But anyone with half a brain knows that pilots fly, managers manage, baggage handlers handle baggage, cabin crew man cabins and union leaders feather their nests.
Probably not the right thread for this stuff, Mr Strong, love him or hate him was an iconic figure in Australian aviation, he did do a lot of good stuff, and sure, I didn't agree with everything he did but I respected him for his leadership qualities, particularly when he was in control at the old TAA/Australian Airlines days..
I remember those days well, TAA was suffering an image problem with the public in comparison to AN at the time market share wise. Mr Strong did do a good job repairing this image problem, and to his credit he motivated the staff in preparation for the re-branding to Australian Airlines. TAA/Australian Airline went gangbusters clawing back a lot of market share from AN during Mr Strong's tenure. He was a standout manager at this time in my humble opinion.
I think Ben summed it up pretty well in this piece..
James Strong was a captain of change in airlines | Plane Talking
No-one in the 1980s in Australia saw the future direction of aviation with more clarity and purpose than James Strong, who has died at 68.
His understanding of the three big drivers of change in that decade was detailed, lucid and sometimes brutal in that he was conscious of what those changes would bring and very clear about resistance to such changes ultimately proving futile.
Those change drivers were US deregulation, (late 70s) the privatization of national carriers (early to mid 80s) and the branded global alliances (the 90s) which of late, have driven some airlines including Qantas, much more toward targeted business partnerships (with Emirates and American Airlines).
Strong, who rebranded TAA as Australian Airlines, and then took control of Qantas after it was merged with Australian and privatized and then listed, had a profound influence over the aviation media of the day, during times when every major and second tier newspaper in Australia had a senior reporter dedicated to reporting every aspect of the industry.
When the first Australian Airlines liveried Boeing 737-300 arrived at the old TAA domestic terminal at Sydney Airport the entire media contingent met Strong each wearing a bow tie, probably the only time James Strong abandoned one of his somber change sermons and burst into laughter
