fenix1

Questions regarding AA’s intermediate-to-long term future seem to be on the rise (balance sheet concerns, more operational & maintenance issues/unnecessary policies & procedures, less customer service/overall morale/relationship between working groups & management, etc). But many still see the company as too large to fail (especially in the post-merger landscape) and obviously there’s tons of opportunities for pilots. Crystal ball time, but how solid do you perceive AA’s future to be over the next 30-ish years?

panpanpan

Most likely a staple to the bottom of JetBlue’s seniority list when they merge.

Excargodog

Too big to fail but I expect it will flounder for awhile until there are some management changes.

Competent management in this business is harder to come by than most people realize - perhaps why Canadian startup Jetlines is suing Neeleman for what they regard as his poaching of their CEO Lukas Johnson.

flyinawa

It’s a cyclical industry and every company gets their turn in the barrel. Today’s media darling is tomorrow’s butt-of-all-jokes. Management teams come and go and I’m hoping someday soon we get leadership that is less concerned with the shareholders and more concerned with the passengers. Time will tell.

Happyflyer

I wouldn't be worried, Richard Anderson, and now Scot Kirby have show how fast things can can change.

United was literally defending itself against a hedge fund buying shares and diverting cash flow.

Their plan is seems solid, invest more in their profitable hubs, consolidate widebody flying.

As boomers retire with disposable income, the classic model of needing heavy business routes with large corporate accounts could be more dated. They claim they tried this in Asia and it was a money pit, and that was when Kirby was at AA.

They really just need to trim middle mgmt, and oil the current machine better.

drinksonme

What has Kirby done at United that is so innovative? He did exactly what he did at AWA, US Airways, and AA. He knows how to network and utilize the equipment. That’s all well and good, but he didn’t do anything revolutionary at United. It just shows how inept UAL was. Now I will give him credit, he made AA look like idiots for going with Vasu over him on Networking. Jury is still out on Isom over him to be the leader at AA. AND ISOM MIGHT NEVER GET IT (praying for our sake).

Kirby is abrasive, self-absorbed, and very arrogant. AA BOD didn’t like that about him. He’s smart as hell though and it was a good move by him to go to United when AA turned away. Munoz was on borrowed time after the heart transplant as the CEO, and Kirby knew he could get a shot quickly.

Yet Kirby is a creature of habit too. He has helped United, but now has pushed his way into negotiations and is trying to force his vision of RJ’s everywhere. He is attacking UAL’s ALPA’s scope, and the union rank and file are not pleased. So he is doing what he’s always done. Good networking, good utilization, fights labor and trys to kill scope. In the process, as he’s done in the past, all the good he has done is erased when he continues to battle labor. Any morale boost they had from all his good work for the airline, is turning to bad morale cause of his fascination with scope and RJ’s. They are completely at a standstill on negotiations cause he stepped in and asked for scope changes right at the very end. He can’t just be satisfied with the success of the airline. He has to dominate his unions (which he sees as rivals and not partners) as part of his success. He is old school thought process.

Name User

Operationally speaking the company is firing on all cylinders after the summer of ridiculousness. They changed management's bonus structure to be 50% operational and guess what suddenly we stopped canceling. I notice even our maintenance folks seem to have a minor fire lit under them. Ground handling however seems to be hit and miss.

AAfng

Chapter 7 by the end of 2019

Whatever man

nAAtive

You clearly didn’t read any of the last quarters calls. They addressed several of your questions.

Smoke Toliet

Spot on with Kirby and UAL. He did the same thing here in 2014 with a last minute scope grab from 85 seats. It killed any chance of momentum and building trust with the pilots going forward. And look where we are now.
Glad he’s gone.