And yet AA employees bemoan the fact that their PS is a far smaller percentage than ours....

Our employees choose not to unionize for various reasons, good and bad. I really don't think that "creating more value to the company" is one of them--more like "we don't want to pay union dues."

We'll just have to agree to disagree. I think our current management is very good, and noticeably better than the competition, and that is reflected in our numbers. We get a revenue premium compared to our competition. 15 years ago we had a revenue deficit--with the same non-union force--but a worse management and network team.

As for the refinery purchase, I don't really know enough. For every smug "it was a disaster" proclamation (as if anyone posting on this forum really has a clue) you can find another that will claim it was a big success. My personal gut feeling is that mgmt would not do it again if they had a magic time machine, and that it has been more trouble than any benefit it might have provided. That said, it was a "noble failure." At least for once, our leadership didn't just repeat the same tired old decades-long complaint of "gee we sure hope that the price of oil stays low--it's the difference between smashing success and bankruptcy."