Been there done that - almost
One of my ships HMS Wave aground in St Ives in 1952. The next tide put us on the rocks
Posted on 11/29/2011 4:56:06 AM PST by Skeez
FORT WORTH, Texas – American Airlines and American Eagle's parent companies are filing for bankruptcy protection. AMR Corp. and AMR Eagle Holding Corp. said Tuesday that they filed voluntary petitions to reorganize, saying it's in the best interest of the companies and its shareholders.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
You could always travel by passenger liner. I hear the White Star Line has this new ship that is ready for its maiden voyage.
“It baffles me that people keep putting money into the airline biz though....Never been much of a return...”
Southwest for 30 years was one of the best return stocks.
A good CEO and his or her staff--especially in some industries--have to face realities of the marketplace. Every sector has ups and downs, and although a good CEO can mitigate risks, sometimes market forces work against you.
Removing and managing high operating costs is something all companies have to do occasionally. Sometimes, this means not expanding your business by adding new products or services, doing less research, or holding back raises from employees. Sometimes, this means laying off employees.
Making a salary commensurate for performance and managing a company well, is something that CEOs should expect and receive. Just because they have to lay off employees doesn't mean they're not doing their jobs well.
Been there done that - almost
One of my ships HMS Wave aground in St Ives in 1952. The next tide put us on the rocks
I was on a flight and overheard a Stewardess talking about the contract negotiations. AA wanted to stop pensions for new hires. The Union is against this and had obviously convinced this stewardess that AA had money. The only reason for the UNION not to take the offer was to protect the UNION, i.e., what good is a UNION if you don’t have a pension like the VAST majority of Americans? Now that the company is in bankruptcy the pension could be in trouble. Once again the UNIONS negotiating (or striking) for the Unions and not the members.
How would workers “protect” themselves from evil corporations?
Conclusion: Workers should be free to associate with others, and to collectively bargain with their employers, but employers should be free to hire and fire based on such associations and actions.
Something is wrong with the bankruptcy system: American Airlines’ current president becomes CEO and the airline continues to operate.
I certainly hope they do, as I have two seats booked in first class for an international flight next spring, a half million AA miles on my account, and lifetime Gold Elite status.
And sadly for the last 10 years Southwest has been dead money. I own a lot of SWA stock and its going no-where...
American Airlines $92 to Los Angeles, Vegas, Miami
That was really QUICK...
SOCIALISM!
The meme in the press will be high labor costs led to Americans demise when in reality it is management failure. Airlines like Southwest who respect their workers do well. American management refers to its workers as “cost units”.
What you will not read in any of the “in depth” articles on the bankruptcy filing is the fact that American Airlines for years had labor cost advantages over the competition and squandered it.
American Airlines initiated the B-scale. For years, all new pilots hired made half what senior pilots made. That cost advantage was squandered. Did that money go to the shareholders, lower the cost of flying to the public, or grow the airline? No, it went in the pockets of AA management as bonuses.
After 9/11 when every other airline was filing for bankruptcy, the AA pilot labor group took a 23% pay cut to keep AA out of bankruptcy. This was on top of up to a 22% decrease in pay due to schedule cuts. THIS ENTIRE PAY CUT WENT DIRECTLY INTO THE POCKETS OF MANAGEMENT AS BONUSES.
How many Americans would take a 45% pay cut on top of inflation eating away their earnings? Imagine how healthy the economy would be if every government worker had their pay cut by 45% or even 23%. If the GM workers had taken a similar cut, a bailout by taxpayers would have been unnecessary.
What did management do with this cost advantage? They took it as management bonuses. Google - American Airlines management bonus - and read all the stories. This airline was done in by the INCOMPETENCE AND GREED OF ITS MANAGERS.
Bye-bye contracts and those high salaries. I hope American’s pension plan is independently funded. If not, bye-bye pensions and Hello, Polaroid.
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