The Walmartization of Commercial Airlines

[WorldTraveler]

The first thing we (yes, we) need to decide is just what type of carrier we want to be.
A few ideas:

Way to go, Kevin, with the sense of ownership! That new DL ID has obviously already started doing its magic.

 

[bagboy]

Way to go, Kevin, with the sense of ownership! That new DL ID has obviously already started doing its magic.

Kevin, I guess you really didn't care about your job and the health of your company until Delta showed you the light. Way to go!

 

[Kev3188]

Actually, I care a lot about what happens at NW... 🙂

 

[trvlr64]

For Delta to call itself the "Premier Global Airline" they have to do more than put up the window dressing. Everything that I have seen come out of Delta, so far, has been a big disappointment. The quality of everything from uniforms to the paper thin blankets and the cheapest ditch cards ever made, is far from "Premier". It all screams, "Welcome to the Greyhound of the Sky's".

Obviously you have never flown USAirways since HP took over.

IMO I don't ever see DL stooping to the level that US has become.

 

[SBN580]

Obviously you have never flown USAirways since HP took over.

IMO I don't ever see DL stooping to the level that US has become.

Or Southwest for that matter. Let's face it, they pioneered the Walmartair approach. All LCCs just try their own variations of that model. I just read about another start up offering $9 fares! Insane. :blink:

 

[southwind]

Way to go, Kevin, with the sense of ownership! That new DL ID has obviously already started doing its magic.

Brahahaw...................your hilarious and delirious at the same time !

 

[Kev3188]

Your complete and utter ignorance never ceases to amaze me....

So tell me, Southwind; what are you doing to make DL a better airline?

 

[Don Smith]

For every air traveller there is a price and an airline to fill the need. Southwest is as big as they are because they pushed some of the right buttons with flyers. If you call them Wal-Mart as a comparison then what is Delta?
Maintenance wise they are doing all the right things. Keeping maintenance staffing levels strong and Delta Tech-Ops outsourcing their maintenance to pick up work for other airlines is something that nwa rejected. Instead of expanding maintenance by hiring out, they shut down maintenance bases and line station maintenance and outsourced more and more.
Look at Deltas flying though.. cutting the number of seats to make sure airplanes are packed to capacity. Walk through ATL or DTW and almost every flight is so close to capacity that they ask for volunteers. That kind of action doesn't win customers or influence loyalty. So what US company does this resemble?
US, WN, DL, take your pick. Bottom line to like destinations is always price for the majority of flyers. Its my opinion but if I'm going to Florida and WN and DL both fly there and one is priced reasonably and has no baggage fees or other fees, count me there.

 

[Thomas Paine]

Or Southwest for that matter. Let's face it, they pioneered the Walmartair approach. All LCCs just try their own variations of that model. I just read about another start up offering $9 fares! Insane. :blink:

?? They pay better and provide better benifits than Delta, or any other airline.

 

[Dignity]

?? They pay better and provide better benifits than Delta, or any other airline.

and they do.. but a lot of that is simply because they did not invest in higher cost technology such as participating reservation systems or establishing themselves as a hub and spoke carrier (unlike so many of the legacy carriers) while they have been able to keep their cost low and maintain impressive employee relations which equals success.. the passenger may want to have that same low price at a legacy airline where the costs are not necessarily at the same level.

when an airline has higher costs it does not always necessary mean all labor. an airline may have substantial costs but it could be because of investing in technology and facilities(a hub) pension obligation, wide body aircraft even simply investing in food/beverage carts (that make the job easier on the plane) ... unlike most all LCCs or a point to point style airline.

when the consumer demands a lower fare sometimes it affects labor, and that is probably why SBN580 pointed out the creation of "walmartair approach" simply because it sort of played a part in pulling down labor costs at a legacy because the business model at a legacy has already been established with the "technology and facilities" the LCC did not invest or necessarily have available.

thats sort of how I am looking at it.

 

[dc92000]

For every air traveller there is a price and an airline to fill the need. Southwest is as big as they are because they pushed some of the right buttons with flyers. If you call them Wal-Mart as a comparison then what is Delta?
Maintenance wise they are doing all the right things. Keeping maintenance staffing levels strong and Delta Tech-Ops outsourcing their maintenance to pick up work for other airlines is something that nwa rejected. Instead of expanding maintenance by hiring out, they shut down maintenance bases and line station maintenance and outsourced more and more.
Look at Deltas flying though.. cutting the number of seats to make sure airplanes are packed to capacity. Walk through ATL or DTW and almost every flight is so close to capacity that they ask for volunteers. That kind of action doesn't win customers or influence loyalty. So what US company does this resemble?
US, WN, DL, take your pick. Bottom line to like destinations is always price for the majority of flyers. Its my opinion but if I'm going to Florida and WN and DL both fly there and one is priced reasonably and has no baggage fees or other fees, count me there.

With regard to your feelings about the direction of Dl maint. as opposed to the direction(demise) of the former NW in-house program...I have to weigh in here. And mind you, I'm not trying to spread doom and gloom for the sake of an argument. Our CEO . not long after 9/11, in an address to a rather angry maint. audience whose check line had just been sent to Singapore....... responded by telling the crowd " WE ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF FLYING PEOPLE, NOT FIXING AIRPLANES " I know, it was a weird choice of words, but everyone got the message. NW continued to aggressively outsource every element of its program, that when the day of the strike came, there wasnt enough infastructure left on the property to continue if they had to. Most of us former nw know that it wasnt productivity, skill, or the quality of the product that had anything to do with those business decisions. NWA could very well have been a profit machine had they chosen to go the MRO route. That route wasnt the plan senior mgmt had made.
Now correct me if I am wrong. Arent most CEOs and company leadership at that executive level hired for what they bring to the table in running the company ? And much of what they bring to the table is in the form of IDEAS..EXPERIENCE....and their own accomplishment within the industry ? Are we all led to believe that R.A.'s brief tenure in the insurance industry led to an epiphany that caused him to reverse his mindset ?
And what B.O.D would have the confidence to hire a guy after such a radical philosophical/business model change ? I'm sorry, but when I look at the key executive appointments since commencing the merger, I see a future for this company parallel to the transitions made at nw. After all; that is what these folks do best, and whAT THEY DO BEST IS IS NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF ANYBODIES LONG-TERM CAREER PLANS.
What is happening now at DL seems to be that Tech-ops mgmt are doing their best to bolster confidence with the employee base .....and minimize everybodies fundamental fear and anxiety over CHANGE. T.C is assuring you of your importance to the future, and we are told the company is committed
to expanding our mro business...dont worry it will be O.K...."would you like another dollop of potatoes" ???
Change is inevitable..good or bad, whether it affects us or not. Former NW employees will tell you about change, and how quickly it happens. They have seen the free lunch buffett served by management hours before the trucks rolled up to cart the machines and tooling off to the new vendor. I might be wrong, but if anybody ever sees Andy Roberts poking around Atlanta, I just might be right !

 

[Don Smith]

Most of us former nw know that it wasnt productivity, skill, or the quality of the product that had anything to do with those business decisions. NWA could very well have been a profit machine had they chosen to go the MRO route. That route wasnt the plan senior mgmt had made. No doubt about that at all.

When Dick closed the Atlanta hangar, that told me that he had no interest in making the maintenance arm of the airline profitable.

After all; that is what these folks do best, and whAT THEY DO BEST IS IS NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF ANYBODIES LONG-TERM CAREER PLANS.

Especially true of Dick and Doug Steenland. Well, except for their own career plans.

What is happening now at DL seems to be that Tech-ops mgmt are doing their best to bolster confidence with the employee base .....and minimize everybodies fundamental fear and anxiety over CHANGE. T.C is assuring you of your importance to the future, and we are told the company is committed to expanding our mro business...dont worry it will be O.K...."would you like another dollop of potatoes" ???

And yet I see the MRO business working. Dick may have changed his mind over getting rid of MRO maintenance. Too late for me and the other nwa guys but hopefully for all the Delta techs it will work.

Change is inevitable..good or bad, whether it affects us or not. Former NW employees will tell you about change, and how quickly it happens. They have seen the free lunch buffett served by management hours before the trucks rolled up to cart the machines and tooling off to the new vendor. I might be wrong, but if anybody ever sees Andy Roberts poking around Atlanta, I just might be right !

Hopefully "little Andy" found another circus to work for.