aa73

Written by one of our pilots. Tomahawk and the rest of you koolaiders, take note

"As a pilot for this once-proud airline, I can say with confidence that the vast majority of AA pilots are not only exhausted by the process, but disgusted with the insulting offers made by the company over the past few days.

The truth of the matter is that we have given AA management over a billion dollars in pay and work-rule concessions over the past eight years, and they have squandered it with a business plan that is failing in many metrics: Revenue, customer service, maintenance (remember the MD80 fiasco?), etc.

Through all this, our management team has righteously lavished themselves with astronomical bonuses, and turned a deaf ear to the very employees who gave up so much in 2003 to help their company avoid bankruptcy. I might add, that the bonus structure has been called into question by not only employees, but analysts who question its fairness and value.

The reason AA finds itself at this crossroads is NOT the fault of its pilots! At this point in time, we look at our peers at other airlines, most notably Southwest, and see pay rates as much as 32% higher than ours. We see, again in the case of Southwest, our peers enjoying more nights at home with their families because their company schedules them much more efficiently. Let me be perfectly clear: There is NOTHING preventing AA from gaining efficiencies from its pilots even today. In fact, our current employment contract ENCOURAGES more efficiency than we currently experience.

When the public, through the eyes and ears of the media, points the finger of blame at the AA situation, I simply hope it is pointed in the right direction."

eaglefly

Simple and to the point. The truth of where AA is and how it got here is obviously very painful for some. There's no going back to 2003 under any circumstances. It's possible many of the new demands will be forcibly ripped from the fingers of AA pilots in Chapter 11, but willing Seppuku has been all but eliminated.

ironspud

But hey....your A Plan will be perfectly safe in CH11.

eaglefly

I've yet to meet anyone who has said this, so you're highlighting the obvious.

What flavor of Kool-Aid do YOU prefer ?

aa73

Disregard him, eaglefly... he is just as much of a troll on flightinfo as well.

Sliceback

AICA troll.

B757200ER

Just curious what you mean by 'not going back to 2003'? I may have mis-understood your post, but are you saying AA/AMR can't go back to being on the bankruptcy courthouse steps, then asking for concessions?

As I said, I may have mis-interpreted your post. I must say, with AMR stock below $2.00/share, oil hovering around $100/barrel and consistent losses every quarter of $250 million+, I'm afraid Chapter 11 is inevitable. They absolutely MUST lower their costs in order to compete.

The only question is: What will happen to AA pilot pay, work rules & benefits?

Time will tell. Anyone at the bottom of their seniority list better have resumes out.

Iowa Farm Boy

I guess I thought he meant pay/ work rules pre 2003.

eaglefly

I meant that it appears to me most pilots aren't willing to fall for the threat of bankruptcy to once again subsidize the self-enrichment of this same management team. Sure, they can threaten or even DO that, but compared to those proposals, I think THIS TIME they WILL have to file. IMO, it's obvious they just want to get a concessionary proposal PAST the BOD to the membership, so that way if they do file Chapter 11, they'll have a new lower base to go EVEN LOWER with. That's why management has been pulling out all the stops to engage DIRECTLY with pilots as has been demonstrated on this forum already.

The last proposals by management have been evaluated to save AMR 100 million/year (or whatever), so let me ask you this;

Do you really think that this savings alone (if they had gotten it), would really keep a corporation with 12 billion in debt out of Chapter 11 ?

Debt is the issue and that includes current and future obligations, not present operating costs. THAT can be controlled and AMR even has admitted that once their supposed fleet plan change has begun, they believe they'll start turning profits. Yes, they do need labor adjustments in certain areas, but not the complete gutting of the pilots contract (forever) that they're seeking. Your statement above indicates that you take any financial statement from this management as both true AND accurate. Considering your background with their ethics and honesty, that's surprising (TWA ?). Absent an agreement that demonstrates a future that involves investing in the brand carrier and their employees instead of one rigged up to use the remains as a personal piggy bank for the mamangement and BOD, Chapter 11 isn't much worse for the majority of pilots. As you say and many believe, it can't be avoided anyway and that may be true. Planes are mostly full, ticket prices are fairly high and other carriers also have a portion of their fleets that are gas hogs, yet AMR consistantly squeakes out losses.......not big ones that create panic, but juuussst enough to use as leverage in a time they NEED leverage. They know that this is the only window they have to get the things they WANT (not necessarily NEED) and it's now or never. Personally, I think there is too high a percentage of pilots here that expect and demand too much and that's a REAL problem. I totally understand that though, considering what they've been through the last 10 years. AMR is totally to blame for this though and getting here was no accident. It was deliberate (and conceitedly reckless, if you ask me).

My position acknowledges painful realizations must ultimately be accepted though, one way or the other, for without them BK is a certainty that will produce them anyway, wheras with them time may (that's MAY) be eough to prevent that. Retiree medical costs must be significantly adjusted, alterations of the pension plan will have to occur and reasonably COMPETITIVE pay rates (which the proposals were not) and new efficiencies in productivity are all neccessary in my opinion. Full retro and LOS for furloughees are unlikely. Partial (and VERY partial) retro in the form of the typical signing bonus (AKA a bribe) to ratify is the typical likeyhood. Scope is an absolute MUST, especially IRON CLAD restrictions and protection on code-sharing. THAT is the fair trade-off for being realistic in the above areas and accepting flexibility. Duration to ensure future competitive compensation also is a must. Yes, I have my resume ready, for if AMR gets what they really want, what remains of AA 5-10 years from now will be nothing more then a large regional pilot compensation-wise and if AMR turns AA into the that, pilots at UAL and DAL are sure to catch the same illness and therefore that resume's objective won't be another airline pilots position.

By the time one starts over junior elsewhere, those pilot contracts will look like AA's and they'll have wasted more years chasing a carrot that won't exist when they get within reach of it. The AMR plan has the airline captain of 2020 being an Airbus type pilot, making about 100K or so in today's dollars which is just a typical middle to lower middle class lifestyle, on the road a lot with a mediocre 401(k) and the carriers (and their managements) will likely be quite profitable. Of course, management and their chums on Wall street will STILL be clamoring for additional cost reductions and savings from labor and the same pressures and buls*#t will be there. No thanks. If that's what the staggering financial investment in flight training and sacrifices of actually living this lifestyle produce, most can do as good or better elsewhere and it would be more relaxing to watch the airline industry meltdown from afar. There WILL be one fun show to watch if AA whacks pilots out of jobs. Those who do vacate will be able to give JP Morgan some pain on their way out the door (for who would want to wait around on furlough for another 5 years or more just to come BACK to the BOTTOM of this s*#thole ?)

A lot of pilots here DESPISE the current 401(k) as one rigged up to benefit the company and JP more then the pilot. It's limited on funds and hamstrings you on making moves and choices with fees and limitations. Personally, I have $450,000 in it and my guess is (if they're smart) EVERY pilot who ejects on his own or is shot out of a cannot by management to work elsewhere will unass this POS and do a direct rollover to somewhere else like Fidelity or Schwab where you can actually DO something with YOUR money. The 215 Eagle flowthru's alone,all in their late 40's to late 50's have in my estimation perhaps 75 million in that waste of money holding tank and they'll be the first to be cannonballs, so that will likely be 75 million (or whatever figure) that goes quickly. Not sure of the AA native estimate as AA provided no match like Eagle did and therefore many pilots didn't use it (smart), but if you chop another 1000-2000 furloughee's from the bottom (also in the same age ranges, who will be gone for good)...........well, you can do your own estimate there and that would be over a year perhaps, instead of a few months like the 215. Probably just heartburn for JP, but at least some GOOD indigestion for a change.

Bottom line for me...........no more threats, bulls*#t or crap. AMR either figures out a way to run this airline and compete while respecting their employees for once or they can just liquidate the thing and do everyone a favor. I'll take my marbles and go elsewhere. I'm ready.

Mink

Eaglefly - Nice write up, man. Sobering, depressing, but accurate. Almost enough to make me want to go occupy Wall Street.

I really think there's something to the comments made above (or was it in another thread?) about the "management" teams of today having no real emotional investment in the company. Earlier leaders brought many of these companies up from ground zero and/or through deregulation to become industry-leading operations, and knew employee support was critical to success. The current crop of financiers masquerading as leaders cut their teeth at computer terminals, where the day-to-day operations of the airline was nothing more than revenue vs. costs - people be damned, stockholders and Wall Street are all that matter.

Hopefully AA pilots will hold the line and reawaken these "leaders" to the fact that having their employees with them (rather than against them) is good for the bottom line. Good luck to us all.