Where did the US/AWA merger fail ?

[LD3]

I'm not going to go into great detail today , but one issue that is very near and dear to my heart is our treatment of our first class passengers and their luggage .

I feel strongly that US Airways can do a much better job in providing service to them .

You may have answered your own question...

 

[ContUNITEus]

Paraphrasing... "Since the HP/US merger was a success, where did it fail?" Pretty sure that's a double negative or something...

It was a success in the eyes of managment because they were able to keep a large group of the AWA workforce at poverty level wages. Every success that this new US Airways has came from the back of the poor AWA flight attendants.

As a former east guy, I can tell you, that you never had it as bad as AWA F/As always have had it.

If anything there is that the company could and would love to recreate in a successful merger with AA, then that is to do to the entire F/A workforce at the combined company, what they already did so successfully to the AWA F/As for 10so years. Take advantage of them, treat them really badly, intimidate them and crack down on any attempt to defend themselves.

 

[nycbusdriver]

The pilots pissing match can be attributed to an internal union squabble, as they are the only ones that have dragged out this long. Of course, the FA group has been waiting on the pilots.

Nothing like shooting yourself in the foot...
This merger went bad because it proved that management can profit by dividing and conquering!
moving on!

I actually think the biggest mistake the company made was in the pre-Nic pilot joint contract negotiations. While Nicolau oversaw the process of list integration, the company pissed away any opportunity to get a joint contract in place because they insisted on lowballing the pilots. Even the west pilots called the "Kirby proposal" a joke. The company was not considering coming off that insult when Nicolau "awarded" his list. The lack of realistic bargaining by the company made the 6 year debacle possible.

Had the company not been so piss-ant about the joint contract, it might have been ratified before Nicolau ruled, and then the seniority wars could not have occurred at all. The Nic list would have been the final piece of the puzzle and a "done deal" on the spot.

The east pilots would still have been livid, but there would not have been any avenue of recourse as the process would have been then complete. Some east pilots resigned in the aftermath of Nic and went elsewhere shortly after Nicolau did his thing. Had the JCBA been in position, east pilots would have left in droves. I'm not saying this scenario is right, or better. It is just a timeline that COULD have been possible if not for the company's intransigence on the JCBA negotiations.

I do not think that the company engineered the six-year pilot war. I doubt that anyone had the brains to plan such a thing. But they have played the scenario since then like the expert labor-haters they are.

 

[signals]

...there are failings , and before we possibly merge again I think it's time we take a moment to stop and examine where things went wrong and what we could better do next time as an airline to "get it right "

Please understand that this Topic is not so that different fighting work groups can throw accusations at each other

Deleted.

 

[FWAAA]

I do not think that the company engineered the six-year pilot war. I doubt that anyone had the brains to plan such a thing. But they have played the scenario since then like the expert labor-haters they are.

Exactly, to the tune of about $2 billion in pilot labor cost savings over the almost eight years since the merger in 2005 (compared to AA's pilot expenses).

 

[wings396]

Thanks Driver, I wasn't aware of all the particulars that you mentioned.

 

[necigrad]

nycbusdriver, that's one of the most thought out comment I've seen on this board. Even better, you lay it out with the disclaimer that you might not be right. Why can't every, hell half, of the pilot posts be like that?