AA needs $1 billion more in savings!

[whaledriver]

$1.0 B in cost cuts - AA employees GET READY for some serious pay cuts...don't try to reason your way out of this one, it will happen in a matter of time. NWA, DAL, UAL will soon cause AA real problems with the new restructured operations...lean, lean, lean. AA will sink with it's long term cost, the CFO even knows it. :down:

 

[Bob Owens]

I think they should be paid for the work they do, do it the way Southwest does that all I would say.

You would obviously exclude, International flights and other exceptions, I am primarily speaking about S-80, 737, and perhaps 757 flights.

There we go again, do it the way SWA does it, well pay the way SWA pays. Like I said AA wants something for nothing.

I earn more than 25% less than a SWA mechanic with the same time.

 

[Nor'Easta]

I think they should be paid for the work they do, do it the way Southwest does that all I would say.

You would obviously exclude, International flights and other exceptions, I am primarily speaking about S-80, 737, and perhaps 757 flights.

AA is trying the SWA way. It's called the "checkerboard system" and its not going well. Planes are going out in worse shape then they did before. Pax are complaining all the time because the planes are dirty. AA is digging their own grave and this is what will do it.

It's not the flight attendants job to clean unless its marked C-Bill. It's not our job to clean and we will not do it. The reason the SWA flight attendants clean is; It's contractual!

 

[LGA Fleet Service]

NWA, DAL, UAL will soon cause AA real problems with the new restructured operations.

Yeah, it's amazing what stiffing retirees,creditors and employees can do for a company isn't it? :down:

I'd expect to see another airline induced change in the Chapter 11 game if NWA or DAL tries to foist it's pension obligations off on the government.


The PBGC was created to protect employees of defunct companies, not allow management to drop billions in debt off on the government in order to attract billions more to piss away.

2. He did not say that the company is going to recover the remaining $300M in cost savings initiatives.

I found that $300 million a year Arpey is looking for, it's over at DAL. :down:

 

[lpbrian]

I think they should be paid for the work they do, do it the way Southwest does that all I would say.

You would obviously exclude, International flights and other exceptions, I am primarily speaking about S-80, 737, and perhaps 757 flights.

maintenance is different....

 

[TWAnr]

Which makes their operation more cost efficient. That is one of many reasons Southwest had been continuously profitable while AMR has lost billions of dollars in recent years.

For American Airlines to succeed in the long run, its employees must change their outdated mindset. The times have changed.

 

[operaations]

there are two reasons southwest remains profitable for the time.

1 Simplified fleet (737) no extra costs to train on multiple types of aircraft.
everyone is legal to work no issues on if they are qualled to work that type of equipement.

2 the biggest reason is the fuel hedge. I forgot wherre i read it but it said that if you took into account WN paying for fuel that AA, CO, UA, NW are paying they would have lost also.

3 They are not immune.

 

[Wretched Wrench]

there are two reasons southwest remains profitable for the time.

The reasons you state are fair and true.

However, I believe the main reason is employee morale. They are well paid and fairly treated, and they know it. Consequently they perform. They are motivated.

We are demotivated. We have seen our wages and benefits cut drastically, and face more cuts. We have sell out unions who are interested in only staying in power. We fear that every day we come closer to losing our retirement. We have already lost our drug plan at age 65. Do any of you know how big a loss that is? Talk to a retiree. I never expected my lot to improve at AA. Just staying even was all I ever wanted. But I also never expected it to constantly deteriorate. We are in a death spiral. So, we just shuffle through the day. The enthusiasm is gone. The reward is gone. The company gives us the finger every day. Performance could even improve if we thought it wouldn't get any worse, but even that is a fantasy. We are one stroke of the pen away from losing our pensions in a phony bankruptcy, and the PBGC is already on a death watch due to airline phone bankruptcies and underfunding. Wait and see what Delphi does to your retirement protection. Southwest employees have a retirement that cannot be stolen.

The company wants Southwest performance without Southwest pay and benefits, while the executives provide AA performance while receiving far better than Southwest pay and benefits. Except no one here ever contributed to buy Carty a new car.

 

[operaations]

please are you done ranting.

If AA had as much fule hedged as WN we would not have lost all the pay and would have been paid higher wages than WN. If I recall This board spewed just as much hate and low morale before you all lost pay and benifits. So dont just blame it there. I have 80 year old parent that that the government is screwing with medicare prescription and medical care. Everyone is getting screwed

 

[Wretched Wrench]

please are you done ranting.

If AA had as much fule hedged as WN we would not have lost all the pay and would have been paid higher wages than WN. If I recall This board spewed just as much hate and low morale before you all lost pay and benifits. So dont just blame it there. I have 80 year old parent that that the government is screwing with medicare prescription and medical care. Everyone is getting screwed

Most of the ranting stopped when we got our raise. I even gave little motivational speeches to our more negative mechs and the passive-agressives. And morale improved immediately while performance increased slowly but steadily. I saw it and so did local management.

And however you choose to spin my stated reasons for low morale, valid or not, justified or not, acceptable to you or not, real or not, THEY ARE THERE. And they affect performance.

And, as I stated, morale is one of the reasons Southwest is profitable and we are not. You may belittle, spin or discount it, but it is there.

 

[operaations]

true

I agree morale is a factor. I over reacted because I am sick and tired of reading people blame every last thing on management.

do people really think management planned on oil topping 75$ a barrel.
do they think management saw 9/11 coming. Did management see all of the other contributing factors of this tail spin we are in.

I agree if morale was higher productivity would be higher. But it has to start somewhere. IF there continues to be the nay sayers and negative people that cant ever see a silver lining in everything than morale will continue to be low.

My morale is low because i walk into work and see bad attitudes every day.

If others would put aside their negative attitudes it may spread to others around and people will start perking up and morale will climb ...and productivity would climb...and then maybe a little bit of mprofit. one can only hope

 

[Hopeful]

true

I agree morale is a factor. I over reacted because I am sick and tired of reading people blame every last thing on management.

do people really think management planned on oil topping 75$ a barrel.
do they think management saw 9/11 coming. Did management see all of the other contributing factors of this tail spin we are in.

I agree if morale was higher productivity would be higher. But it has to start somewhere. IF there continues to be the nay sayers and negative people that cant ever see a silver lining in everything than morale will continue to be low.

My morale is low because i walk into work and see bad attitudes every day.

If others would put aside their negative attitudes it may spread to others around and people will start perking up and morale will climb ...and productivity would climb...and then maybe a little bit of mprofit. one can only hope

Can't have good morale with good pay and benefits!

 

[Wretched Wrench]

true

I agree morale is a factor. I over reacted because I am sick and tired of reading people blame every last thing on management.

do people really think management planned on oil topping 75$ a barrel.
do they think management saw 9/11 coming. Did management see all of the other contributing factors of this tail spin we are in.

I agree if morale was higher productivity would be higher. But it has to start somewhere. IF there continues to be the nay sayers and negative people that cant ever see a silver lining in everything than morale will continue to be low.

My morale is low because i walk into work and see bad attitudes every day.

If others would put aside their negative attitudes it may spread to others around and people will start perking up and morale will climb ...and productivity would climb...and then maybe a little bit of mprofit. one can only hope

You raise good points.

Many of the problems we have are industry-wide or even economy-wide. As we descend in corporatism or corporate kleptocracy as a form of government, the working American citizen is going to suffer even more.

But, within the company, any company, management manages and leadership leads. They even lead by setting bad examples as well as good. As Arpey has said, "Leadership by Example". And corporate culture does not change overnight. I have seen AA go from CR to Carty. The Carty culture is still with us. You will be the first to agree with me that some employees are just plain negative. There seem to be more of them lately, huh? But many more are negative because of things that were done by management. Overall, our employees are a microcosm of the USA, and have then been shaped by management and leadership. AA tries to hire the best (well, sort of), but so do the others, so most of us are like most of the US. And, oh yes, the unions exert some influence on how employees work and think, good or bad. Yes, that is a mixed bag. But even the unions have been influenced greatly by the company.

So the company is really in charge here, and can take credit or blame for whatever the morale is at any given time. I give CR Smith full credit for the good airline I hired into, and I give Herb Kelleher for what I perceive to be a good airline at Southwest. And I give Carty and his culture full credit for much of what is wrong at AA. Arpey seems cut from a different cloth, but he still serves the same masters.

 

[operaations]

but he still serves the same masters.

[/quote]


what masters does he serve that you have basically written him off

 

[Wretched Wrench]

but he still serves the same masters.
what masters does he serve that you have basically written him off

I haven't written him off. I am watching and waiting. Hard to figure. But I am not completely convinced he is in charge. I wonder if we are in a good cop/bad cop situation, and he is the good cop.