FrequentFlierCA
Veteran
- Feb 25, 2008
- 591
- 35
That's a huge year-over-year drop in traffic considering the route and frequency shrinkage.
TWU negotiations.........what?
- Thread starter Chuck Schalk
- Start date
That's as nonsensical as me saying "The engine started, so the airplane must be airworthy. Why the maintenance delay?" Or "The airplane still has two wings and two engines, so let's get this plane in the air so I won't miss my connection."
The airline pays you in dollars, not load factor percentages. As I'm certain you've heard over the last 20 or so years, high load factors have almost nothing to do with dollars or profits.
Actually, all kidding aside, things might not be so bad at AA (yet). In December, AA announced that mainline RASM for the fourth quarter was expected to be up between 4.7% and 5.7% over last year's fourth quarter. Traffic was down a few percent and unit revenue was up a few percent, so total revenue may be about flat from last year's fourth quarter. Fuel was up compared to Q4 last year, but down significantly from earlier this year.
All in all, things may not look so bad at AA and if everyone's lucky, maybe things won't get as bad as the earlier doom and gloom predictions. That would bode well for everyone on the "restore and more" bandwagon.
WeAAsles
Veteran
- Oct 20, 2007
- 23,934
- 5,268
Air Transport Division
January 7, 2009
To: All Members of AA Locals 501 – 590
From: John M. Conley
Re: Mediation Update - Joint Negotiations - TWU/AA
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
A date and time for our first mediated session was established this morning. The full Joint Committee will convene with Mediator Terri Brown on Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 10:00 at the ATD Offices. Mediator Brown will meet that afternoon independently with the TWU International and the following morning with American’s Chief Negotiators. She has scheduled a meeting with the collective group of principals-only, Friday afternoon, January 30th.
The Company apparently posted a premature notice regarding this session as part of their negotiations update yesterday. This was unfortunate as the local press released information that had not yet been confirmed.
Further updates will follow.
Fraternally,
John M. Conley
Director Air Transport Division
C: J. Little
D. Rosen
B. Gless
AA Staff
January 7, 2009
To: All Members of AA Locals 501 – 590
From: John M. Conley
Re: Mediation Update - Joint Negotiations - TWU/AA
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
A date and time for our first mediated session was established this morning. The full Joint Committee will convene with Mediator Terri Brown on Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 10:00 at the ATD Offices. Mediator Brown will meet that afternoon independently with the TWU International and the following morning with American’s Chief Negotiators. She has scheduled a meeting with the collective group of principals-only, Friday afternoon, January 30th.
The Company apparently posted a premature notice regarding this session as part of their negotiations update yesterday. This was unfortunate as the local press released information that had not yet been confirmed.
Further updates will follow.
Fraternally,
John M. Conley
Director Air Transport Division
C: J. Little
D. Rosen
B. Gless
AA Staff
BA saw flat load factors for December but a 12.4% decline in premium traffic v. a small decline in economy traffic:
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/S...20News/2111248/
If that trend extends to AA, that will be a problem.
D
DallasConehead
Guest
Wonder why she's meeting the the Int and not the Committee? Hmmm.. Could spell trouble for the Joint guys....
WeAAsles
Veteran
- Oct 20, 2007
- 23,934
- 5,268
Dude it says she's meeting with Joint in the morning and then the Intl in the afternoon. Please check the prescription on dem frames.
D
DallasConehead
Guest
My Bad... New set on the way...
Hopeful
Veteran
- Dec 21, 2002
- 5,998
- 347
FrequentFlierCA
Veteran
- Feb 25, 2008
- 591
- 35
I don't think anyone on this board (self included) thinks they should. Bonuses/payouts for anyone, along with contractual raises, should be determined by profits.
I disagree. Actually, I understand why the PSP for the execs is determined by relative stock performance and I don't think that the payouts should depend on profits.
As Bob Owens has indicated numerous times, the industry doesn't really exist to make profits. It exists to provide transportation and plenty of good paying jobs, both at the airlines and the many dependent industries, like Boeing. But profits? Let's look at AA. Large profits in the late 1990s and a good sized profit in 2000. Then, not another profit until a small one in 2006 and a slightly larger profit in 2007. 2008 will likely show a huge loss and if revenue has collapsed, same in 2009.
Require profits before any variable compensation is paid out? Nope.
Corporations design their executive compensation packages in an attempt to attract and retain quality individuals. If the Board of Directors thought that execs should receive no variable comp in the absence of profits, then the Board could write the contracts that way. It's in the best interests of all employees that the company be run by outstanding management (whether or not they admit it here). Most employees know that.
Should the company have to be rolling in profits before the rank and file get pay raises or variable compensation? Not in my opinion. Contractual increases should be tempered (and maybe deferrred) when the company is losing billions, but the long-term prospects of the industry don't look like they include a return to long-term profits. Rank and file should be paid so as to attract and retain quality people (just like the exec compensation programs).
Of course, many of the terminally disgruntled who post here (representing a small fraction of one percent of AA's workforce) think that paying to "attract and retain quality people" means an automatic "restore and more" approach. While the employees would be ecstatic if that happened, a pragmatic view reveals that it ain't gonna happen (at least not right now).
Rank and file should get raises. Not large ones, IMO, for the obvious reasons.
Rank and file should also negotiate meaningful and realistic gain sharing programs. Perhaps modeled after the PSP arrangements. Maybe profit sharing (with realistic targets and not the useless current profit sharing plan). Perhaps a combination of both - so they gain if the company does return to profits and they gain when the execs gain (like when AMR's price outperforms the market) and if both happen, they gain a lot.
But no. The union know-it-alls (the ones who have worked under concessionary contracts for a quarter century thanks to the TWU) think their salvation lies in "Restore and More." Sad, since AA's more likely to order dozens of A380s than agree to a full restoration. But hope springs eternal among those who have never been paid what they're "worth."
Should be an interesting year.
TIME FOR CHANGE
Veteran
What is the small fraction ?????
the people that post here
or
the terminally disgruntled
My bet is the people that post here
Hopeful
Veteran
- Dec 21, 2002
- 5,998
- 347
Meaningful and realistic gain sharing programs??????
You mean where the employee gets a couple of hundred shares and the executives receive tens of thousands of shares?
Oh,I forgot, executives are more valuable to the company than anyone else....Sorry, my bad!
I can see how the all too valuable executives on Wall Street are still getting their bonus and compensation pay after the US taxpayer is paying closed to a trillion dollars.
DELETED BY MODERATOR: DO NOT MAKE PERSONAL ATTACKS ON OTHER BOARD MEMBERS. If you do not agree with another poster to the point you feel the need to attack them personally, use the ignore feature, it works quite well.
T
The Goose
Guest
We keep arguing about what the company does or doesn't do - enough already.
I used to feel like you but at this point, I'm no longer interested.
Even at lesser pay, mechanics and other highly-skilled folks can find work. The same is not true of the management types. They may say their bonuses are to retain, but we all know that's a lie.
Burn it down - put an executive out of a job.
