Smokie
Thanks, although it was my father-in-law... not quite so bad...
Anyway, it is fair to say that when I left, I was pretty cheesed off... having thought I was nice and stable at EDI - I had moved four times for the company in four years - I was once again faced with a move as the companies' plans changed. It had already been a bad two years, with constant night-stopping as the LCY had stopped and we were being shunted around the network.
However, none of that was MWs fault, it was all decided by the Commercial department. He did his best to help out with sympathetic rostering and the like, making sure that were treated as well as possible by Crewing. Even when I got really frustrated and let fly with an angry email (think I must have sent a few of those!), his reaction was ALWAYS one of politeness, respect and concern. He COULD have just told me to shut up and get on with it, but he never did, he always tried to help out - not just me, but all the EDI crews. I never bothered communicating with JC, he was about as sympathetic as a piranha. Mike even came up to EDI personally to tell us what was going on, and brought JF and the boys with him. JC never once showed his face in EDI to meet or support his crews.
When it was decided that the 146 would leave EDI for good - again, a commercial decision - he went out of his way to offer me several options. I could move to SOU on the 146, stay in EDI and join the Q400 fleet (god... nooooo...!!!!
), and so on. In the end, I opted for the unpaid leave as the timing was perfect to make that move.
Being an Ops Director is like being a Captain on a flight that diverts somewhere unpleasant. As soon as you decide to do so, for the best possible reasons, you can bet your bottom dollar that a hundred or so people (less on the Q400) are going to instantly hate you and everything you stand for. Many people - ground staff, other crew, management - are going to be wishing you were never born, because their lives just turned to custard, too. Never mind that you just saved their miserable hides from a potential catastrophe, they will hate you all the same, with a blind, unreasoning, irrational hatred.
Part of holding a senior management position is accepting that the above is going to happen, and also accepting that, from time to time, you will have to implement unpopular policies. The measure of the man (or woman) is the degree of humanity that is evident in the way in which those decisions are implemented.
I have met quite a few people who will tell you that they have been lied to by MW, but it is almost never the case. I say "almost" only because I don't know the details of every case. I do know that several people who told me so, are quite incorrect - they simply don't see the whole picture, more specifically they don't get that what is promised may change for reasons quite outside the control of the Ops Director.
In my case, around 2003 I was as angry as hell at the way I had been "treated". However, as soon as I calmed down a bit, it was obvious that MW wasn't the problem, the problem is simply that our corner of the industry can be a difficult place. Commercial decisions are taken with as much consideration as possible for the crews, but in the end it is the health and success of the company that is important, for all our sakes (well, your sakes now!). Some people will always suffer as a result, but that is the nature of the airline business in the regional low-cost sector. If you don't like it, you are in the wrong industry (or the wrong part of the industry).
What I do know is that our Ops Director often argues long and loud for his crews. Few people ever see that, but it happens nevertheless - I have seen it happen myself.
So, you guys can bag him if you want, but I would bet large amounts of money that all of you doing so are folk who feel, or have felt, badly treated by him. Perhaps a little more introspection would be helpful.
In you case,
Smokie, I know your record of "run-ins" and I am not surprised that you feel as you do. Just don't mistake it for a "universal truth", because my experience is definitely not the same as yours.
I can honestly say that working for flybe was a great experience. The flying was good fun, most of the people were great, and the atmosphere was relaxed and cordial. Obviously there are bad bits too (Crewing, one or two ex-managers, the disruption that comes with a complete change in the direction of the company), but overall it was fun.
You often don't realise how MUCH fun until you have left...
