A virus called ‘CEO’
Well said AP. And yes, I have actually tried to be nice in my commentary. Some people on here don’t want to know the true state of play and would rather click their heels and dream nice thoughts about everything being ok and that there is nothing to be concerned about. VA and QF cannot be compared. Two different models with different financial status. Simple. As for the argument that ‘one should not discuss past travesties’, well I’m sorry but that is naieve and sticking your head in the sand. Previous management are relative to this discussion. It’s called ‘follow the bouncing ball’. It is a buildup of the past 10 or so years of mismanagement that has placed VA in a perilous situation. You can’t blame it all on a virus that has been around for 10 weeks on VA’s current position. And that is a relevant point because some existing Managers and Board have been around through all of these issues and are still here providing direction. Their competency has gotten better? Their ability to manage change in a way that builds the airlines viability has gotten better? I don’t think so. Elizabeth pushed for the Train Driver to come onboard as CEO of a commercial airline. Way different to managing a lazy Government owned cash cow. I dont believe this to be a good fit, not a good decision in a time of need. The Board should have taken a walk along with the the CEO.
As for the ‘little bloke’ who took his millions and jumped from the sinking ship; 35 years in the one company will give you nothing more than a one sided view of the world. He only knew one business model. He only knew the framework of one company. Once he started at VA and the leash was removed he was given a playground filled with lots and lots of different toys and the permission to buy new ones!!! Bad mistake.
Now the man with the mono-brow has been tasked to do something that is above his pay scale. The management of the airline from the day that it started to grow into a real competitive business have been an abject failure. Successive useless CEO’s, useless CFO’s and useless Board members. Godfrey was punching above his weight from 2013, the Italian was punching above his weight for the duration of his long tenure, now Scurrah is punching above his weight with no solid aviation background. With COVID potentially playing havoc with the world for months to come, maybe longer, and then flow-down affects to run for years, this company needs a really talented team on the flight deck to pull it out of its nosedive. I’m not confident that it does.
Last edited by Paragraph377; 13th Mar 2020 at 03:29.