don't take cuts.... if management can't manage their money..then Shutter down boys.

A little off the thread, does anyone have the hire date of the most senior Flt Attd on the furlough list. A PM is fine...back to your regularly scheduled program.

FF

The airline industry being profitable......what does that mean????

I think we all know our passengers cant pay for fuel! Next time your boarding up, stand in the doorway and check out some of these individuals getting on the aircraft. Our pax try to steal the XM out of the armrest for god's sake! Now you want them to pay for the services we are providing, you guys are crazy!

You may laugh, but it was a common theme among the regionals in the mid to late nineties.

Discuss......

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the FAs might be safe.


AirTran's pilot buyout falls short, making cuts likely

By KELLY YAMANOUCHI
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/01/08

AirTran Airways, which is shrinking its work force as it tries to cope with high fuel costs, said Tuesday it may not have to furlough any flight attendants but that some pilots may have to be let go.

AirTran, which is based in Orlando and has its hub in Atlanta, announced in July that it planned to cut 300 flight attendants and 180 pilots to reduce its annual costs by about $16 million. Employees had until Thursday to apply for a leave of absence or an early-exit package.

AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson said the company generated enough requests for leaves — offered to flight attendants — to likely avoid furloughing any of them. But it attracted fewer applications for voluntary exit packages offered to employees with five years of seniority across the company, including pilots.

It offered the exit packages to try to offset furloughs or layoffs. Most of the job cuts will be in Atlanta because all of AirTran's pilots and most of its flight attendants are based here.
The company's exit packages offered extended health and travel benefits but not a cash payout to those with enough seniority at the company, excluding directors and officers. It attracted only a small group of takers.
"We're a fairly young company, so we don't have a lot of high-seniority people," Hutcheson said. "The majority of our employees were hired within the last five years and didn't qualify for the early exit. It generated some interest, and you'll perhaps see two dozen people leave via the early exit program."
AirTran, which has about 8,900 employees, said it would furlough or lay off workers Sept. 6 to meet its targeted job cuts.

This is about the stupidest statement that I`ve seen reciently. It brings back memories of Charlie Bryant, head of the ground workers at Eastern Airlines. The day after Eastern declared chapter 7 bankruptsy, Charlie`s picture appeared in the Atlanta newspaper (and probably others) holding a sign declaring.... "We Won!".

So at what point does the employee stop being used as the instrument to subsidize passenger fares????...If your product doesn't warrant asking more of the customer then maybe you need to take another look instead of devaluing you employees efforts, after all it takes employees to get customers..

Also Air Tran President Fannaro said they needed pay cuts so they could have a bargaining chip with vendors to get concessions.....well they certainly were not going to go to the fuel company's and ask them to lower fuel cost.....

I say ask the pax to pay their fare share and let the chips fall where they may.

The situation at AirTran is not a "cult of personality" issue like Borman vs. Bryant.

It's management not acting in good faith with ALL the employee groups (union and non-union). The employee position at AirTran is simple. We are telling management if you need higher revenue then you need to get it from passengers not workers.

Matt,

A-M-E-N.

Could not agree with you more after flying at 4 passenger airlines before Brown.

FF