Originally Posted by
tomgoodman
During a company "road show" at that time, somebody asked our Financial V.P.: "If Eastern shuts down, won't they just be replaced in ATL by a stronger competitor?" The V.P. replied: "That would actually be better for us, because a healthy competitor wants to make a profit. It's weak, desperate companies that ruin the fare structure, because they'll cut prices below cost just to keep the doors open a little longer, and everybody loses money."

Just think the management types that create and support this this convoluted logic get paid bonuses while their companies go broke. This is exactly why pilots should never engage in management "think." Pilots are only there to fly the aircraft yet they see themselves as some sort of quasi management instead of the hourly labor they actually are. This of course goes back to our military roots where the overall concept was to prepare leaders/managers to advance up the ladder to positions where flying skills matters little if at all. How many CEOs have real aviation backgrounds? None of the current batch could tell the difference between a start switch or the toilet flush knob and more importantly see no reason to learn. They have never flown a trip or endured any of the angst that pilots endure while accomplishing their duties. Unfortunately though we have many "tools" among us that think management is worthy of our respect and admiration while that same management scoffs and belittles our profession at every turn. Yes we are our own worst enemy.