US supports Bethune appointment

[flyingcat]

Straight from US:

In a related development, the Financial Times reports that Delta’s official Creditors Committee will name former Continental Chairman Gordon Bethune as an adviser to evaluate the competing claims for Delta. Our view? Mr. Bethune brings a great deal of experience, credibility and independence to the process. We believe the committee will be well-served by his leadership and decisiveness, and we’re confident that Mr. Bethune and the committee will ultimately recognize the value the “New Deltaâ€￾ will create.

Hope Gordo can get an answer quickly the suspense is mindboggling. :wacko:

 

[USA320Pilot]

It “will be very difficult for Delta to show a higher stand-alone value for the company than that which is achievable under consolidation.â€￾ - J.P. Morgan analyst Jamie Baker, Globe and Mail/ Wall Street Journal, Dec. 22

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[wings396]

Gordon is a pretty sharp guy, and had US elected to keep him in house after the PI merger things would have been very different today. As many may already know, he also has close ties with Boeing as he worked for them prior to joining PI. The old US management(Colodny) era, tossed all of the talented management people that PI had. It didn't take long for this to stand out, especially in the Marketing area.

 

[luvthe9]

Anybody want to bet Gordon will be Delta's next CEO?

 

[hp_fa]

Anybody want to bet Gordon will be Delta's next CEO?

Does Gordon want to be a CEO again? I could see him relishing the opportunity, from an ego standpoint, of doing it but I wonder about his age and the practicallity of it.

 

[wings396]

I'm not too sure that he would want the position at this point. I don't know his exact age, but he is up there in years. I would think that if he still wanted to be in the industry full time, that he wouldn't have retired from CO.
I would have to imagine that he is pretty well off, and may want to relax and enjoy life a bit. Maybe DL can get Crandall to come out of retirement, as a few here have such admiration for him..............

 

[LGA Fleet Service]

Maybe DL can get Crandall to come out of retirement, as a few here have such admiration for him...

About what I'd expect from the guy whos company has a drive through window at the CEO position.How many CEO's since 2000?

How many millions have they pillaged from you people?All the while your company is drifting without leadership or direction.

But go ahead, talk trash about Crandall.His airline hasn't declared bankruptcy twice in three years now has it? Didn't have to go beg a loan fromm the Government did it? He left a legacy of strength behind when he left American.

What'd your revolving door to the excecutive suite get you? Besides a lot of payouts to departing executives?

 

[wings396]

Alright already with all of your Crandall support. I hope you sent the guy a Christmas card being that you are such a big fan of his. I could care less about how many CEO's there have been, as I long ago realized that not many are employee friendly. Back in the 80's Bill Howard at PI could do no wrong either, but I wasn't looking to shine his shoes. He took PI to another level, but the guy didn't care much about the employees which became evident when he took his cash from US and ran away. I never liked Crandall or his big mouth, and I never will. You can sing his praises for the rest of time if it makes you feel better. Did you share all of this love for him when he was outsourcing stations, and creating a two tier payscale?
The only point here, is that asking a retired CEO what he thinks about this proposed merger is pointless. Bethune has been hired on for his services here, not Bobby Boy. Big Mouth Bobby was the one who said that it would have been better is US just went away a while ago. Better for who? Not all of the people who would have lost their jobs. Take a look at how many major airlines have already "Gone away", and tell me that it has helpled the industry one bit. EA went away, leaving DL full reign of ATL years ago. Did this help DL in the long run? If anyone in this business goes away, someone else will fill in for them within a short time keeping over capacity alive and well. Give Bobby my regards the next time that you speak to him, Will Ya...

 

[EyeInTheSky]

Wings396,
Gordo was part of the problem with the PI merger. You read his book didn't you? He even admitted to his "bananas" underhanded approach during the merger. Colodny was right to boot his butt; he even admited his attitude was a problem.

As for "Bobby" (aka call me fAAng Crandall) was a much better CEO than Gordo. What he did at AA was revolutionary, particularly the frequent flier program. What did Gordo do? He was good for pep talks and getting the troops to rally -- too bad US didn't see that side of him after the PI merger. This appointment ought to be interesting.

Later,
Eye

 

[wings396]

Yes, I did read his book but it has been a few years already. If I remember correctly, Gordon was in charge of Mtc. prior to being upgraded at PI. I think that he was only meant to fill the void after Howard left until the operational part of the merger was complete. I very well remember the "Attitude" that the US management people had, and can see Gordon responding to it in his own little way.
As far as AA creating the FF system, that is another issue of it's own. Others had to follow to stay competitive, but I can't say that it has/is the best thing that has happened within the industry. Airlines that had good C/S prior to the FF programs, were able to retain their customer base on service alone. SWA has survived for many years without having a FF program. I am not all that familiar with them, but I believe they have some sort of a program in place today.

 

[eolesen]

Crandall also helped put computer reservation terminals into travel agencies. Think that was questionable, too?...

Bethune and Parker are also connected -- HP & CO codewhored for a long, long time, so there might be a lot more to this than meets the eye.

 

[Alice Cramden]

Does Gordon want to be a CEO again? I could see him relishing the opportunity, from an ego standpoint, of doing it but I wonder about his age and the practicallity of it.

Bonderman of Texas Pacific Group and Bethune are friends. Bonderman hired Bethune to run CAL. Of course TPG has stock in AWA and still does. The judge ruled in the company's favor. They were all sweating bullets for fraud and insider trading for a while. Parker was soon promoted from CFO to CEO. Bethune quit CAL afer the lawsuit. I wonder why Schifter quit last month. He too is a TPG partner. Bueller?

Of course US approves of Bethune to "help" DAL. Bonderman probably has speed dial set for Bethune! Insider information again? I don't know. You would think they learned their lesson!

Lawsuit background: On June 10, 2002, in the Ninth Court, a law suit was argued: plaintiff: Employer-Teamster Joint Council Pension Trust Fund vs AWA, CAL, TPG, etc. The file is too large to attach here.

Very interesting to read how management doesn't really care about the employee, only how much stock they get and how much they can cash out. Period. Then they are on to the next deal/buyout. The employee if left holding an empty bag, the robber barons took it all, pensions, benefits, stock options, careers, you name it. If it has any value to them, they will take it.

Bethune will be the CEO of the "New Delta" sans Grinstein.

They have pretty much fleeced the American worker. They are going over seas now. Quantas is next, RyanAir...

 

[NewHampshire Black Bears]

wings396,

I'd LOVE to keep "breaking your BALLS" with ("uncle")BOBBY story's, but I've got to check my direct deposit/BANK function. My DEFINED BENEFIT RETIREMENT CHECK was probably posted today.

"THANKS UNCLE BOBBY" !!

NH/BB's

Ps,

What IS BUNKRUPTCY, ANYWAY ????

 

[wings396]

wings396,

I'd LOVE to keep "breaking your BALLS" with ("uncle")BOBBY story's, but I've got to check my direct deposit/BANK function. My DEFINED BENEFIT RETIREMENT CHECK was probably posted today.

"THANKS UNCLE BOBBY" !!

NH/BB's

Ps,

What IS BUNKRUPTCY, ANYWAY ????

You act as if you are the only guy in the country who is collecting a pension today. I am not near retirement age yet, but will have my share coming to me someday as well. The pilot group at US, as well as all of the other carriers that filed for BK were the hardest hit in that area. The PBGC covers most if not all of the pension amount for those who were not drawing the higher amounts that the pilots were. Many of us also had a 401K plan, which has done very well if managed properly. Just because AA hasn't filed for BK, doesn't mean that they won't look for ways to cut some costs with their retirees somewhere down the road. At some point they will try to cut and chop whereever they can to stay cost competitive with others. Your beloved company used the BK threat to get labor to cave in to their demands just like the other airlines did.
Just because AA dodged the BK bullet this time, doesn't mean that they are free and clear from here on. Nobody can predict where fuel prices will go, and how the economy will be in the future. As we all know, this industry has a very small profit margin to begin with, and things can get ugly very fast. I learned long ago that nothing in the way of benefits or wages are guarenteed to last a lifetime. So in short, don't get too high on your horse about a check from Crandall, as you may be eating your own words sometime in the future. I don't care who's name is on my check, as long as something comes in. You have Crandall's name on yours, and mine may have the PBGC's on it, but the money all spends the same.
Sadly enough, you may find out for yourself what BK is somewhere down the road, so I wouldn't be making statements like yours just yet. Anything can happen to any company at anytime, and the sooner you realize that, the more in tune you will be with the real corporate world. How long do you think that AA will be able to keep wages and benefits at a higher level than all of their competitors? Having a higher operating costs with crappy fares isn't a long term survival plan to say the least. Even though AA has shown a small profit recently, it hasn't been anything that would make me feel safe, warm and fuzzy for the long term. Given the size of the operation at AA compared with the profit show, I would be greatly concerned about where things may be headed. :unsure:

 

[wings396]

wings396,

I'd LOVE to keep "breaking your BALLS" with ("uncle")BOBBY story's, but I've got to check my direct deposit/BANK function. My DEFINED BENEFIT RETIREMENT CHECK was probably posted today.

"THANKS UNCLE BOBBY" !!

NH/BB's

Ps,

What IS BUNKRUPTCY, ANYWAY ????

"Our performance indicates very clearly that we are on the right track, but also demonstrates — just as clearly — that we have more work to do to return our company to financial health," AMR Chief Executive Gerard Arpey said in a statement.

This could mean a chunk of your benefits....
Another part of the artice states that "You can't undo 5 years of staggering losses with one year of profitablilty"
And don't get me wrong, I actually like Arpey based on what I have seen of him so far. He can do the job WITHOUT having a big mouth like Crandall....