If You Were Ceo Of Airways

[unit4clt]

Salesguyccy,

Whats so ridiculous about going up to 400 MAINLINE AIRCRAFT when possible? Even Dave and team appearently want to add 60 more aircraft....Is that so ridiculous also?
As far as pay goes, NORTHWEST Employees have not taken paycuts. Guess what? They made money last qt.

Maybe its because they have a COMPETENT MANAGEMENT team who know how to run an airline and have not transfered their MAINELINE flying to RJS!!!!
Maybe they know how to make decisions at NORTHWEST, instead of EXCUSES made by Dave and team.

 

[Light Years]

Are cart drivers US Airways employees? I might be confused... I used to work at an airline where that was contracted out to Globe Aviation Services (not sure if they are even around 9-11) but wore the uniform of the airline. Are the cart drivers at US hubs passenger service employees?

 

[Walmartgreeter]

I am really starting to be more "Management" sympathetic as i read and watch what goes on in the field with US and the various workgroups.

Just got back from PHL and Firday Evenings are pretty busy there. Especially for the cart drivers. So I'm in Bath & Bodyworks to buy a giaft and one of the cart drivers is in there. I figure she is on break, right? WRONG, her radio is swawking with people asking her where she is and they need her and she is being real evasive as to her location. Only then did I realize that she was doing her shopping on company time! I am waiting for the apologists to explain this one away and how Dave is evil. She is stealing from her employer as surely as a gunman holds up a bank.

This is why management has taken such a confrontational stance on certain things like F/A sick policy. I have been led to believe that in excess of ten percent of the F/A's of on any given work day are off sick on in FMLA situation. Over one tenth of the F/A workforce unavailave on most days. Absenteeeism where I work is around 3%

This behavior is inexcusable and IHO the parties that abuse sick leave and steal from the company should be terminated.

I hope you got all the "lotion" you needed Piney Bob. We are are all really sorry you had such a bad "air mall" experience. Better head on over to the SWA boards, and find that dream cart driver you have been...oh well. We all get the picture.

 

[MarkMyWords]

HUB cart drivers are US employees.

Folks it is all about perception. Think about how your actions look in the eyes of the customer.

 

[N628AU]

Markmywords is correct. It is all about perception, and it is inexcusable for an employee to be shopping for personal reasons while on the clock. The few bad apples in the crowd are the ones that lead to such inane policies being enacted and everyone gets punished.

Another issue I have always had is the "smoke break". Why does a smoker get to take time every hour or so to go smoke? As a nonsmoker I do not get that same benefit. It you cannot go 8 hours without lighting up you seriously need to consider seeing your doctor for ways to quit.

 

[cavalier]

Another issue I have always had is the "smoke break". Why does a smoker get to take time every hour or so to go smoke? As a nonsmoker I do not get that same benefit. It you cannot go 8 hours without lighting up you seriously need to consider seeing your doctor for ways to quit.

I guess this is where smoking is beneficial.


Seriously: Think about this. There was a time when more people smoked than didn't and we all had to breath their smoke like it or not, even on planes. Then it reversed to the point ones an outcast if they smoke. Some whacko places like CA would like to band it even out doors. I can see both sides of it. As far as quitting. People have stopped doing heroin, cocaine and still can't stop smoking, it's that powerful and why you see them ever hour on the hour puffing away. Until you have been down that road you have no idea. Easy to cast stones, and especially easy at Siegel, he earned it though, smokers didn't. "No, I don't smoke"

 

[T-bone]

Another issue I have always had is the "smoke break". Why does a smoker get to take time every hour or so to go smoke? As a nonsmoker I do not get that same benefit. It you cannot go 8 hours without lighting up you seriously need to consider seeing your doctor for ways to quit.

Once I went out the same time as the smokers and just stood around. My manager freaked on me. He wanted to know why I was just standing around doing nothing. So I told him it was my smoke break and when they were done I would go back to work also. He freaked on me again, he totally missed the point. God I wish them well quitting! They are so in denial.

 

[CynicalResAgent]

If I were the CEO of this company I would either decide to make us an all coach domestic carrier or improve our first class experience.

I personally think going all coach would be a mistake but we seem to be waffling and F class seems to be just a bigger seat.

I would like to see the passport entertainment system installed on the 767 and inflight TV on all other mainline A/C. Complimentary food should be given in F class when flight times allow. I think we should try to tie in certain products when possible. Hey since Song has a famous fashion designer doing their uniforms why not get Tommy Hilfiger to do ours and sign an exclusive marketing arrangement with him. (I am just thinking of him because he used to use a lot of Red white and blue.) I would also put Wi-Fi in the US Airways clubs, the hardware is not that expensive and since every new laptop has a Wi-Fi card it would be nice for the businesss travelers. Hell, put free Wi-Fi internet access in all of our Hubs and focus cities (BOS, LGA,DCA,BWI,PHL,PIT,CLT,MCO).

I would also implement a new fare structure. I think a business traveler would be willing to pay a little more than the leisure traveler for a certain amount of flexibility and especially if we made our airline more attractive to business travelers. I know the era of the $2200 fare LGA to PIT is long gone but you can offer more flexibility at a reasonable premium.

I also think we should do more point to point flying and a western/midwestern hub would make sense.

 

[etops1]

ok cynical. we are trying to save money here. if you were ceo and started to retrofit the 67's with p@ssport system's that will cost u a fortune. new uniforms same. we are trying to keep cost down not up. that would reduce costs not increase them. take care

 

[mbmbbost]

Markmywords is correct. It is all about perception

Something I perceived may not be accurate, but here's what I saw. On a PHL/LAX flight last week at dinner time the flight attendants served dinner quickly and efficiently. They were pleasant and friendly. Then for the next three hours of the flight they essentially kept themselves to the front of the cabin. Sitting in 1 A,C for half an hour or more working on schedules, and then chatting with several that appeared to be non-revs in the galley. To the point that they joked they were having a party when I tried to get through to the lav. Five or six people in the galley area makes it a little crowded. One pass through for drinks towards the end of the flight and that was it. What I PERCEIVED was that there's room for increased productivity with some flight attendants.

 

[700UW]

Etops, sometimes you have to spend money to make money, there are only 10 767s left with 24 envoy seats each for only a total of 240 units.

Also you want to save money, then tell Dave to stop using $1,000 lawyers from numerous firms to further along their attempts to steal from thier employees.

 

[tug_slug]

we are trying to keep cost down not up

ETOPS this isn't against you or your post so please dont take it as a slam.

We as employees have done more than our fare share to keep costs down its management's turn to step up to the plate.

From what I've read so far Bronner's doing the same old song and dance "if we dont get what we want we'll file for BK." In my opinion that's exactly what its going to come down to, either we give them their work rule changes which to my understanding would only put more people out on the streets or they file for BK again and depending on financing they'll either file chapter 11 and take what they didn't get the first time while in BK or they'll file chapter 7 cut their losses and put everyone out of a job.

Right now they've got our good money funding their bad decisions and now they want more. I view it as having cancer, if the tumor isn't removed and the right kind of treatment isn't administered your doomed. This airline has a cancer and the method of treatment Dr Bronner has prescribed (more concessions) isn't going to rid us of this cancer. The method of treatment is a very complex one and its going to take some time to get our house in order unfortunately time is one thing U doesn't have.

 

[cavalier]

Also you want to save money, then tell Dave to stop using $1,000 lawyers from numerous firms to further along their attempts to steal from thier employees.

Very true. That, and court costs making employees go to court because management arbitrarily violates the contracts justifying it by saying they can't afford to go by these contracts they shoved down our throats and singed onto, the same contracts that were concessionary and what they said they needed to make it work.

This thread reads “If You Were The CEO“. If I were, I would honor the contracts, honor the employees, honor the customers by providing adequate personal to make them happy. In other words spend a little money to get both employees and customers on board. This team is failing these tasks and why the drum beat of management replacement. You can't bully passengers and employees into submission by saying this is the way it is and if you don't like it leave. The passengers are leaving and as many employees that can are as well all because there is no honor, no loyalty because this team doesn’t understand those terms.

 

[cavalier]

Cav,

You make a valid point! Now please thoughtfully consider this, remembering you are the CEO

What if honoring the contracts in their current form means that in less than 18 months US Airways will cease to be?

I have made it well known here and elsewhere that further wage cuts are NOT the answer, That everyone needs to work smarter not harder. What if the contracts if modified would empower each and every employee to work smarter and deliver the kind of productivity gain needed to allow the company to mke money?

My point is simple: Business would pick up because both passengers and employees are happy and the problem of costly contracts goes away. Look to LUV, both parties are happy and they are having a party running that business. Win Win.

 

[BoeingBoy]

Somebody mentioned that they understood that 10% of the f/a's were on the FMLA at any given time. This seems high, but after hearing about situations with several different f/a's over the last month or so I can understand it. All cases involved a single mother who had medical problems with their children. They had sick time available, but were told that they couldn't use it. They had to either work or go on FMLA. It can be argued that this is what the FMLA is for, but FMLA is UNpaid leave.

Another case involved a f/a who had a mastectomy. Again she had sick time available, but was told that she had to work a trip that started 10 days after the surgery or go on medical leave. Going on medical means no pay for the first 60 days. As an aside, she couldn't lift her arm (on the side of the surgery) above her shoulder.

In these cases the company seems to be saying "either you're at work or we don't want to pay you".

Jim