Todays Slideshow

[Hopeful]

T That said, maintenance isn't where the bulk of AA's labor cost disadvantage resides - that honor belongs to the pilots and FAs, both of whom are substantially more expensive than pilots and FAs at most other airlines. Bob posted the other day that maintenance accounts for only about $100 million of the $600 million claimed cost disadvantage.

I'm glad you mentioned that. Having read and posted on this forum for a few years, one would think that AA's finances rest squarely on the fact that AA does mostly all of its maintenance in house. AA mechanic pay now is in the middle to lower end of the hourly rate spectrum compared to our peers at other carriers.. But we are not allowed to bring that part up because the critics start adding in our benefits to that number.
My pay is my pay and that's what I take home. I DO NOT take home my pension!

But the critics usually omit the fact the pilots and F/As are near or at the top in terms of pay when compared to their peers.
What about their work rules? Their benefits?

Now I am not knocking their contracts..not in the least.

But this forum has become the "aircraft maintenance costs has put AA at a competitive disadvantage" blanket party!

 

[Hopeful]

I'm not sure exactly what the TWU current table postion is, but why don't you guys just shorten the length of the deal, find a couple items that AA is looking for (and that you can live with), get some money, and pick up your fight later when "maybe" the economy and the industry looks better?

The economy NEVER looks better according to AA management. They stall and drag their feet until the rises and dips in the economy hit the dip!
Then they say they can't afford to give us anything

 

[Bob Owens]

. AA mechanic pay now is in the middle to lower end of the hourly rate spectrum compared to our peers at other carriers

I still consider the guys who went through A&P school with us who are now at UPS, Fed Ex, and SWA our peers. They have the exact same license and exact same responsibilities and skillsett we do.

The difference between them and us is the company they sell their labor to shows a profit. We have no control over that. Management does and the shareholders give them bonuses even when they show a loss.

The difference between us and our peers at UA, CO, US, and DL is they went BK and their shareholders had their equity wiped out. We took concessions supposedly to prevent that from happening. Our shareholders did not get wiped out, there has to be some value to that, we should not end up worse than our peers at carriers that wiped out their shareholders equity.

When you factor in all the here and now costs we are pretty much at the bottom of even those carriers that went through BK, not in the middle, at the bottom.

All we expect at this point is to be ahead of those who went BK, we are not asking for number 1 among our peers but number 4. If we cant get that then our shareholders deserve to be wiped out.