Who wants a merger with US?

[700UW]

It wasn't offered on my recent flights, although I'm taking the shuttle to DCA Wednesday so we'll see. The official headquarters for BOA is in Charlotte however many of the investment decisions and senior leadership are in New York and Boston. I know people in senior management who commute to CLT every week from MA and have stayed in the Ritz-Carlton in their headquarters.

Josh

The BOA building does not have the Ritz-Carlton in it.

BOA is 100 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC

The Ritz-Carlton is located on 201 East Trade Street, Charlotte, NC.

So explain to me if they are not even on the same street, how is the hotel inside the BOA HDQ?

You make this way too easy Josh.

 

[xUT]

No, that's not what I posted. AA's failings are many and management is to blame for many of the problems. Were it not for management's failings, AA's profit each year might have been $4 billion each year if it had enjoyed the $2.2 billion in labor cost savings compared to US' labor costs. But with AA's poor management, it would have been profitable with just the $2.2 billion.

So you are saying that AA ‘might’ have pissed away 1.8 Billion per year in poor management decisions?
But want to extract $2.2 Billion of managements failures from ‘the unwashed’?

AA's labor costs are by far the highest in the industry. That's not opinion, that's fact. Even AA's unions and their consultants have admitted it. That's not the "fault" of labor - it's management's fault for agreeing to the higher costs in the first place and then wishing, hoping and praying that the other airlines' labor costs would rise faster than they did.

Labor costs are nebulous. Direct labor costs can easily be defined but after labor is outsourced, it moves to some ‘other’ direct and/or indirect maintenance accounting cost basis. Outsourced maintenance is not considered a ‘labor headcount’ which skews labor costs. In fact it may take more people ( MRO contractors) to perform the same maintenance, the ‘labor head count’ is not counted, not even on a head count cost basis.

AMFA tried to get a cost comparison analysis from UAL, and guess what?

Arpey understandably believed that US pilots would not spend years and years earning substandard pay. Same with the US FAs. It was reasonable to believe that organized labor would successfully organize DL once NW employees were added. But none of that happened.

Are you Arpey? Possibly, he already calculated the outcome.
You know some of these folks think 4 to five years ahead of "us" commoners.
I apologize for the usage of 'US', surely you are not a 'commoner'. LOL
-Edited By Me... DOH!
Ever play chess?
B) xUT

 

[737823]

The BOA building does not have the Ritz-Carlton in it.

BOA is 100 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC

The Ritz-Carlton is located on 201 East Trade Street, Charlotte, NC.

So explain to me if they are not even on the same street, how is the hotel inside the BOA HDQ?

You make this way too easy Josh.

It may not be on the same street but they are connected through skywalks. I have stayed there while working on a project with BofA and walked indoors to the HQ. Do they have those in North Carolina? If you don't believe me call the hotel, their phone number is (704) 547-2244. Or better yet take a trip over there. Aren't you local? Can't you use your non-rev pass if not?

Josh

 

[xUT]

It may not be on the same street but they are connected through skywalks. I have stayed there while working on a project with BofA and walked indoors to the HQ. Do they have those in North Carolina? If you don't believe me call the hotel, their phone number is (704) 547-2244. Or better yet take a trip over there. Aren't you local? Can't you use your non-rev pass if not?

Josh

It isn't what you stated, but we are aware of your 'embellishment' of truth.
Did you get an A in your ethics course...DOH!

B) xUT

 

[700UW]

It is not connect to the BOA building by skywalks.

Maps

I live in the Charlotte Metro Area and have done some work for Hugh McColl, you do know who that is right?

The hotel is located in the Corporate Center, not in the BOA building nor attached to it.

On July 20, 2005 Ken Lewis, then CEO and Mr. Cyprian White of the Credit Bureau of the Bank of America, announced the construction of a brand new 150 key Ritz-Carlton located inside the Bank of America Corporate Center.

The BOA building constructed was completed in 1992. The hotel wasnt even thought of until 2005.

 

[TWU informer]

I live in the Charlotte Metro Area and have done some work for Hugh McColl, you do know who that is right?

Is he another supreme being that has been through two Bankruptcies and sat on the negotiating committee for one of those and lurks on the AA board bragging daily about it?

 

[737823]

It is not connect to the BOA building by skywalks.

Maps

I live in the Charlotte Metro Area and have done some work for Hugh McColl, you do know who that is right?

The hotel is located in the Corporate Center, not in the BOA building nor attached to it.

On July 20, 2005 Ken Lewis, then CEO and Mr. Cyprian White of the Credit Bureau of the Bank of America, announced the construction of a brand new 150 key Ritz-Carlton located inside the Bank of America Corporate Center.

The BOA building constructed was completed in 1992. The hotel wasnt even thought of until 2005.

Yep I know about Hugh, he is a real fixture at BofA. Very personable guy well liked by many at the company and played an instrumental role in the merger of Nations and BankAmerica (San Francisco, CA) to BofA today. Go take a trip and see for yourself. Hey at the very least it would be a great way to spend the memberships money pampering the union officials! Isn't that what unions are best at?

PS: Please remind your members at BOS to have the area around seat 2B clean for my shuttle flight Wednesday (I always pick this seat). Thanks

Josh

 

[xUT]

Is he another supreme being that has been through two Bankruptcies and sat on the negotiating committee for one of those and lurks on the AA board bragging daily about it?

Unlike you whining about your last TA that was voted down by 'the membership'?
Yea I forgot, it was Bob's fault.
B) xUT

 

[700UW]

I have been there, its not connected to BOA building.

 

[BoeingBoy]

Depends on what you mean by "connected". You can go from the BOA building to the Ritz Carlton and back without going outside...

Jim

 

[WorldTraveler]

Depends on what you mean by "connected". You can go from the BOA building to the Ritz Carlton and back without going outside...

Jim

there you have it.
Irrefutable evidence that the CLT business community relies on imported talent from cities where US is not the dominant airline - and since the airport is now spending $1B on new facilities, it is certain there will be a AA-US merger which will result in the closure of the CLT hub.
The bunny paths we have to take to get to some of the conclusions here is quite amazing - but the rabbits get plenty of exercise!

 

[737823]

there you have it.
Irrefutable evidence that the CLT business community relies on imported talent from cities where US is not the dominant airline - and since the airport is now spending $1B on new facilities, it is certain there will be a AA-US merger which will result in the closure of the CLT hub.
The bunny paths we have to take to get to some of the conclusions here is quite amazing - but the rabbits get plenty of exercise!

They also built a new light rail system but haven't sent it to the airport yet. Public transportation isn't widely used outside the Northeast and perhaps Chicago. But yes I do know much of the BofA senior management lives in the Boston or New York area and commutes to CLT. CLT houses many back office functions like HR but they are running the show in Boston and New York.

Josh

 

[WorldTraveler]

They also built a new light rail system but haven't sent it to the airport yet. Public transportation isn't widely used outside the Northeast and perhaps Chicago. But yes I do know much of the BofA senior management lives in the Boston or New York area and commutes to CLT. CLT houses many back office functions like HR but they are running the show in Boston and New York.

Josh

Given that the financial system in the US is headquartered in NYC, it is window dressing to believe that the industry is significanty influenced outside of NYC.
BoA adds to the CLT payroll - many of whom would require much larger paychecks to live in NYC.
Not unlike Boeing being headquartered in Chicago but with most of its business in the Seattle area, all it does is create a lot of travel.
.
More significant is the fact that US now has significant competition in the CLT-LGA market so all the claims of how important BoA is to CLT might not be of as much benefit to US as it has been in the past.

 

[TWU informer]

Unlike you whining about your last TA that was voted down by 'the membership'?
Yea I forgot, it was Bob's fault.
B) xUT

You are finally coming around to the truth I see. Congrats
Along with unable to remain on topic.

 

[eolesen]

They also built a new light rail system but haven't sent it to the airport yet. Public transportation isn't widely used outside the Northeast and perhaps Chicago.

Nah, only poor people use public transportation, right?... Maybe in CLT. But, it's a growing system. Give it ten years.

Since you probably don't get outside the banking bubble much, there's been a resurgence of public transit over the past 20 years.

Dallas in particular has built up one of the largest light rail network in the country, and transit oriented development is popping up along various points on the DART network just as it did on the rail networks in Chicago over 100 years ago. Their biggest mistake is not having a link to the two airports.

Then you've got places like Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco -- all of whom have well established mixed mode networks of light & heavy rail. Even smaller metro areas like Seattle, Minneapolis, Albuquerque, Salt Lake are getting into mixed light rail and heavy rail, and Phoenix just launched their light rail about three years ago with fairly good success.

Fact is, you take any metro area >2m and there's going to be a case for public transit. The only major city I can think of where that formula hasn't worked as well is MIA.

Put it into an airport? Gold mine, between shift workers who want that extra 30 minute nap, or visitors who don't want to be locked into taxis or rental cars just to get to a downtown or business district hotel.

Oh, and PHX hasn't put light rail into their airport yet either....