Suppose The Ceo Gets What He Wants...

[Air conditioned]

Just interested...if Siegel does indeed get what he wants, what then? What would U look like? I know he wants us to be a LCC, but how big? How many jobs would this cost? What exactly are we looking at here? :angry:

 

[autofixer]

Can it be done? Can UAIR become a viable LCC over night? How about all of those non-labor costs? What would become of them? How would they be lowered? Who knows. There is no plan to do so. Why did Metrojet not work? Can Dave answer a few of these questions?

 

[delldude]

if we payed to work here they'd still lose money.

 

[CLT-Douglas]

If you ask anyone in construction, they will tell you it's much easier to start from scratch then to rebuild from existing structure. It can be done however, but it's costly and time consumming, because one wrong move and the stucture falls to pieces. In order to do this sucessfully, everyone needs to agree upon the new plan before construction can start. This is the one thing that has become a major stumbling block for US Airways. Unlike a building, the market keeps changing, day by day, so it's even more important to make adjustments along the way, and make them quickly. Dealing with such a large company such as US Airways, this is proving to be impossible task.

It would be exciting to see US Airways go in a new direction and play offense rather then defense for a change. If they can afford match the LCC in price and ammenities like Jet Blue in coach, fly to international destinations, and have world wide alliances. US Airways could and would be a powerful force in the industry. Most of the pieces are already there, but if the flights are full, and your still losing money it will be difficult to go much futher with out making a change.

 

[wings396]

This round of cuts will be good enough for a year or so. They will be back again in 05 pleading for more, still without a real plan to follow. 2 billion frittered away with no operational changes made with the company. They get concessions, then cut capacity and revenue that is just covered by what they took out of your wallets.
Let's face it nothing will never change. All of the cuts did nothing for EA, TW or PA, and there is no reason to think US will be any different. :down:

 

[willyloman]

If Siegel gets what he wants, it will be business as usual. Nothing will change, except he'll be back again in six months to a year asking for more money, citing the myriad of excuses he always uses. I can only look back at the history of this guy to see how he squandered the huge givebacks from labor, and not to mention the handouts from the Feds, the lessors and the creditors during Ch. 11. No airline CEO in the history of the airline industry has received so much. Siegel has accomplished so little while having received so much.

For the employees, it's not about preserving careers anymore, it's about preserving ever-shrinking paychecks and benefits.

I agree with Oldie...we have to see Siegel and company step up to the plate and implement changes immediately. There's nothing there in the contracts to prevent him from doing so.

 

[Air conditioned]

Is it true that he (Siegel) could downsize mainline and build up MAA, thereby getting around any contractual obligations? This WOULD give management the LCC that they want without having to worry about lawsuits. Could this happen? :unsure:

 

[RowUnderDCA]

I don't think so, because of the technicality of the minimum mainline fleet figure.... 279. But you make a valid point. U management can simply grow that which is profitable and not grow that which is less profitable. So, you can grow MDA and keep mainline stagnant. But use those mainline assets in a more productive fashion with the feed from MDA.

 

[oldiebutgoody]

I don't think so, because of the technicality of the minimum mainline fleet figure.... 279. But you make a valid point. U management can simply grow that which is profitable and not grow that which is less profitable. So, you can grow MDA and keep mainline stagnant. But use those mainline assets in a more productive fashion with the feed from MDA.

Sounds to me like the 279 number may be dropped by Siegel. I hope not, but remember all that stuff about shrinking more and more furloughs? :angry:

 

[More Facts and Less Emotion]

Sounds to me like the 279 number may be dropped by Siegel. I hope not, but remember all that stuff about shrinking more and more furloughs? :angry:

I doubt the fleet shrinks. But fuloughs happen if the number of employees per plane goes down which is exactly what happens with work rule changes and productivity improvements.

This is where all the speculation is getting dangerous though. We need to wait until April to see the specifics. My guess is that productivity gains that result in furloughs will be countered by enough growth in fleet to ensure a limited number of layoffs.

 

[ktflyhome]

OK guys here is something that I really don't get. I realize that is contractual but it still makes no sense to me. The company went to a new Reserve Status as of Nov. What essentially took place is that all Reserves were put on a LTO (least time order). What happened was our Seniorty no longer prevailed. Once we took a trip we accrued a % of our Monthly Option. If say I was on 85 hr. non option and I took a 4 day, then I have accrued 25% LTO. Scheduling then calls all of those on duty with less % of me. Well, to make it short ( I hope) consequently there after, the higher the LTO the less you fly. So I have flown an average of 55 hours since Nov. but am being paid for 71 hours minimum guarantee. Granted I am not making much in Per Diem but when I do fly that is all I am really working for $1.95 an hour. I use to fly 80-85 hours flight time a month. Yes, I have taken a big pay cut, but on the other hand I am sitting around not flying and still getting paid. I would think the company would not want to pay me for sitting around. I would think they would want to get the most out of their money. Pay me for what I work. We have no incentive to even work, when we all know we will never break our Minimum guarantee. Why give up days off. Why put yourself on call??? It doesn't matter. Pay will be the same.

Frankly, I am bored and spend tooooo much time on here.

I would rather be working, doing my job and getting paid for what I actually do. I am sure for some, who don't want to fly this is great. Those who are low options and have second incomes and young children, this would be great. The company is not utilizing me to it's fullest productivity at all. :huh:

 

[mweiss]

The company is not utilizing me to it's fullest productivity at all. :huh:

AhHA! Now here's something that can be fixed easily, and (I'd assume) cheaply.

There is simply no excuse for paying employees not to work when the company's in the current financial shape. :down:

 

[MarkMyWords]

KT -

The easy fix for the problem is to layoff additional F/A's until the bulk of them start breaking guarantee. It is my hopes that there will be additional flying soon that would reduce the number of necessary furloughs and increase the number of F/A's that break guarantee. Careful what you wish for.....it could cost you or someone you know their job.

 

[El Gato]

The sad thing here is that Siegel HAD a golden opportunity to recreate the airline in a form that would have made money from the getgo. Under C11, he SHOULD have abrogated every contract out there, and rebuilt from the ground up. "This is hwo many hours you WILL work, this is how much you are going to be paid, this is your benefits.....and that is ALL!". Had he done that, WN would probably not be coming to PHL, as a redone US would have repulsed them. Now he has to do exactly that, but instead of getting a judge to do it he has to beg the unions to give in. It is a shame we can't go into C11 right now and get it done, as it would be far healthier in the long term. Good luck trying to get the PITBulls of this world to see the light, Mr Siegel. You're gonna need it.

 

[LGA Fleet Service]

Frank Lorenzo Ladies and Gentlemen...