Hi,Dubxh et al
I'm not bitter.I still have a job and our division, engineering, is expanding as the fleet grows....A lot of what has been cut in EI was making money, such as the cargo carrying. It made no sense to cut it when the aircraft still flew, regardless of their contents.Some departments were slashed and the negative effect is still affecting the day-to-day operation. Far more people wanted to leave than were allowed, especially of high-service people, who were fed up and wanted out. So the legacy of that is bitterness, bad customer relations and a negative public attitude to the company. Some of the cuts were stupid...the Dublin ramp bus fleet was cut from six to two, allegedly to reduce driver/diesel/maintenace costs. This meant that more expensive pier stands have to be used, instead of remote stands, so the costs go up instead of down....The simulators were sold(B737 x 2), a set-up which made a steady income and owed nothing.i appreciate that these are compratively minor things, in the great scheme of things, but why slash something that works, makes money and doesn't affect the daily operation?? Willie didn't really hurt the EI pilots as much as he hurt other departments, which has bred resentment. In the same breath, he didn't give in to all their demands....as for the assertion that EI was squirting money away, nothing could be further than the truth. EI has been making a lot of money for a long time, even before WW took over. The previous rationalisation plans were having an effect. We were never in a bad a shape as some people have claimed