an external wash to an complete overhaul.

 

[USA320Pilot]

Lavman:

Lavman said: "Chip, we only have utility at eight stations on first, second and third shift the remaining 10 stations have utility on third shift only, we fly into 89 mainline stations, do the math, plus we are the lowest paid classification of any organized group at US. You want to save money? Go ask the company how they saved money by laying off over 261 utility workers and then pay fleet service workers on overtime to clean airplanes at the stations where US eliminated utility? (Fleet Service workers make two dollars an hour more then utility)."

Lavman continued: "Chip are you going to answer my questions? jetBlue as of this past december had 41 airplanes and only 36 mechanics. They have a 5 year $10 million maintenance contract with EADS Aeroframe Services (Airbus), to do anything from an external wash to an complete overhaul."

Chip answers: Lavman, I no longer read every post and sometimes do not read an entire thread -- thus I apologize for not answering your questions. In regard to your comment above of "Chip are you going to answer my questions?", I did not believe you specifically asked me to answer a question, unless I misunderstood.

Regardless, what is it that you specifically want me to answer?

Best regards,

Chip

 

[olivia]

I''m simply amazed that for the last fifteen years
this company has just sat back and watched Southwest,
and now JetBlue (who apparently placed an order for
another 100 regional jets today) invade and steal
our business. You would think eventually someone
in a high position would say...hey..we have to be
creative...how can we compete...???

It is hard to stay optimistic in light of the leadership
we are experiencing. Also, I think to compare ourselves
to UA, AA, DL, NW, or CO is now laughable due to
our shrinking airline...

Hoping for the best!! Take care out there!

 

[CLTBWIDAYSYR]

Y''all forgot one, Sherry Hendry, VP of Inflight Services.

 

[LavMan]

Also forgot the Vice President of Fleet Planning, Doug something, cant find his name since US has taken down the officer page.

 

[A319FA]

I did noticed that the company took down the page listing the VP''S. strange....

 

[wench]

I HAVE A COPY OF THE NAMES>>

Can I sell them to anyone?
-.1 EACH....

Alright then,
Free.....grumble grumble..

why give it away, when you can money on it?

he he..

 

[PITbull]

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On 6/10/2003 1227 PM A319FA wrote:



Sorry about getting off the topic, but wanted to answer Pitbull question about JetBlue.

At the end of 2002 we employed 3,359 full-time and 652 part-time Crewmembers. On a full-time equivalent basis, our Crewmembers groups were broken down as follows:

• 509 pilots,
  788 flight attendants,
  1,262 Customer service and ramp operations personnel,
  155 technicians, whom other airlines refer to as mechanics,
  577 reservation agents, and
  532 management and other personnel.
  
  At JetBlue, we operate under the belief that great People drive solid operating Performance which yields continued Prosperity. Our People are the foundation on which our success is built.
  
  Across the board, that type of service at an airline doesn't just come from hiring good people. It's called leadership by example and it starts at the top with the President and CEO.
  
  There is no labor/management dichotomy here because at JetBlue each of us recognizes that we are all on the same team with the same values and goals.

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A319FA,

Thank you for your response. If you are an employee of JETBLUE, you have a great CEO, as I had observed him on CNN and listened to his responses. With every statment he made, he prefaced his repsonses to ensure his employees were recognized . I believe that there is a uniqueness about these airlines that no matter what the economic conditions, they still mangage to make money and not change or alter their business focus or business model.

We here at U are very "hungry" for that type of leadership and I hope that there will come a day that we here at U will be able to capture some "greatness" too in hiring a mangement team that truly recognizes the value of employees in their business plan.

 

[PITbull]

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On 6/13/2003 4:49:48 PM Analyst wrote:

Pitbull,

The Department of Transportation defines major carriers as any airline that earns $1 billion in revenue.

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So, is LUV considered a MAJOR?

 

[PITbull]

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On 6/10/2003 12:41:03 PM ITRADE wrote:

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On 6/10/2003 11:48:02 AM PITbull wrote:

With regared to JetBlue CEO salary, he makes $200,000 yearly and had a $150,000 bonus for 2002.

Wonder if JetBlue sits with 33 Vice Presidents?  Wonder what the ratio of VPs are to employees in JetBlue and then U?  Does anyone know how many employees JetBlue has?  U has approx little over 27,000 now.

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While I won't get into the symantics of your 33 VP claim (US has less than 30 - fewer than airlines like Continental), the number of VPs will also be affected by issues such as: alliances, subsidiaries, and routes served.  Basically every major carrier has a VP of Express or VP of commuter affiliates; basically every major has a VP for international; basically every major has a VP for alliances if its involved in 1W or * or SkyTeam.

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ITRADE,

Let me address the symantics then...

I think it is wrong to place us in the catagory of the Majors now, as we have decreased (shrunk) capacity and personnel. We are NOT as big as Continental. Continental, in fact, was once slightly bigger than us, and presently, quite larger than us. Having 30 plus VPs for an airline our size, is quite "gluttonous". But, you won't admit that....I can only imagine why.

Were you the person who took down the VP page? Why is it down, are they adding new ones to update the page?