Why do the non PIT people have such strong opinions?

[JAMAKE1]

You're not in management in Tempe but will complete your degree in Aviation Management and probably go work for them out there complete with no emotions for your employees.....you'll fit right in.

Quite the contrary. Having been a flight attendant for a number of years, I believe that I have cultivated my capacity for Emotional Intelligence quite extensively. The initial point that I was trying to make is that in business, decisions are made based on numbers, regardless of the impact these business decisions may have on a company's employees. What I have sensed, and I think others on this board have as well, is that there is a tone of entitlement reflected by some of the good folks based in PIT. It is indeed, unfortunate, to have put in a lot of time at a company, and then learn that the place in which you grew up, have lived in for a long period of time, and have spent your entire career, is no longer a locale that is financially feasible for your company's operations. Trust me, on a personal level, I know that it can be very painful, and by no means, intend to negate the affected employees' feelings. However, in business, it IS about the bottom line and delivering the maximum return to a company's shareholders. USAirways has never fully corrected the strategic imbalance that existed within the company's route network. These operatiing deficiencies, which ultimately impact the company's bottom line and/or create inefficiencies, are finally being addressed and corrected now. At the same time, it is important to understand that these difficult decisions that any manangement team must make, and continually evaluate, aren't about trying to spite the firm's employees, but rather about making business decisions that will allow the company to compete most effectively in the marketplace.

If I could create my ideal airline management job, it would be to be a Vice President of Corporate Culture. Where a bridge is forged between the front line and senior management. Where there is a place for the two to converge and discuss and come to an understanding of the other's viewpoint; a forum for improving what works and what doesn't work in accomplishing the mission. Furthermore, I would want to have a mandate from Senior Management, to create a corporate culture that provides the front line employees with the tools they need in order for them to accomplish the collective goal: To deliver excellence in customer service to the airline's external customers. I am a firm believer in investing in the internal customer and creating a work environment where the internal customers feel valued and appreciated, and empowered to make decisions that are customer-focused. (What a concept, huh?). And finally, where every member of the team is fully engaged in the goal, across all layers of the organization, to execute and deliver. So, no. I will not fit right in in Tempe...

 

[linemech]

What are you going to do? You are going to allocate those resources to the part of your company's operations, that yield the greatest return to the company's bottom line, net income. PHL is geographically situated in an area with a large population base in which to draw from. PIT is not. PHL produces far greater O&D traffic numbers than PIT does.

The problem isn't that it's not PIT. The Problem is that It's PHL.
With all the choices in air travel, how long will it take US Airways to deplete the number of pax willing to be subjected to travel through PHL?
Not all PAX originate in PHL and those that do prefer not to use US Airways if possible. Just listen to PHL radio and television for proof.
Many connecting passengers that travel on a regular basis choose another airline if the US connection is through PHL.
US Airways managements inability to understand that not getting their passengers to a destination on time (or at all) and subjecting them to an over utilized gridlocked airport just for the sake of the "bottom line" will certainly show them a much different looking "bottom line" soon.

Linemech

 

[zethya]

The problem isn't that it's not PIT. The Problem is that It's PHL.
With all the choices in air travel, how long will it take US Airways to deplete the number of pax willing to be subjected to travel through PHL?
Not all PAX originate in PHL and those that do prefer not to use US Airways if possible. Just listen to PHL radio and television for proof.
Many connecting passengers that travel on a regular basis choose another airline if the US connection is through PHL.
US Airways managements inability to understand that not getting their passengers to a destination on time (or at all) and subjecting them to an over utilized gridlocked airport just for the sake of the "bottom line" will certainly show them a much different looking "bottom line" soon.

Linemech

Great - then CO should leave EWR, Everyone should leave LGA and JFK - all of which are MORE gridlocked and MORE delayed than PHL, UA should leave ORD and on and on. Airlines go were the business is - not where the shiniest, most efficient (and usually most expensive) airport is located. And Pittsburgh is a not in that category - period... If you were US, would you abandon a city (to another airline) which had nearly 20M Local Domestic and nearly 5M Local International passengers/year, just because you (US) had problems figuring out how to make it work??
US needs PHL to survive and hopefully prosper - it's not the other way round as it obviously was with PIT.

 

[JAMAKE1]

The problem isn't that it's not PIT. The Problem is that It's PHL.
With all the choices in air travel, how long will it take US Airways to deplete the number of pax willing to be subjected to travel through PHL?
Not all PAX originate in PHL and those that do prefer not to use US Airways if possible. Just listen to PHL radio and television for proof.
Many connecting passengers that travel on a regular basis choose another airline if the US connection is through PHL.
US Airways managements inability to understand that not getting their passengers to a destination on time (or at all) and subjecting them to an over utilized gridlocked airport just for the sake of the "bottom line" will certainly show them a much different looking "bottom line" soon.

Linemech

I do not disagree with you. I think that having hired a new V.P. of Operations will hopefully help to mitigate the problems that PHL has been plagued with. By not having a senior executive who could fully devote the time and resources needed to help correct the operational break-downs in PHL, was a detriment to USAirways' operation and I do think that your senior level management has realized that. Obviously, the station that is the biggest Cash Cow in the system needs to function smoothly. At the same time, I think that it is a prudent business decision to right-size the hub operations in the east so that duplication and redundancy are not occurring. I think that significant resources do need to be devoted to the PHL operation, which hopefully in time, you will see. At the same time, from a business stand point, it does make sense to devote the company's limited resources to the areas of the operation that yield the greatest returns, which unfortunately, is not PIT...

 

[linemech]

Great - then CO should leave EWR, Everyone should leave LGA and JFK - all of which are MORE gridlocked and MORE delayed than PHL, UA should leave ORD and on and on. Airlines go were the business is - not where the shiniest, most efficient (and usually most expensive) airport is located. And Pittsburgh is a not in that category - period... If you were US, would you abandon a city (to another airline) which had nearly 20M Local Domestic and nearly 5M Local International passengers/year, just because you (US) had problems figuring out how to make it work??
US needs PHL to survive and hopefully prosper - it's not the other way round as it obviously was with PIT.

Zethya,

US Airways managements inability to understand that not getting their passengers to a destination on time (or at all) and subjecting them to an over utilized gridlocked airport just for the sake of the "bottom line" will certainly show them a much different looking "bottom line" soon, PERIOD.

And PIT has nothing to do with it.


linemech