To be fair, the title of this thread is "Should you leave AA?" and UPS is mentioned a number of times, along with FDX, DAL, etc.

 

I know. It just seemed random and out of context. No doubt UPS has got a good thing going.

 

That's great but they have borrowed several billion (that's a "b") dollars just to purchase stock, not assets.

If they were buying back stock at $30 and reissuing at $45 I would agree that would actually make a ton of sense! Instead they've bought roughly 25% outstanding shares since the merger.

The company is NOT set up for success. That is the source of my frustration.

He points to increased competition and margins decreasing. Yet we can point to SWA and jetBlue adding 7%-10% capacity YOY yet LF, RASM, and margins have held fairly steady.

Imagine if we grew even 5% a year? How many pilot jobs would that add to our bottom line?

The reason? They have a good product and give good value to their customers. Passengers actually want to purchase tickets on them. My wife and her friends can't stand AA. Every time they arrive they wait 45 mins+ for their bags. I took a screen shot of a jetBlue arrival 10 mins later then my wife's flight one time. It was parked NEXT TO MY WIFE'S FLIGHT. They got their bags within 20 mins. We waited 1+10. It's a joke. This unfortunately is not a rare occurrence!

I wouldn't be so critical if Parker & CO had a clue what was going on at the front lines. The management team is out of touch. They literally don't know what they don't know. It's so frustrating, they are squandering a good thing going.

They have the money to make this place an attractive place to work and kill off the competition. Yet they are so focused on squeezing blood from a turnip RIGHT NOW.

They've spent millions on new uniforms. You should've seen the show they put on in Dallas for the first one. Ice cream bar, music, free food, luxury hotel accommodations for those staying over, etc. Why the union even has a uniform committee is beyond me.

 

sounds like an airline career....

 

Damn you mods - This should be in the cargo section.

 

Sorry I should have quoted on my previous post. As mentioned, several mentions of UPS, FDX, SW, etc so I was responding to the UPS part.

 

He is way out of touch. I was in DCA one morning getting ready to board and I saw lots of suits wandering around the gate/ ramp area so I knew something was up. Then the station manager comes onboard and asks us if everything is ok, do we need anything etc.

Come to find out Parker was on a flight that was supposed to park at our gate 30 mins after we were scheduled to push. He should try not getting the special treatment on a few of his flights.

 

All it takes is for one carrier to get into trouble. Once labor groups takes a concession then the competitors are at a disadvantage and the slippery slot starts. You all are only as strong as the weakest major. Any one goes Chap 11 the rest will have to react.

 

This is SO TRUE!! Drives me crazy when the middle managers get wind of the bigwigs showing up for a flight, and then they try to clean up all of the usual operational ineptitude, paint lipstick on the pig's lips, turn it around and present it as "normal", so that senior level management never really knows how bad it really is out there. If Parker and Co. really want to see what's going on, they need to drop in totally unannounced, and in jeans and a T-shirt or similar (no suits), and they need to do this randomly and somewhat frequently. As was said, they don't know what they don't know.

 

Completely disagree on them not knowing what they don't know.

First, these guys came from an LCC years ago. They know eactly what bottom line ops cost are and what it looks like on paper. Remember these are the guys who at one time charged passengers for soda (when they ran LUS). Their bottom of service is so low many at LAA have no clue how far down these people can drive a product. They know what's happening too, they have analysts and data menons who can read the matrices and see the whole story. Isom can do it himself.

Also, they themselves cause a massive amount of the product dissolution. They (specifically Isom) drive the D+10 nonsense. The downward pressure put on station managers by them falls to punishment on agents and rampers if flights don't move on time. They know that and that's why they pit management against workers. Managers get huge bonuses and profit sharing returns for pushing employees to move metal 10 mins early, no matter the human cost to frontline employees and passengers. They give basically zero to the employees for all the pressured work either. As they barely get any of the profits....they are just happy they didnt lose their job this week. They know the product and moral will suffer as a result. They justify it by saying it's what the "business" customers wants and that makes everything in planning come together. They (upper management) set up their bonuses on DOT times for a reason as well. D+10 is more about A-14 then you think. It ensures that we move early and almost guarantees an early arrival....thus a bonus

Lastly, and there is more, stock buyback is not a shock when most of upper management is paid in STOCK. It's brilliant. They are vesting their own money with company money. And of course, stock payouts are taxed even less than regular pay and bonuses.

You'll keep thinking they don't have a clue, when it's us that don't. The cash register is ringing so nothing is wrong. Low interest rates are their justification for debt spending and loans. Add in low fuel, and pretty soon you see Parker and friends owning sports teams like the Paul Allen's, Mark Cuban's and Jerry Jones's of the world....you know for fun. (That's mellow dramtic)