Greetings, I am a first time poster on this forum although having been a strong reader of it for some time. I wanted to chime in. I am not a Pilot / FA, I work in technology, I am an IT dude. I have nothing to do with any applications, programing, and decision making of what application is chosen for any specific purpose, my job is to make sure that all of the cable and wires work to the best of my ability. I am a worker bee. I do not have a pension and I am not a Union member. I travel the country to specific locations to ensure that if there is a gate move or a new concourse or any build out, that it is done correctly and within budget.
I played a significant part in the America West / USAirways merger, I had a ground level view of what happened and the end result on the people that show up to greet people and make sure that the bags were on the plane and they ticket was correct. I watched as people’s lives were affected, jobs lost, families hurt and their world was turned upside down, including mine. I was fortunate as I survived; I don’t know if that will happen if the USAirways / AA merger does indeed happen, which, I believe will. Until then, I will show up, do the best job that I can, because that is what the company pays me to do. I am old school, I firmly believe that I get paid for a good day’s work and a good day’s pay; I am not owed any more than that. Again, I do not have a vested interest in a Pension or Union issues.
Consolidation is going to happen; I don’t believe that there will be any announcement of any kind for some months concerning any ‘speculation’ of a merger (now having said that, watch something happen after I post this). What I do know and this is strictly from reading materials of a financial nature, is that, the largest lenders in this country love the boys in Tempe, I am referring to the US Govt., GE, Wall Street. Like it or not, when the America West /US merger happened, people made a ton of money, for investors. AA does not have that track record; it is just the way it is. Legacy airlines have a legacy mentality; this was evident to me first hand during the AWA/US merger. The feeling of “I am entitled” from the east, has caused such a division in the current USAirways, that I don’t believe that it can be repaired. It is no body’s fault, it is culture. Until that Legacy Culture changes there will be nothing but strife and discontent. During my journey’s on the east, I was amazed, speechless, that people I had a direct contact with in the first five minutes of a conversation, wanted me to know just how long they had been with the airline and how they have been screwed by that airline. The feeling again of “I am owed” just astounded me. I often wondered to myself, if there was such discontent, why stay? Why put up with it. I guess that if it all that you know, you are boxed in, unless you have the ability to do something else.
Money from investors will drive this merger and the windfall of that investment. I would love to see AA make it and US continue to stand alone, however, again, I do not believe that will happen. I have the utmost respect for Professional Pilots and Flight Attendants, Mechanics, but I would be remise if I didn’t point out, that those three groups are not the only ones affected. So I will show up and do my job and be grateful that I have one.
Peace
