The latest AT drivel (half year loss edition)

[Trafalgar]

Well, well, well, another week of frantic dissembling by the management. With the now expected and predictable ‘catastrophic’ losses being announced, management goes into full ‘excuse’ mode (and of course, attack mode towards their employees). Interestingly, the DFO mentions the “highly competitive region with considerable overcapacity”. Coincidentally, the SCMP just this week commented on how CX missed the ‘low cost carrier’ moment and allowed competitors to take that piece of the pie. Would that egregious mistake have led to the “highly competitive region” you now speak of Anna? (let’s blame the pilots for that, make them pay). As for “considerable overcapacity”, doesn’t seem to be the case from evidence of all the full aircraft to nearly every destination. If you are referring to the number of seats in the market place, then you can blame yourselves again for not expanding the airline and squeezing out the competition, thereby having the ability to better control capacity and manage the market. Regrettably, attacking your aircrew became your main management focus, instead of focusing on building a strong and healthy airline. All too late now AT.

Fuel Hedging: Lets simply look at the numbers. Another $6.4 BILLION dollar loss. The total hedging losses are now totaling almost 2.5 BILLION USD (let that sink in…), almost accounting for all the profit this century. Think about that. While other airlines are pulling down record profits, nearly all of them operating in higher cost environments than CX (who are also raising pay and benefits as we speak), we manage to throw away (literally) almost two decades of profit. A single group of managers, who haven’t been fired or identified, have destroyed the airline from the inside out. The sheer amount of losses has crippled this company, and now they expect the employees to pay for their incompetence. Yet no acknowledgement from management that an error was even made.

Return on Capital: More deception to suggest that even without the fuel hedging loss the ‘ROC’ would be only half what is “expected”. Really AT? You are suggesting that a profit of $5.14B (without hedging) would not have been acceptable? (Never mind the lost profit the other past 3 years that hedging also destroyed). And if it's not acceptable, why are you still paying a dividend to shareholders? (and don't even think of attacking your hard working staff while still paying a dividend to anyone, or paying 13th month, or giving pay increased to other staff!). I guess when you can throw away almost a Billion USD every year (rather like buying three new 777’s a year and then taking them to a corner of the airfield and burning them) anything like a potential $5+ B profit really doesn’t seem like much anymore does it? Pathetic.

The Transformation Program: A complete load of blah blah rubbish. Saying much to actually say almost nothing. Nowhere in the talk of ‘transformation’ is there any mention of one thing that would result in a very large increase in savings. That is BASINGS. Until you offer a comprehensive opening of basings, any talk of ‘transformation’ is a joke. Further, you mention CMP, without any mention of the fact that it is being corrupted and rendered useless by the same people who stand to lose their jobs if it should succeed. A properly structured CMP would provide massive improvements to not only productivity but also crew satisfaction. It is being killed at birth, and in fact is making the lives of the Freighter pilots even worse than before (if that was even possible).

Once again, you are all words, and no positive action. You have been here now for almost 3 years and have accomplished NOTHING that is positive for the aircrew, other than convinced hundreds of us to salvage our careers and protect our families by seeking better opportunity elsewhere. That is the only ‘transformative’ aspect of your reign as DFO. A further question; what is the ongoing and increasing cost of replacing the pilots who are resigning day by day? A number that would also be jaw-dropping no doubt, and something that is being kept very quiet…

SLIDO: This is becoming the DFO’s favourite outreach of propaganda, no better evidenced by her comments on resignations. As is usually the case with anything said by management, you have to read between the lines to see what “isn’t being said” as opposed to what is being said. Case in point, the resignation rate. She mentions that in six months ‘only’ 43 pilots resigned. First of, it is not specified if that is pilots who have left, or have handed in their notice. Funny how her number doesn’t correlate with the fact that on average since the beginning of the year, the rate has reached more than one a day handing in their notice, and that rate is accelerating. When nearly every flight confirms that one or more crew are actively pursuing other employers, I can safely predict that the numbers will be reaching triple digits every quarter, and significantly so. I know personally of several crew that have left in just the past few weeks…funny how they haven’t been mentioned in the weekly ‘goodbye’ comments at the bottom of the newsletter.

There is also the rather lame throw-away line at the end, stating that CX is a ‘career airline and will remain so’. Comical actually. AT seems to believe stating it will make it so. Then she goes onto justify that by suggesting that it’s because of the ‘training’. No AT, a career airline is such due to aspects like Respect of Seniority, Fleet Transfer, Proper Pay and Benefits, Proper Level of Housing Allowance (read: ARAPA), a 'Livable' Home Environment, Proper and Affordable Staff Travel, Adequate Retirement, Proper Medical, Affordable Schooling…..you get the idea. Every item I just mentioned is woefully lacking at CX. So no, it isn’t a career airline, and it never will be while managers like you have anything to do with things.

Another Slido question was regarding how the management will demonstrate that aircrew are ‘valued’. Ok, this one makes me see red. The usual rubbish about “our pilots receive an annual increment”. Really Anna? Not only is that NOT true (when has the truth ever gotten in the way of a management statement?) but in my case specifically, I have NOT received an increment for several years now. Of course, as underlined above, AT states “our” pilots receive increments, so I suppose that those of us senior enough to have topped out the scales are not considered part of AT’s pilot force. Freudian. Regardless, stop lying to the other employee groups (it’s obviously designed for that purpose, as the pilots know full well the statement is a lie). You offend me and only strengthen the resolve of all the senior crew in particular who find your statements and their dishonesty appalling.

Regarding the comments about communications, see above. Nearly everything this management says is distorted, inflammatory, outright false or delusional. It serves nothing more than confirming managements own biases and desired outcomes. We have years of miserable experience demonstrating that they don’t listen (how many employee surveys do you need AT?), ignore what they are told, and then take actions that are now resulting in the accelerating exodus of highly trained crew. Combine that with a crippled business model, relentless competition and no positive or redeeming leadership and you have a recipe for eventual collapse. Regardless of anything AT says, the TRUTH is that the only future they foresee is one that secures THEIR bonuses and careers. The careers of the pilots and their families are to be exploited to the maximum benefit of the MANAGEMENT, and the benefit of the MANAGEMENT only. Once you have figured that out, the decision to leave for better opportunity is obvious. As most of the middle rank of pilots have now concluded.

Oh, and I’m very disappointed as I was awaiting this weeks “words of wisdom” from one of history’s noted mass-murderers. Surely an oversight…