Pit,
a little balance would be helpful.
Even in AA's early BK documents, they proposed costs that were lower than one major competitor but only 1% lower than the other - and that was almost a year ago. The competitive situation has continued to move - it always does - and it isn't at all clear where AA's costs will be relative to the industry post BK.
US has actually done about average to slightly above average in the industry regarding revenue production driven in part by the poor operational performance at some carriers. US has been near the top tier in terms of operational performance; operational performance at more than one airline is accompanied by above average revenue production.
US hasn't generated revenues sufficiently large to start passing out pay raises in masse again but US mgmt is not the baffoons that you might want them to be and AA mgmt or their business model is not as proven as you might want to hope they are either.
WT,
The revenues generated by the operation at U has everything to do with the culture of the employees. They go above and beyond best customer performance. They are a sensitive group, and often buy into the "poor company; need to compete with much lower costs mantra". They've been beaten down to think that they should be lucky to have a job and that there ale many folks out there that would do the job for less.. BS. So, their performance shows that they are grateful to the CUSTOMERs for continuing to travel with them and keep them in the air.
Performance is ALL labor driven; mangement is just riding on their coat tails; never happy, unless they can be bigger with bigger salaries and perks that go along with that for their careers. Keep in mind the stock performance only started to rise when their is a rumor of merger. Before that, the stock was between $4- 7 and often times sitting bleow $5.I Can't see what this merger would do for labor, besides fill up the grievance log books and court rooms with seniority issues, and joint contract issues ect..and for stock holders, the rise is so short lived. As Warren Buffet once was quoted back in the late 90's, worst investment he has ever had in his buiness career is buying US Airways stock or any airline.
For U to offer 70% to the creditors plus $8.5 billion in stock, and 13% of the new comany to the AA pilots, that really doesn't leave much left for an outside investor or the rest of labor. US Airways pilots already have a share of the current US Airways, something like 10%, what happens to that, pray tell?????
After 25 years of flying and repersenting labor, I know very well that the airline industry is all about customer service, not just the pulbic that fly, but also the employees are customers too. Management forgets who butters their bread.
I will not get behind any kind of merger for US Airways, and I will be highly visible and vocal in my perch UNTIL labor agrees to the contract they feel they deserve after a decade of concessions.
They haven't shared in any of the success of the airline that they contrbute to day in and day out 365 days a year. Only the untalented, egotistical, users, and yes proven record of baffune-type managemnt style with no other business plan, after 3 restructuring agreements, other than CONSOLIDATION!!!!! PIGGY BACKING ON ANOTHER AIRLINES HARD WORK AND DEDICATION TO RIGHT THEIR OWN AIRLINE TO EMERGE SOLO.
