Tempe Going CHEAP on the A330-200's

[Kev3188]

We would probably own the world right now as Gordon Bethune shaped the combined US/PI/PS into the powerhouse it could have been....no, should have been.

Honest question: What did he do (or lay the groundwork for) that would have made this happen?

 

[YVINTERN]

Probably ham and cheese. Served on the same dish.

Now that ain't just Kosher 🙂

 

[nycbusdriver]

Honest question: What did he do (or lay the groundwork for) that would have made this happen?

Well, Mr. Bethune was already on the Piedmont property when the buyout occurred. Bill Howard was CEO, but he was getting up in years and it was tacitly acknowledged that Bethune was being groomed to take the lead when Howard retired. At the time of the merger, Bethune was (I think) executive vice president for operations. And before the actual merger was completed, I think (I'm really not too sure about this) he was president of Piedmont for a short time (as Piedmont's leadership began departing the scene.)

When it was clear that Colodny was going to name "Deer-in-the-headlights" Schofield as his successor, Bethune went to Boeing realizing that his future did not bode well any longer at the merged carrier. What the rest of us didn't realize is that our collective futures did not bode well at the merged carrier, either.

Meantime, Lorenzo et al. were doing a number on the PeoplExpress-TexasAir-NYAir-Continental company. It was pretty much a basket case when Bethune was asked to take the helm. With is strong, charismatic and knowledgeable leadership, Bethune managed to turn that carrier completely around into one of the premier carriers of the world.

My own opinion is that, given the great strength and relative health of the US-PS-PI combination at the start, Bethune would have had an unbelievable opportunity to build a powerhouse carrier on what was then a very strong foundation. All we needed in the late 1980's/early 1990's was some strong leadership and vision. We went without any of that for most of the 1990's while other carriers came in and ate away at our business. We never really responded with any "plan," and consistently turned tail and ran whenever challenged. IMHO, Bethune would have been able to respond to any threat proactively, rather than with the reactive leadership we have been saddled with from 1988 to this day.

It's really impossible to know what "might have been." But given Bethune's undeniable track record for successfully running a major international carrier and the fact that he was ALREADY employed here, I cannot help but think that USAir would now rule the world had he been chosen to succeed Colodny.

 

[wings396]

From what I recall, Bethune was the Senior VP of Mtc. I don't know if he held another postion prior to being appointed the the President's postion. By the time this occured, he was only a figure-head since Uncle Ed was running the show, or should I say trying to.
And I can agree 100% that PI/US had a "North-South" battle going on for a few years just as we now have the"East-West" saga. I must admit that the PI/US one wasn't anywhere near as ugly as the current one, nor did it last as long. Based on what I was told by a few of the PI Pilot group at the time, the protection of the 767 flying was a hot topic. I think that they protected the PI guys on the amount of 767's in the fleet at merger time, and any that came along after that date could be bid by any crewmember that had the seniority to get it.

 

[YVINTERN]

I've learned myself from a personal occurrence at the company that there is as much as North/South as East/West except it's crap to be dealing with all three variations in one such occurrence.

 

[nycbusdriver]

You are likely correct in your recollection of Bethune being Senior VP of Maintenance. He held management positions in several departments over the time he was with Piedmont. That was how he was being "groomed." Imagine that, getting a CEO that had actually worked, and learned, the various departments that make up an airline. It's no wonder he did such a Sierra Hotel job at Continental...he learned ALL the ropes at Piedmont.

I also think you are accurate in your description of the North/South situation back then, and the Kagel award. The Piedmont pilots were protected for the 767's that were on firm order at the time of the merger (6 airplanes, I think it was,) and the other 5 that eventually showed up were up for grabs for anyone with the seniority to hold them. I'm not sure if the PSA pilots every said "thank you" for the widebodies, but by and large they are nice guys so we didn't squawk too loud. The Kagel protections lasted only 2 or three years, and then it was DOH for bidding anything and everything.

 

[A320 Driver]

The 767 orders were played around with to take them out of play for the Kagel award. The block hours were moved around the bases, PI bases were closed. Many PI Captains lost their seats to USAIR and PSA pilots, many of whom had never flown Captain at that time. All the while, the EMPIRE pilots were happy the PI guys were getting it because they were ticked about being put on the bottom of the PI list partly for wanting full credit for EMPIRE date of hire all the way back to the Navajo and Merlin flying.

Yep...sounds the same to me. Same story, different day.

A320 Driver

 

[PHL]

Bethune did some radical things to CO that might not have been taken very well by the US employees if he did similar moves...

1.) Closed DEN hub

2.) Paired down CLE hub
- These above two make me think he would have scaled back PIT much, much sooner than it has been.

3.) Dropped COLite
- Metrojet would have been dropped as soon as it was started.

4.) Dropped the GSO hub
- Perhaps CLT or another strong South focus city would have been dumped

5.) Put all his eggs in EWR
- Would have built up PHL like US did. Big difference, however, is that EWR has a strong O&D base for just about any destination they want to serve. It took a LONG time for US to be able to serve a good number of European destinations, and that was done with the help of the economics of the Philly region in general.

In light of all those operational changes, he seemed to really enjoy the trust and respect of the rank and file despite any of those changes that certainly would have created job losses. If I were to go back 10 years, I think Wolf and Gangwal *could* have done something similar when they renamed US and positioned it as a global carrier, but they came across as salesmen who wanted to build up the airline to sell it off. Therefore, they never really earned the respect.

Gordon came across as someone who really wanted to run an airline and make it the best. Remember the slogan "One Airline Can Make a Difference" that was the "new" CO when he took the helm. Something was prophetic about that, I guess.....

 

[wings396]

Pretty much the same amount of Hub and station closings that US did, perhaps even less. The Florida Shuttle gone, DAY hub gone, BWI hub gone, SYR hub gone, IND gone, just about the entire west coast gone, EWR scaled down to accomidate the CO hub, and dozens of stations Expressed as well. I think that the cuts at US make the ones he did at CO look small in comparison.

 

[PHL]

I'd forgotten about DAY. BWI was too close to PHL, so it was only a matter of time - with or without WN. CO didn't have as many small focus city/hubs to deal with when he took over in comparison to what US had at the same time. So, I still think Bethune would have made some deep cuts at the merged US/PI regardless. Would he have gained the same respect at US as he did at CO? Probably, if he would have eventually shaped US into what CO eventually became. But those early years in the 90's would have really been tough on the US employees.

 

[wings396]

The big difference here is that the cuts at CO eventually resulted in a profitable airline. On the other hand, US has been cutting since 1990 and still hasn't figured out a way to make it work. I can't even begin to list how many Mainline stations have been lost since then, and how many people have been furloughed. I still remember that the combination of PI/US reslted in a fleet of 454 Mainline A/C back in 1989. Here we are almost 20 years later with a lot less A/C, and another merger with HP and their fleet.

 

[Kev3188]

Great info guys! Thank you very much!

 

[nycbusdriver]

I'd forgotten about DAY. BWI was too close to PHL, so it was only a matter of time - with or without WN. CO didn't have as many small focus city/hubs to deal with when he took over in comparison to what US had at the same time. So, I still think Bethune would have made some deep cuts at the merged US/PI regardless. Would he have gained the same respect at US as he did at CO? Probably, if he would have eventually shaped US into what CO eventually became. But those early years in the 90's would have really been tough on the US employees.

Airlines are such a cyclical business that cuts are inevitable. Every CEO (except the perennial SWA) has to do that from time to time. What made Bethune different is the corporate culture he ingrained at CO when he arrived there. His main goal was to build a great airline that would make money and at the same time make customers enjoy their experience and have the employees enjoy their interaction with management. This set Bethune apart from most of the pack, and the results at CO speak for themselves. You can never have anything better than an "also ran" if you don't treat your customers properly and respect your employees for the assets which they are. Bethune knows this and put that philosophy into practice; Wolf, Gangwal, Siegel, Lakefield, Parker, Kirby et al. probably know this also, but have consistently failed at bringing in to the corporation. Lip service without the action amounts to lies. We do have the new corporate culture which was promised here by Parker....it's worse.

I have to hand it to Parker for keeping the company afloat. He's a great at financials, but eventually the financiers will have to say, "No." When that occurs, he will find that he has chipped away at the foundation through high-handed, irresponsible action and inaction, and there will be nothing on which he and his team can rebuild. The leisure passengers are staying home in droves come January, the business travelers are thoroughly pissed off and much of the employee cadre stays here, not because they like the company or their job, but to simply run out the clock because its the easiest thing to do right now.

Parker cannot turn this outfit around. He doesn't have the credibility any longer, and his team are simply clones of him. He might be able to salvage something of his reputation if he takes his bloody hands off the operation and gets people in who have the skills and charisma of a Bethune or Kelleher to heal the gaping wounds he and Kirby have created. Barring that, I give this outfit about 18 months.

 

[wench1]

this is one CHEAP company and I do mean CHEAP!

God Helps us all!

Thieves, Sneaks, Morons..

 

[NoMoreKoolAid]

I give this place a year or two. They know the walls are closing in. They have made one nasty little hole and they have no idea what happened. Tempe could not fix it if they tried at this point. Very very sad.