The Fixation with US

[Iheartflying]

I've been a member of this board for only a few months but in those few months I've observed a somewhat unhealthy fixation with all things related to US.
Now, I'm not trying to be snarky I'm really trying to understand what drives this obsession.

I can understand an employee's frustration with current state of the airline. I can understand a recent traveler posting a rant. I can understand someone who recently left company airing their grievances etc.
What I don't get no matter how hard I try are the people who claim they haven't flown US in years on this board bashing the airline or the employees who have left umpteen years ago. If you've left and you no longer care or have a stake in the future of this company then why are you here?

Again, I don't mean to be snarky but I know if I don't like a company I sure wouldn't be spending a lot of time hanging out on an internet messagboard picking a part everything done by that company. I'd be out with my friends or family or maybe even reading a book. The level of obsession I observe here borders on unhealthy.

So, can someone explain this fixation? I really would like to know.

 

[Dog Wonder]

Watching a train wreck?

 

[FWAAA]

I can't fathom how anyone (unless they're Doug Parker or maybe his wife or kids) would waste even a minute of their life defending USAir here at USAviation.com, but unlike the OP, I couldn't care less why they do it. Let's focus less on the individuals here and their personal motivations and more on the topics - which on this forum tends to be US.

 

[jimntx]

From what I can tell, most of the posters here are not former employees/customers. Some are, but not most. If a number of your fellow employees and your current customers are expressing negative positions on the company direction and executive decisions, you should be concerned yourself. And, no one knows the problems of a company better than those who work there or have business with that company on a regular basis.

Denying there are problems, or refusing to discuss them, does not make the problems go away. I'm not bashing LCC. AMR has its own set of problems that we employees are concerned about.

And, I may be wrong, but a number of the posters seem to care deeply about LCC and its future. Pointing out the things that threaten that future is actually healthy. There is always the chance that someone at the decision-making level may actually listen and take approriate action.

 

[Iheartflying]

From what I can tell, most of the posters here are not former employees/customers. Some are, but not most. If a number of your fellow employees and your current customers are expressing negative positions on the company direction and executive decisions, you should be concerned yourself. And, no one knows the problems of a company better than those who work there or have business with that company on a regular basis.

Denying there are problems, or refusing to discuss them, does not make the problems go away. I'm not bashing LCC. AMR has its own set of problems that we employees are concerned about.

And, I may be wrong, but a number of the posters seem to care deeply about LCC and its future. Pointing out the things that threaten that future is actually healthy. There is always the chance that someone at the decision-making level may actually listen and take approriate action.

I have no qualms with discussing the issues and problems LCC has...I do think those are constructive discussions. What I don't understand is the incessant US SUCKS I DON'T FLY IT ANYMORE...I FLY AIRLINE XYZ. Ok, we get it...after the first five times you say it, it's time to move on.

 

[luvthe9]

All the outsiders wish they could work for the "carrier of choice"

 

[jimntx]

I have no qualms with discussing the issues and problems LCC has...I do think those are constructive discussions. What I don't understand is the incessant US SUCKS I DON'T FLY IT ANYMORE...I FLY AIRLINE XYZ. Ok, we get it...after the first five times you say it, it's time to move on.

There is a very simple solution. If someone's posts bother you to that extent, click on their "handle" on the left. When their profile is displayed, scroll down to options. Click on Options and then select Ignore user. All of that person's future posts will be eliminated from your view. I've used it multiple times.

 

[JS]

Good question. I'm an ex-US customer and frequent this board because it's the only board on this web site with any activity. The other boards are basically crickets chirping. The reason why I frequent this particular web site is because it's interesting and relatively free of trolls.

I've been on OffTopic, which is active but full of nasty people (and very few topics about flying), and I've been on FlyerTalk, which is full of topics about flying but has a cartel of nasty moderators.

The repetitive stuff like "US can't manage themselves out of a wet paper bag, you shouldn't fly them, except for me because it's convenient" I just ignore. I don't bother with the ignore feature because then I'll miss the posts by the same author with substance.

 

[NCFL]

I'll tell you why I continue to post, even though I no longer work for the company, and even though I feel I wasn't necessarily treated well by the new US during the time leading up to my decision to leave.

I do so because pre-merger US (and by extension PI, PS and AL) (can't speak for HP) before the last several years when things became so financially dire, were for the most part great places to work and were airlines of which employees could be proud and which customers, for the most part, enjoyed flying and were fiercely loyal. Ask anyone who flew PI, and you'll get a diatribe about how wonderful they were and how much they are missed.

Maybe it's nostaligia. Maybe it's just wistful yearning for happier days. Maybe it's anger that life's curve balls and some mismanagement (pre-merger) caused US to decline to the point that it had no choice but to merge with HP.

Maybe, just maybe, it's the continued height of pisstivity at HP management for being arrogant, closed-minded and chintzy in their systematic destruction of what was left of US' product. (reminiscant of PI employees' pisstivity at US management for the same thing with "mirror image" before US got a clue and started re-adopting PI policies).

The culture, despite what the higher-ups think, does not foster open and honest communication. That venom can't be expressed in the workplace for fear of negative consequences, so it's got to come out somewhere.

And if Pyongyang is lurking, I don't care. The only things I draw from US are blank W-2s, reminders of open enrollment for benefits for which I am no longer eligible, proxy statements for stock I don't own and the like. Morons. I haven't been employed by Airways for two years!

 

[US1YFARE]

So, can someone explain this fixation? I really would like to know.

Duh...because US sucks so bad! :wub:

 

[Iheartflying]

Good question. I'm an ex-US customer and frequent this board because it's the only board on this web site with any activity. The other boards are basically crickets chirping. The reason why I frequent this particular web site is because it's interesting and relatively free of trolls.

I've been on OffTopic, which is active but full of nasty people (and very few topics about flying), and I've been on FlyerTalk, which is full of topics about flying but has a cartel of nasty moderators.

The repetitive stuff like "US can't manage themselves out of a wet paper bag, you shouldn't fly them, except for me because it's convenient" I just ignore. I don't bother with the ignore feature because then I'll miss the posts by the same author with substance.

Thanks for actually answering my post. I have visited some of the other boards on this site and they are quite dull. I'm amazed at how much activity this board sees. It is tiresome to see the same annoying repetitive posts from the same posters over and over again, they have nothing of substance to really add to the conversation.

Now that I know about the ignore feature, I think I may actually start using it.

 

[US1YFARE]

Awww, but then you'll miss how badly some people think US sucks!

 

[Iheartflying]

Duh...because US sucks so bad! :wub:

Don't you have a bridge to go crawl under?

 

[US1YFARE]

Well, I am still interested in that date. I hear you are kinda sorta cute. :wub:

 

[USCREW]

So, can someone explain this fixation? I really would like to know.

Because it's fun!!!!


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