No love at Love Field

[jimntx]

All they would have to do is order a bunch of new airplanes, announce they are drowning in debt, then file bankruptcy. In bankruptcy, they could then get the judge to abrogate the purchase contracts (or most of them). As I did for years, you are assuming that in order to file bankruptcy you have to be bankrupt or on the verge. Au contraire, mon frère. The airline bankruptcies of the past few years--including AMR's--show that beyond doubt. Bankruptcy has become a tool for corporations to screw employees and creditors alike.

 

[WorldTraveler]

It might be steeper but those boys over at headquarters are like the energizer bunny staying on top of the game.
They keep going and going.

You will see no resting on laurels over there.

It is precisely because WN mgmt. has recognized what they have to do to stay on top of the game that they are a well-run company, because well-run companies look beyond the near-term to where the industry is going and adapt based on what they believe they need to do to remain at the top of the game.

WN employees have grown accustomed to ever-increasing salaries, continuous profit sharing, and growth rates that are faster than other carriers, which creates upward mobility for WN employees.

WN has now realized that they cannot continue to stimulate new traffic because of high fuel prices which limit the ability to deeply discount air travel. There are virtually no large markets left where other carriers are not already present, eliminating a key part of WN’s growth strategy. Finally, WN is competing with legacy carriers in markets where the legacies have historic strengths and where WN’s traditional highly efficient operation does not work because of congestion and weather.

WN’s advantage is that they continue to manage costs much better than most of their network peers, which creates opportunities to enter markets held by other carrier But in order to keep their costs down, WN has to slow the rate of wage increases which is the largest controllable cost item for any airline.

 

[555_in_PDX]

It is precisely because WN mgmt. has recognized what they have to do to stay on top of the game that they are a well-run company, because well-run companies look beyond the near-term to where the industry is going and adapt based on what they believe they need to do to remain at the top of the game.

WN employees have grown accustomed to ever-increasing salaries, continuous profit sharing, and growth rates that are faster than other carriers, which creates upward mobility for WN employees.

WN has now realized that they cannot continue to stimulate new traffic because of high fuel prices which limit the ability to deeply discount air travel. There are virtually no large markets left where other carriers are not already present, eliminating a key part of WN’s growth strategy. Finally, WN is competing with legacy carriers in markets where the legacies have historic strengths and where WN’s traditional highly efficient operation does not work because of congestion and weather.

WN’s advantage is that they continue to manage costs much better than most of their network peers, which creates opportunities to enter markets held by other carrier But in order to keep their costs down, WN has to slow the rate of wage increases which is the largest controllable cost item for any airline.

Slowing rate of wage increases!!! Not on the backs of the hard working members of TWU Local 555. Our entire work group accounts for less than 5% of the total salaries paid out. As long as we are talking about slow wage increases lets look at the top GK and the 47% raise he received last year.

 

[555_in_PDX]

Here is a report of SWA executive salaries from 2007 - 2011. Citation at bottom of image. Labor is the problem here? Really? What would Herb say?

 

[WorldTraveler]

555,

I am certainly not justifying or defending the decision by WN mgmt to outsource ramp functions and to begin the process of unraveling the historic WN employee-employer relationship, which has been a world standard for the airline industry for the past 35 or more years.
I am saying that there are real economic reasons why WN mgmt is choosing to do what they are doing, but there are obviously always multiple options on the table - and they are choosing to focus on rampers and outsourcing.

Add in that some of WN’s marketing DNA is at stake – Bags Fly Free – and the situation is more complex than at other airlines. There is no doubt that WN sees more checked bags than at other airlines on identical or comparable routes and that WN’s business model depends on you guys/gals working your tails off to move that luggage and keep it out of the cabin where it clearly slows down turning the aircraft.

Given that ramp personnel have been the focus of a number of even recent attempts to weaken the amount of work done by direct airline-employed personnel, the implications of this action for the rest of the industry are significant.

We genuinely do wish you well but can’t miss the significance of what is happening.

 

[WorldTraveler]

555,

I am certainly not justifying or defending the decision by WN mgmt to outsource ramp functions and to begin the process of unraveling the historic WN employee-employer relationship, which has been a world standard for the airline industry for the past 35 or more years.
I am saying that there are real economic reasons why WN mgmt is choosing to do what they are doing, but there are obviously always multiple options on the table - and they are choosing to focus on rampers and outsourcing.

Add in that some of WN’s marketing DNA is at stake – Bags Fly Free – and the situation is more complex than at other airlines. There is no doubt that WN sees more checked bags than at other airlines on identical or comparable routes and that WN’s business model depends on you guys/gals working your tails off to move that luggage and keep it out of the cabin where it clearly slows down turning the aircraft.

Given that ramp personnel have been the focus of a number of even recent attempts to weaken the amount of work done by direct airline-employed personnel, the implications of this action for the rest of the industry are significant.

We genuinely do wish you well but can’t miss the significance of what is happening.

 

[gizmo_sc]

This is not going to set well with ramp, ops agents and provo. Wonder how soon TWU will make a comment on this:

Gary Kelley gets 15% pay raise to 4 MILLION.

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2012/04/gary-kelly-gets-a-big-pay-rais.html/

 

[spectator]

with all due respect, labor has made the same complaints about executive compensation while legacy carrier mgmt. has been forcing through cuts, some of which are no different than this.....

It would be nice to think things would be different with WN but keeping history in mind might help manage expectations.

 

[POBIT]

I read an article not long ago saying SWA outsources more than any other airline and that's why they were able to pay the wages that they do. Not sure if that's accurate or not. Personally I am happy with my current wage as a mechanic and would be thankful to have it for the rest of my career. I fully understand the companies needs to find more money in order to compete with other carriers that re-organized thru bankruptcies,but not at the expense of employees. With the way management has been pushing it's own agenda with no regard of it's affect on our culture is shameful.

Work is one thing, but working in a great environment becomes so much more