I don't disagree that Tempe is an inept bunch of managers. And as usual, they've managed to stumble when they mis-speak and are subsequently misinterpreted in the media. But then again, that's what happens when you regularly lie to the public and employees and your words are no longer listened to or trusted.
So Tempe simply speaks out loud about the holiday period and an internal company conversation turns public. From a pax perspective, it's no surprise to any of us that T-Day weekend is monster period to fly. Delays? Bad Weather? Possible Snow? Lost Bags? Gee, I didn't know that this happens on T-Day :huh: . I also didn't think that US had the delay market cornered over all of the competition -- though I absolutely suspect that US lies near the bottom of the bottom-dwellers.
OK, they have a program called Holiday Hustle. In other words, they're dangling a carrot in front of the mules. So if I'm hearing this thing right and reading the links correctly, Tempe is saying hit 60% in November ( while actually aspiring much higher numbers ) and we'll pay each of you $50. Hit the lost bags target and you all get another $50. BFD! What's the problem with this? Not exactly profit sharing, but if I see a $50 bill laying on the floor, I'm gonna pick it up.
I fully understand the transparancy of Tempe's disrespect towards both you guys and we pax. But you know what? Change has gotta start somewhere. If Tempe thinks they're more clever than you, so what? Hit and exceed that target and take the damned money! You get cash, and we pax get up and flying on time or something close to it during a crappy holidy period. Sure, DP and gang are gonna wink at each other and smile and take all the credit.
But it doesn't change my own opinion of Tempe ( or yours ). It does however make my travel managable and you make a few extra bucks. Life sucks, doesn't it? Now so long as I keep flying with you guys, I'm not gonna stop letting Tempe know what I really think about them. Likewise you folks gotta keep giving employee feedback to seemingly deaf ears and filling out the maintaince forms for broken seats and all of the other crap that's going wrong because Tempe can't manage ops or figure out how to merge airlines. Nothing wrong with holding a doubtful, or an irksome opinion of Tempe. But cynicism is poisonous and it will follow you to the ticket counters and into the cabins. That you can not blame Tempe for.
Let's hope that the weekend goes well and that the weather gods are kind to ops. Take their money and do what you can to improve ops. Parker ain't gonna change, but time will catch up with him. We just don't know when or whether it'll just be him and his team, or the entire airline which takes the big hit.
Hey, T-Day is a day to cook a turkey. Maybe we can roast DP. What do you stuff him with?
Barry