Sad, but true.. I have known of a few very good Managers who were in PHL in both C/S, and ramp that have been pushed out by the big-guns in Tempe in favor of their own clueless clowns. Another factor that adds to the PHL mess is the quality of the new hires they are dragging in off the streets. The company still prefers to hire off the street instead of giving into the 60 day furlough rule, which could bring back well trained and qualified workers.
To sum it all up, they are getting what they want. Pay cheap, look like a 1/2 azzed operation to the flying public.
Starting with the basics about PHL:
The current airport and facility was not built nor will it withstand what it is doing as a hub.
- Runways are too close to each other.
- There is not enough real estate there for a decent large operation.
- The facility (B/C) Concourses are old decrepit and way too overcrowded.
- There is no room for an irregular operation.
- And guess what ? PHL probably has more of them than any other USAirways major city.
- The company has in the past, (and who knows how sincere they are about it now) neglected ground equipment, proper staffing.
- What the company should be doing is enter in steep serious negotiations with the city of PHL regarding a completely new airport.
- If UPS were relocated to where the charter terminal is now, the existing UPS facility could be demolished and a brand new state of the art terminal built there. One large enough to house USAirways and other carriers.
- No matter how many managers you hire or how good they claim to be or can be, will be overshadowed by the fact that the current building structures, bag belts, bag rooms cannot handle it. Basically you're using Elmer's glue to fix cement. It ain't gonna work.
- Finally there are very many dedicated and hardworking agents in PHL. Many that have come from or have been displaced there from other locations. These folks do the most with the least. Hiring locally in PHL has always been a problem. Now with the lower payscales even more. You get what you pay for. The suggestion ? Take over a hotel in the area. One large enough to house our crews that lay over as well as to house egents from other cities that want some overtime. Fly the agents in, put them over in the hotel for free and let them report for work as if they were based there. If you can't hire locally, import them.
Some suggestions here that's all. Not all earth shattering, but some that could probably work.
Hopefully Tempe is reading them.
