TWAnr
Veteran
- Aug 19, 2002
- 1,003
- 0
[P dir=ltr][STRONG]Hot off the press:[/STRONG][BR][BR][BR] This is Bob Kudwa, and today is Monday, December 16th, 2002.
[BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style=MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px]
[P]We have had to make difficult decisions over the last 15 months. Some of[BR]the most difficult for me personally have been those involving the[BR]furloughs of pilots and layoffs of non-pilots within the Flight[BR]Department. Our hope, a year ago, was that we would be headed toward[BR]profitability by now. We also hoped to stop the furloughs by the end of[BR]2002. Unfortunately, the industry has fundamentally changed and AA has had[BR]to make significant changes in the way we do business. [/P]
[P]We are streamlining our fleets and eliminating sub-fleets. To react to[BR]lower demand, we are storing B767s and MD80s; thus significantly reducing[BR]operating costs. Last week the decision was made to accelerate the[BR]grounding of the F100s beginning in the spring of 2003 and to now be[BR]completed by fall of 2004.
[P]The fleet decisions have necessitated the additional furloughs of pilots[BR]in 2003. On August 13th we announced the potential of up to 550 furloughs.[BR]Subsequent to that announcement, we made the decision to store 14 B767s[BR]and 28 MD80s resulting in an estimated additional 72 furloughs in 2003. Of[BR]this 622, we have furloughed 230 in 2002. The additional 392 will be[BR]furloughed in reverse seniority order in 2003.
[P]We will have the AA SLT S80 bid status in March of 2003. The initial[BR]conversion of LLC S80s and corresponding ‘fence crossing’ will allow us to[BR]begin training LLC Captains as early as February. At the same time, we[BR]will begin displacing AA FOs to the SLT AA S80 status as governed by[BR]Supplement CC. We expect these positions to be filled from F100 and S80[BR]FOs. Displacements will occur at a rate of 12-20 per month. While we[BR]expect to train LLC First Officers to the AA SLT status in the future, I[BR]honestly can’t tell you when that will be.
[P]These displacements will be similar to those required in the past. You[BR]may remember that in 1993 and 1994 we displaced hundreds of B727 Flight[BR]Engineers to Miami as we furloughed over 600 pilots out the bottom of the[BR]seniority list there. Today, the same will be true in St. Louis. This[BR]should clarify many of the rumors.
[P]The headlines in the newspapers highlight the turmoil our industry is in.[BR]Returning to profitability is our number one goal. I am relying on each of[BR]you to maintain your high professional level in every aspect of your job.[BR]We have many challenges still to face and our road to recovery will[BR]continue to be very rough, but working together, we will make it through[BR]this.
[P]Finally, I would ask that we remember our counterparts at United Airlines[BR]as they face a future with even more near-term uncertainty than our own.[BR]While we compete with them vigorously in the marketplace, we can’t forget[BR]that they are fellow airline people with identical family concerns as our[BR]own.
[P]Fly safe, stay focused and I’ll talk with you next week.[/P][/BLOCKQUOTE]
[BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style=MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px]
[P]We have had to make difficult decisions over the last 15 months. Some of[BR]the most difficult for me personally have been those involving the[BR]furloughs of pilots and layoffs of non-pilots within the Flight[BR]Department. Our hope, a year ago, was that we would be headed toward[BR]profitability by now. We also hoped to stop the furloughs by the end of[BR]2002. Unfortunately, the industry has fundamentally changed and AA has had[BR]to make significant changes in the way we do business. [/P]
[P]We are streamlining our fleets and eliminating sub-fleets. To react to[BR]lower demand, we are storing B767s and MD80s; thus significantly reducing[BR]operating costs. Last week the decision was made to accelerate the[BR]grounding of the F100s beginning in the spring of 2003 and to now be[BR]completed by fall of 2004.
[P]The fleet decisions have necessitated the additional furloughs of pilots[BR]in 2003. On August 13th we announced the potential of up to 550 furloughs.[BR]Subsequent to that announcement, we made the decision to store 14 B767s[BR]and 28 MD80s resulting in an estimated additional 72 furloughs in 2003. Of[BR]this 622, we have furloughed 230 in 2002. The additional 392 will be[BR]furloughed in reverse seniority order in 2003.
[P]We will have the AA SLT S80 bid status in March of 2003. The initial[BR]conversion of LLC S80s and corresponding ‘fence crossing’ will allow us to[BR]begin training LLC Captains as early as February. At the same time, we[BR]will begin displacing AA FOs to the SLT AA S80 status as governed by[BR]Supplement CC. We expect these positions to be filled from F100 and S80[BR]FOs. Displacements will occur at a rate of 12-20 per month. While we[BR]expect to train LLC First Officers to the AA SLT status in the future, I[BR]honestly can’t tell you when that will be.
[P]These displacements will be similar to those required in the past. You[BR]may remember that in 1993 and 1994 we displaced hundreds of B727 Flight[BR]Engineers to Miami as we furloughed over 600 pilots out the bottom of the[BR]seniority list there. Today, the same will be true in St. Louis. This[BR]should clarify many of the rumors.
[P]The headlines in the newspapers highlight the turmoil our industry is in.[BR]Returning to profitability is our number one goal. I am relying on each of[BR]you to maintain your high professional level in every aspect of your job.[BR]We have many challenges still to face and our road to recovery will[BR]continue to be very rough, but working together, we will make it through[BR]this.
[P]Finally, I would ask that we remember our counterparts at United Airlines[BR]as they face a future with even more near-term uncertainty than our own.[BR]While we compete with them vigorously in the marketplace, we can’t forget[BR]that they are fellow airline people with identical family concerns as our[BR]own.
[P]Fly safe, stay focused and I’ll talk with you next week.[/P][/BLOCKQUOTE]
