Two's In...
Right idea....
Many of my colleagues in the airline business in America have, essentially, done just that. Maybe they've taken an early retirement, or maybe they've flat out resigned.
Some have switched to other careers, and some have gone to carriers in other countries. In most cases, from what I can gather, these people are happier and wealthier.
And, it's interesting to note (which has been covered many times before here in PPrune), that Southwest Airlines...the ultimate low-cost carrier...pays like a Las Vegas slot machine. The people are happy and wealthy (and highly unionized). Obviously, this happiness and wealthiness of employees is not dependent on working for a 'Legacy' carrier or working for a carrier that caters to the trailer park people.
It's all about competent management...It's all about character and integrity...It's all about treating people fairly. (Gee, do they teach these things in these MBA schools?)
What gets me is that many of the major airlines declared bankruptcy, disolved the pension plans, and bankrupted the PBGC, so now the tax payers of America are taking it up the shorts. All the while, these execs benefited personally to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.
Today, it's Deja Vu II with the "credit crisis". Unscrupulous execs loaned money for real estate purchases to people who were not credit worthy, bundling up the loans into investment instruments that were sold world-wide. What could go wrong! Worst case, when Mr. and Mrs. Smith default on their mortgage, the loan holder takes the house...sells it, maybe for a profit.
In the end, many lending institutions have declared bankruptcy. The execs still drive the expensive sports cars, live in the multi-million dollar neighborhoods, belong to the expensive country clubs...and the U.S. Federal Reserve says the tax payers need to take some of the hit to circumvent a world-wide recession (or depression).
The commonality between these two stories (airline industry and mortgage industry) is greed, theft, and political connections. The rich stay rich, and the average guy still gets caught holding the bag. With airline bankruptcies, execs were rewarded with millions for 'struggling their way through the reorganization process', while the employees (mostly pilots) gave, gave, gave, gave...to keep the companies afloat.
None of this stuff is new....been going on since the beginning of time. The basic song is the same...maybe a second verse...maybe a more modern rendition of the song...maybe new singers...but, the basic song is the same.
Most airline execs, I'm convinced, are crooked incompetents. Regardless of the industry...whether you're making car batteries or women's tampons, the reject executives seem to gravitate to the airline industry...for some reason.
Look at it this way: Little Johnny and his sister, Suzie, are bored during their summer vacation and open up a lemonade stand on the front sidewalk of their home. Ten cents a cup. The product tastes good, and they have many happy customers.
XYZ Airways sees this new, emerging market and immediately sets up a competing stand across the street. Armed with MBAs, lawyers, and a host of experienced management types, they structure a top-heavy layer of 'control'...have a dedicated department of employees for each function of the process....one department solicits offers for lemon supply (with the associated kickbacks)...one department is responsible for peeling the lemons...one department is responsible for stirring the stuff...one department is responsible....well, you get the idea.
At the end of the summer, Johnny and Suzie have made an honest profit of $7.10 selling their ten cent lemonade, while XYZ Airways shows a loss of $328 million...selling the same damn thing.
And, it's all the employees' fault.....
PantLoad