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On 4/2/2003 10:23:44 AM twaokc wrote:
Carty is not the problem. The problem happened when Bush was voted in....
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Hi Carl, how are you? --
Since when was Bush "voted" in?
Carty and Bush -- a mutual admiration society match made in heaven.
It was not only stupid for AA to buy TWA (they should have done a code-share which would have helped TWA offset Karabu and brought added revenue to AA) but the purchase would have NEVER passed regulatory approval if not for the contrived "failed company" defense thrust upon TWA (and presented to the government) by AA as a condition of the deal (along with Chapter 11 section 363) and the associated pack of lies Carty testified to before the US Senate about ALL the TWA employees getting jobs and the salvation of St Louis, etc, etc.
Long before 9/11 (in fact the day the purchase became final on April 10) these "jobs" turned out to be stapled part-time positions for non-contract employees such as agents. Carty set that tone and the great APA and APFA obediently followed suit -- he played them like a violin. Even the TWU attemped to follow suit, but an arbitrator saw it differently in light of Allegheny/Mohawk. Save for a few very senior TWA ground crew and senior Captains, the ENTIRE TWA employee pool has now been relegated to the unemployment line and those AAer''s who were spared by the TWA "cushion" no longer have that shield.
The ONLY people who benefited from the AA purchase of TWA (except as mentioned above) are the AA employees who were spared furloughs compliments of their stapled TWA counterparts.
Carty has been a case study in incompetence. He has done virtually NOTHING to adapt AA''s business model to the changing environment except go after employee pay and benefits, and take punitive measures toward his best customers by reducing their benefits and service -- his idea of an incentive program to lure back frequent business flyers. He has let AA take a $5.3 Billion bath these past two years. The guy at the top should always be the one who bears the responsibility. His days are numbered as is a BK-free AA.
As for not being able to predict the future, I agree that nobody could have foreseen the events of 9/11 or the degree to which our economy has tanked, although Bush''s ascendency to power should have been a warning sign about the economic Waterloo. Why did Carty do the TWA deal when the economy was already clearly headed south and AA had no real need for the airline? Is there really any other answer than ego?
Whenever a company loses $5.3 Billion over two years, it is ALWAYS the CEO who is the problem. Or is it the janitor''s fault?
Take care,
Marky