US/UA Merger Master Thread

[DesertFA66]

Why does it matter how big the company is? :blink: What matters to me, is schedule of my work month, flexibility, insurance coverage, a 401K and a paycheck Big or small...who cares. well..big or small company that is!

 

[yvrusfa]

:huh: I'm not really sure how I feel about this merger so far. I feel bad for many people that will lose their jobs, including the people at corporate in Tempe I think all of us will have a big life change with bases in complete disarray

It sounds like DP will go to the most expensive contract like he wanted to do with Delta, that would make everyone just "go with it" for the most part I guess and hopefully it will work for all of us. I will just drink my chardonnay in the process!!

This isn't popular....BUT...if it wasn't for Doug Parker..America West would have gone away shortly have 9/11 and US Airways wouldn't be around either unless some other fool picked them up.(doubtful). I don't like everything about him :down: but I'm also glad he's in charge during most years of my 16 year career. LCC doesn't sound popular but it's what has worked for us and we at America West have done it for so long now, it's no big deal. I don't think the UAL deal will result in LCC type business...but it will be close!!! We are so broke right now..i'm just glad to have a job. My husbands company started laying off last week and now we're going to have think hard about stuff.

DesertFA....

You summed up the situation beautifully in your post. Could'nt have said it ny better. This economy, labour laws ( or lack thereof) and airline biz really stinks nowadays. However, fact remains that you are spot on in your analysis.
D.P. and the mgmt. team he has cobbled together have saved a ton of jobs! It is what it is.

If this merger goes through, hopefully they can duplicate the results. I am not in favour of a huge "LCC", but wit $120+/bbl. oil we may not have much choice naymore. Survival is about all one can hope for now I'm afraid. :unsure:

 

[Hi-C-Camp]

DesertFA....

You summed up the situation beautifully in your post. Could'nt have said it ny better. This economy, labour laws ( or lack thereof) and airline biz really stinks nowadays. However, fact remains that you are spot on in your analysis.
D.P. and the mgmt. team he has cobbled together have saved a ton of jobs! It is what it is.

If this merger goes through, hopefully they can duplicate the results. I am not in favour of a huge "LCC", but wit $120+/bbl. oil we may not have much choice naymore. Survival is about all one can hope for now I'm afraid. :unsure:

Oh lord, you guys make me sick, The problem is you are so brainwashed out west, you will settle for anything.... I can't wait for them to tell us we can't go past the wing or we have to do that stupid verify crap, or count the liquor... You remember what they say, what goes around comes around, and I have a feeling most of Tempe will lose their jobs - just like the folks at US did during the corporate changeover... Thank God, I hope R. Carpenter is on the chopping block ASAP.... These people at Tempest HQ will be in shock at UAL and i think it is gong to be a blast when they realize that - OMG their is such a thing as a chiller cart.. What you dont want American cuisine... OMG what a joke...

 

[jabroni30]

Oh, Doug is now going to run the DL/NW combo? Because US/UA combo will be slightly smaller, but maybe those details don't matter.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi...0,1669926.story

Do you think UA flight attendants know that you need a passport to go to Hawaii?

I think we would be the biggest until the consolidation begins, then even AA might be bigger than us. It ticks me off cause a few weeks ago when Doug was telling the employees in his letter that he wouldn't do anything that wasn't in the best interest of his employees. Losing me job is not in my best interest. I'm glad I don't work in Phoenix. That will be the biggest mistake he can make, leaving Phoenix, I hope the state of Arizona has enough pull to stall the merger. Too many good people in Phoenix for this to happen(even though they don't seperate the online from interline bags) but they are good people, how dare they even threaten Phx. We all gotta pray that this merger gets turned down, nothing against United, but if we have to lose jobs, then I'm against any merger.

 

[USCREW]

Oh lord, you guys make me sick, The problem is you are so brainwashed out west, you will settle for anything.... OMG what a joke...

Hi-C,

My sentiments exactly. I can't believe the mentality of some out West. It is so pathetic. Just be glad for my job? I'm just trying to survive? :blink:

How about aiming high? UA/US can become the world's biggest and very best carrier with the right management. It can be done! We can prove once and for all that US is the old underdog that just won't die--that we will be one of the last ones standing.

 

[DesertFA66]

:huh: phoenix may be spared somewhat in this annoucement. There are too many jobs in this place to lose and I hope there is a plan to save most of them.

And I don't think we are brainwashed, we're have a different lifestyle out here and we didn't hate management our entire existence, which is what we see from East. :down: Don't knock us because we're not bitter and jaded and hate life :angry: We just value our time away from the company and appreciate it, and we were never even close to liquidation!

 

[jcw]

:huh: phoenix may be spared somewhat in this annoucement. There are too many jobs in this place to lose and I hope there is a plan to save most of them.

And I don't think we are brainwashed, we're have a different lifestyle out here and we didn't hate management our entire existence, which is what we see from East. :down: Don't knock us because we're not bitter and jaded and hate life :angry: We just value our time away from the company and appreciate it, and we were never even close to liquidation!

Excellent post - you are right on. On the east if you are not complaining and miserable you are not happy. They live to hate management. It's union's gone bad. Look at the steel industry - fighting management saved alot of jobs in Pittsburgh, etc. (NOT!). It will take another decade when most of the old time management haters are retired and things will be easier.

On another note, if we do merge with UAUA, we will get a new reservation system. I'm hoping we will go onto the one being build by the star alliance.

 

[Whatnow?]

:huh: phoenix may be spared somewhat in this annoucement. There are too many jobs in this place to lose and I hope there is a plan to save most of them.

Ever heard of a place called Pittsburgh? It was once the largest and main hub with the most employees in the US system.....anything can and will happen to make the airline profitable.

 

[Kittyhawk]

Excellent post - you are right on. On the east if you are not complaining and miserable you are not happy. They live to hate management. It's union's gone bad. Look at the steel industry - fighting management saved alot of jobs in Pittsburgh, etc. (NOT!). It will take another decade when most of the old time management haters are retired and things will be easier.

On another note, if we do merge with UAUA, we will get a new reservation system. I'm hoping we will go onto the one being build by the star alliance.

You are being very general. All Easties are not all anti management no more so than all westies are pro management. I personally believe that though our management is far from perfect, they did do alot of things right. Our very exsistance is proof of that, but at the same time we need to keep them on there toes, we can be something great.

 

[jerseyfinn]

. . .Everyone loves to make fun of Tempe and Doug but if he goes from where AWA was pre 911 to the CEO of the world largest airline that will be pretty impressive and he didn't get there by being stupid . . .

I agree that DP is not a stupid man. Before we wax and wane sentimental over DP and HP, let's get some perspective here. You airline folks do not exist in a vacuum. The world is out there spinning round and round, even though its hard for any of us to notice this because we all are necessarily pulled into our own little cocoon spheres of employment and life.

The airline industry goes up and down. Events these past several years have shaken the foundations of the industry and continue to do so as oil and other issues are the next hammers waiting to pound away. Nothing new here. Banking goes through similar changes a decade ago. Markets and regulations change, corporate types pop up and all sorts of small banks get eaten by larger banks and these are in turn gobbled up by others. In the process, the boys and girls in the suits make big bucks off of the deals and the brick and mortar employees see jobs and benefits slashed. The customers get . . . well who knows what they get. It goes round and round, industry by industry.

So Mr DP is the HP boss who engineers a deal. That's what CEOs do hundreds of times a year across the corporate spectrum. It's all corporate life as usual and a part of the mechanics of business. I don't see DP being up for a Nobel prize just because he dabbles at a merger. Lots of aviation CEOs have done this.

Undoubtedly, mergers are a tough cookie to digest. IMO, Tempe forgot to take the wrapper off before they ate it. They're certainly done choking on it, but now I think it's stuck in the digestive systgem backing things up. All I know from the pax side is that DP and HP attempt a merger/acquisition with financials gurus trying to run ops and they fail miserably. No appluase from me because these hotshots finally try to bring an ops guy into the picture 3 years into the nightmare.

But the world has been spinning round and round and time marches on while DP plays his fiddle. The oil paradigm slaps down all airlines ( and those who aspire to behave like an airline ). It's pretty ominous stuff as more job cuts loom and from the pax side, airlines are now jacking you around by nickel-dicking you . . . that's right, the e-mail I got informs that I refuse to pay more for my ticket so they are "unbundling" airline services while still doing great things for me. And people say that government uses doublespeak?

US is lucky that someone considers dancing with them. But it's not luck created by DP's genius. It's circumstance of the moment as all airlines and CEOs play the game of cover-your-ass. I don't really blame them for this as that's the name of the game. So if this merger deal happens as I think it might ( to me, the hint is the corporate shake-up on the UA side last week ) it happens because it was gonna happen as a necessary consequence of dire times and industry-wide change. And because it's a "businiess as usual " deal, it means that employees get chopped up some more, customers get a free prostate check-up, and the corporate big boys pat themselves on the back and rake in their millions. Remember, this corporate game is a good old boy/gal game by which the corporate hotshots protect each other. You always promote screwups because you could be the next in line.

I'll be relieved if Tempe is out of the picture and I'll happily take my medicine with a new owner as for me, it's not about what DP did or did not do. It's all about the arrogance and lies told to pax and employees while insisting otherwise. Make your millions. But do not lie to me.

Hey, DP will find a new niche to ply his talents and wave his CEO flag as that's the nature of the game. He's got great initials for the adult entertainment industry.

Barry

 

[EMBFA]

Hi-C,

My sentiments exactly. I can't believe the mentality of some out West. It is so pathetic. Just be glad for my job? I'm just trying to survive? :blink:

How about aiming high? UA/US can become the world's biggest and very best carrier with the right management. It can be done! We can prove once and for all that US is the old underdog that just won't die--that we will be one of the last ones standing.

Exactly! The battered housewife syndrome is so tiresome. Hopefully that mindset will be (even more) drowned out.

PHX is not safe, nowhere is.

I agree that US/UA could be the best if the best of both is used- product-wise, operations-wise, management-wise... and not the worst. Culture wise all three carriers are pretty obnoxious, hopefully the sheer size and melting pot aspect of it will produce a new and better one.

 

[Travelpro72]

You know what...we have great people on both sides of the rockies here at US. I don't believe everyone out west is brainwashed nor do I believe that everyone on the east is bitter and jaded. That is a very general blanket statement. I do agree thought that these groups of employees are VERY different in the issues they feel important and the beliefs about the company and management. While the east may come across as jaded I see it more as holding the management team to a higher standard since we have seen this crap over and over. Most on the west are just more "roll with the punches" types that are (and I don't mean any disrespect) in their own little world in Phoenix. All you have to do is watch some of the crew news sessions on the HUB to see the issues discussed and the importance of issues brought up between east and west. If and WHEN this merger happens the Usairways east f/a group will be watered down and the west f/a's will certainly be watered down. Look beyond what you see right now as these issues today will be of NO IMPORTANCE down the road.

 

[safety stud]

OK, Ladies of the New United, repeat after me:


The new USAirways, owned, operated and purchased by America West saved United's sorry butt by buying them. Be thankful you have a job.

Too Funny!!!!!!

 

[UPNAWAY]

If anyone is brainwashed it is the union folk. Who have been doing the same thing for thirty years to get only worse and worse results, all you have left is name calling and pitting eveyone vs everyone becuase the union itself has no ideas or solutions just angry words and slogans!

 

[EMBFA]

Well, if it happened I know the UA F/As will have the same lack of patience for incompetence that we do. Hopefully all the nonsense will stop.

I think HQ in ORD is a great idea- centrally located at a key hub in the hometown of the surviving brand, if it is the westie team they'd be well suited to get out of America West-land. A huge failure of the HP/US merger is that they give the appearance of knowing nothing of the larger part of the airline and it's more complex operations and customer standards. Having the HQ in the primary hub, a business market in competition with another major airline, with international presence should be helpful in erasing the current attitude that if it works from Phoenix to Vegas, it should work everywhere.