Us Airways Looking For Silver Lining

[BoeingBoy]

US Airways looking for silver lining
Airline cites progress amid losses

Saturday, February 07, 2004
By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Even as US Airways reported fourth-quarter losses of $98 million and admitted it is "behind" in its plan to achieve profits, Chief Executive Officer David Siegel yesterday tried to soften his push for more concessions by telling labor leaders the carrier must change its price-gouging image and spruce up its hub in Philadelphia to survive.

Article

Jim

 

[PITbull]

Excerpt from article above:

"As for specific cuts, the company has decided to start with the pilots union, the most influential of all labor groups at US Airways. "




Ahhh, not anymore! :down:

 

[PITbull]

Article above also states that labor expense accounts for 42% of overall total revenue as compared to 33% with LCC.


Last time I checked, our industry is all about "service". That is the product, and that is what we sell. Duh!

 

[jimntx]

From the article:
"The company's cost per available seat mile -- a common benchmark in the industry -- was $10.22, excluding fuel. That is the highest in the airline industry, according to Standard & Poor's analyst Philip Baggaley."

$10.22 CASM. Wow! No wonder you guys are having are hard time making money on your tickets. And, I'm sure that every dime of that is overpaid labor.

 

[AOG-N-IT]

Trying to make USAirways into Southwest is fool hardy to begin with.

Two Class seating configurations have higher costs just for starters...you have to maintain two distinctly seperate services.then you have the added cost of the maintaning of that fancy seat in 1st...and a lowered seat capacity within the aircraft.

WN flies one type of Acft...where U flies numerous types with varied support advantges and dis-advantages built in.

WN has a lower cost structure within the Executive branch....the same can no longer be said of the working class.

WN is primarily a Point to Point operation..where as U is a Hub and spoke system with Hubs that are too close together to begin with.

WN flies to more places within the US...were U flies to fewer US destinations , mainly in the eastern US and dabbles with Europe and now the Carribean

By and large...U needs to decide what it wants to be when it grows up?....and LCC and re-designed as such?...or a major that has to grow as such?

To try to out WN WN is a joke...we could all work for free and still fail if we even try that route with what we have to work with. We have to have our own nitch...and sell ourselves as what we are.

 

[wench]

NO CONCESSIONS>

THE STAND IS CLOSED

 

[PITbull]

Article above also states that labor expense accounts for 42% of overall total revenue as compared to 33% with LCC.


Last time I checked, our industry is all about "service". That is the product, and that is what we sell. Duh!

Think about his first quote! If that Labor number was true then all you guys would have to do is pony up another 9% off your wages and benefits right? WRONG! what about all of the infrastructure costs associated with keeping labor, well laboring?

Your second point is where there is a HUGE disconnect! Customers and front line employees realize that it is a "People" business. Management thinks they're in the transportation business, thus the dehumanizing term PAX!

LCC's thrive IMO not only because of price, but the realization of the above. They are in the people business. Some of their rules are more onerous, but they are clear and easy to understand and customers like that. They DON'T like walking away feeling gouged, confused or worse Ripped-Off!

If management of US would have taken a more enlightened approach and looked to drive cost out of the business I firmly believe that a huge percentage of the wage cuts would not have been required.

Bob,

Problem here, is that labor can't afford to subsidize the ticket price for infinity. Mangement has to find more ingenius and creative ways to address the revenue dshort fall by looking FIRST at the business model asset portion of the equation.

This management does not have "thinking power". They do not have the right team in place that can address those issues successfully. That is why you see this management in a a "state of hysteria" over SW presence in PHL. I've never seen a management make such cowardly statments in public over a competitor. In the 80's we ran out of town "People's Express" who was in our back yard with $19 fares, hostages in Iran, and lines and the fuel pumps. This managment only knows how to Psych the labor groups into fear so that they can empty thier pockets on the table in order to make managements job much easier to compete. They do not have the capabillity to FIRST fix the hard asset portion of the equation, and for us, that is sad.

Bottom line, most of the employees work under a contract. Its the same as a contractor building a house. When the owner nickles and dimes the proposal, it is no longer "business worthy" to proceed and bind the deal with the person, if the contractor knows he will eventually lose money on the deal. Many of our employees are at that point. If you ballot them today to discuss opening contracts I will wager that the majority will say NO. That is not Labor's fault; that's management's fault for trying to run this operation at arm's length from the rank and file. I guess its much easier to "disconnect" from someone if you see them as invisible and non-vital.

You won't see that part of it, Bob, by just getting the little information you get from these boards. We are a people business. WE deal with eachother, pax, managment and enteract every hour we are at work. There's no getting around the negativity. And all the brainwashing retorhic won't lift any spirits. Its serious out there. Folks are losing their jobs, all departments are programed to be "hard core" and any positive morale is non-existent. You talk about the business realities; I'm talking to you about the human reality. I deal with it every single day.

 

[PITbull]

Bob,

I believe this management realizes the basic fundementals. They know, as we all do, that we need customers. Lots of them. Tons of them.

What this management can't move away from is this thing called "concessions".

And they want YOU to take them, too.

 

[PITbull]

Bob,

You must have woke up on the "right side of the bed" this morning.

Guess you're not backed up anymore.

 

[PITbull]

Bob,

And from your statment above, is validation that you are an "outsider".

You don't have a clue, and I don't have the energy to go through the rant I have done for the past year with you.

 

[700UW]

Why not go to the company and cut a deal. Present something different, worst case you find out what their real motives are and then you act accordingly. Suppose IAM had proposed to "Bid" on the work in return for allowing them to make pitches to other organizations to be the outsource provider and ADD to US's bottom line and get mechs recalled faster, avoiding layoffs altogether. If US rejected the proposal, IAM could have gone public and at leat embarrassed US on the way to the courthouse and given investors pause. On the other hand, they also could have done a deal that preserved and expanded job opportunities for IAM members.
That's the reason I crawl up 700UW's assets about Scotty Fraud and Puffy Tom Buffy over their inflated salaries and ego's. Hey maybe I should send Robert Roach a mug then he could be Robert Cockroach? NAW! I'd send you one first.

How many times does it have to be explained to you?

It is the IAM's work period, 54 years prove it, company's own contract proposals prove it.

There is no deal to cut, we own the work plain and simple.
And if this current executives can't honor existing contract language why do you think they will honor anything else they agree too?

Like PIT said you are an outsider, you don't have an idea of what the employees have been thru and are still going thru.

And at this point, I really don't care if US goes out of business, you can't do contracts with liars and untrustworthy corporate raiders.

 

[usfliboi]

Bob I agree with you. This is the same thing a320 has said about deal making. But take a breath doubt it will happen and unfortuantly will take the hard road back home Past the bull dozed consession stand i might add LOL

 

[700UW]

Fliboi, why don't you take Mesa's work rules, pay and benefits, and worry about your job and your contract, and stay out of mine.

If the company is succesful in breaking the IAM Mechanic and Related contract, yours will be next!.

 

[700UW]

Pardon me? But right now today it is NOT your work according to the appeals court. I know an appeal is pending but consider the first question.

What good does a court victory do if the company isn't around?

Thanks you for posting as you did! You proved my point that there was no creative thinking ever from Labor's side. Just more failed rhetoric. The same failed rhetoric that doomed my Steel Worker neighbors 20 years ago.

"Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them"

You could have tried to be creative at least.

Wrong BOB!

The appeals court only ruled if it was a major or minor dispute, that was the ONLY question in front of them to decide.

And if you have actually closely followed the case, the company has always said it was a minor dispute under the Railway Labor Act and wants to arbitrate the issues.

They DID NOT RULE on the CONTRACT LANGUAGE.

GO read the court decison:

http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/034169p.pdf

Now Bob show me where in the decision the court said it was not IAM work!

Last time I checked we gave them numerous ways to accomplish the work inhouse and in a cost effective way. And it is not my job or any union's job on how to tell the company to run the business.

Like I said, you are an outsider looking in and you do not know what has transpired. Get all the facts and don't be like a certain A320 Capt.

 

[ClueByFour]

Pardon me? But right now today it is NOT your work according to the appeals court. I know an appeal is pending but consider the first question.

Actually, all the court said was that it was a minor dispute. The majority opinion did not address the issue of whose work it actually is (the minority opinion, however, sided with the IAM on that portion of the issue).

Right now, only the company thinks it is not the IAM's work, but because US is perfectly willing to gamble on abusing the RLA and moving the work, it seems like the IAM has lost. Bear in mind that if the IAM prevails in arbitration, US will owe a very hefty sum of money to the IAM. Then what?