In short, quit screwing the staff, deliver a good product, INCREASE air fares to what is a NORMAL price ( not a return to the good old days ) so that the airlines can function and pay staff and lets all get on with it!
Good plan powdermonkey: this is what IATA has to say about LFs and revenues:
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced international scheduled traffic results for June showing passenger demand declining 7.2% compared to the same month in the previous year while freight demand was down 16.5%. International passenger load factors stood at 75.3%, down from 77.6% recorded in June 2008.
The 7.2% drop in international passenger demand was a slight improvement on the 9.3% fall in May. The capacity adjustment of -4.3% did not keep pace with the fall in demand leaving average fares and yields under significant pressure. As a result, June revenue on international markets fell by a shocking 25-30%.
Taking capacity out of the market is not leading to an increase in revenues: it is reducing DOCs but little else as the Indirects still have to be covered.
A better solution is to collectively look at ways of reducing costs, increasing productivity and minimising waste, be that waste lost bags, discarded meals, excess fuel carriage, hammering the brakes etc.
The issue at the moment is not "making a profit" it is "not making a loss": we have seen several names disappear in the last 18 months and there will be more to come. The once great BA is in dire straits and has no legacy right to survival and BALPA will not and cannot provide a barrier or protection against market forces.