AA CEO Horton says AA will trim bloated management ranks

[Buck]

You guys are confusing "managers" with "management"....

You still have to move people, bags & cargo, and maintain the airplanes... As long as that's insourced, that means supervising the people doing it...

They're going to continue to hire supervisors & managers if there's attrition beyond a point that's manageable (no pun intended). So get over it. It ain't gonna change materially unless the station closes, flights get cut back, or something gets outsourced (i.e. stores, GSE, ramp, whatever).

What I see Horton taking aim on is the side of management directly related to policies & procedures, strategy, planning.... it's another world and another story altogether.

We may be confusing Managers with Management, but when it comes to maintenance the operation has not change very much. The increase in managers and supervisors, comes with the addition of programs, that some do not understand why the company is wasting revenue on. What has change at TUL is that Union employees and in particular Crew Chiefs are having more meetings where by the gap between the workforce and management is closing or that is what mangement wants. Groups like RLG and Six Sigma that attempt to teach a overhaul facility manufacturing techniques. The mechanics just want to fix the airplanes, not manage the product. Any link between what is taught in the MBA classrooms does not apply directly on the hangar floor for mechanics. Scheduling the fleets to that maintenance is a mangement job. That is one of the problems today is that we have personal hired to fix airplanes, performing management functions.

The increase in contract supervision stems from the inability of management to find "qualified and compensational" people who will take the jobs.

 

[OldGuy@AA]

We may be confusing Managers with Management, but when it comes to maintenance the operation has not change very much. The increase in managers and supervisors, comes with the addition of programs, that some do not understand why the company is wasting revenue on. What has change at TUL is that Union employees and in particular Crew Chiefs are having more meetings where by the gap between the workforce and management is closing or that is what mangement wants. Groups like RLG and Six Sigma that attempt to teach a overhaul facility manufacturing techniques. The mechanics just want to fix the airplanes, not manage the product. Any link between what is taught in the MBA classrooms does not apply directly on the hangar floor for mechanics. Scheduling the fleets to that maintenance is a mangement job. That is one of the problems today is that we have personal hired to fix airplanes, performing management functions.

The increase in contract supervision stems from the inability of management to find "qualified and compensational" people who will take the jobs.

Buck is spot on. We (Crew Chiefs) are being told to have more meetings. They are also having what they call board walks every week. One problem is that supervisors don't have to deal with sick call any more so they have more time on their hands. They use some of it to build charts and graphs that supposedly show performance but can be manipulated to show what they want it to. Example--- Don't produce that part today. Wait till Monday because our LPCI is already high enough for this week. But then the next week we are told to produce everything as quickly as possible. This past week two parts showed up on the critical list before they arrived in the shop! My job used to be to make sure the line, hangar and engine shop have the parts they needed to do their job. Now I am expected to produce what parts will make the charts look best. This is what happens when you put marketing people in charge of the maintenance operation. Now the master mind of this system has been moved to the hangars. Buck, I hope your supervisor is good with microsoft excel.

 

[chris perry]

.,learn as much as possible.

And what's changed since then, Chris?...

Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe, just maybe, the level of supervision is being driven by amount of rhetoric & actions coming from your peers?

I suspect there's good reason behind the "behaviorally challenged" class at my kids' school having a 5:1 student:adult ratio while the honors class has a 25:1 ratio.

I've had direct reports who needed no supervision whatsoever, some who took up 10-20% of my time due to having to deal with the ramifications of what they did the day or week before, and a few who needed to be constantly watched to make sure they weren't burning the place down by accident...

Add enough of those into the mix in a place where you have a system (or a contract) where you can't fire people for being terminally stupid or "doing just enough not to get fired", and you get to the point where you have no choice but to add more supervisors.

In 1995, everyone held themselves more accountable, and there was also a higher level of trust with the local management. Both sides share the blame on how that's disintegrated, and it's going to take time to get back there.

Nothing has changed but pay and management. The same system just like 1995 with a few new 737's,777's. I still drive the same brokedown truck ,when its not broke...and a mile high stack of new paperwork to slow you down...Believe it or not E ,I really like working on Airplanes and do the best job I can...given the circumstances. When you have more aircraft than people it doesn't work the system suffers. Adding management don't fix it...or management won't listen to the solutions.It's been a one way street for years...Now we see the end result BK... I actually work the Ots crew by choice,I could bid a section work gate calls,placard broken Systems.I prefer to fix aircraft if possible,you learn alot more by working problem Aircraft and everyday is a new challenge. The bottom line is we are here to make a living and produce Airplanes. There is no incentives to go the extra mile these days,it doesn't pay...Just the mere fact they eliminated penalty hours,paid lunches costs the company many in service aircraft daily.