solution To Our Problems Or Not

 

Not all of them, but a BIG step in the right direction..

Pretty much every route would be an EAS route (not literally of course....but in terms of how an airline is compensated..if the gov't subsidizes).

But of course, if Obama did that..all the GOPers would scream and holler once more (or continually...) about "socialism".

 

I have been saying for years that regulation and making an airline pilot a government position will go a long, long way.

 

You really think the government taking over is a good thing? Im sorry you have been affected by this economic downturn, but its been proven time and time again the government runs nothing effieciently. No good would come out of reregulation. As for socialism....we are more or less a socialist country already. Those socialistic ideas are what caused this whole crisis to begin with.

 

Look at how well it's gone for Amtrak.

 

Regulating the airlines might seem like it would be good for the pilots but the passengers and company like the way things are now. And, they are the only people that matter.

Why would the government change anything?

Skyhigh

 

Very good point. Apparently, and unfortunately, it isnt just about us.

However, for the sake of this argument, I would love to know what the answer is to get some stability back in our careers. I would welcome anything, be it regulation or anything else that would put an end to decaying wages, selfish management teams that have completely dismantled once proud airlines at the expense of their employees, and unions that could care less about those that they are supposed to represent.

 

Maybe airline management can take a look at what the former Florida National Bank CEO, Leonard Abess, did with his bonuses and take some notes on how to make his employees, past and present, happy.

 

I've thought about this before, and I could be wrong, (it's happened once or twice), but isn't a big part of the problem that airline A won't raise it's rates because if they did then airline B would still be charging a lower rate, claiming all the flying public for itself, and Airline A would soon be in a worse positon than it is now? It seems that the solution to this would be reregulation. Certain carriers fly to certain destinations and that's it. If you want to go to LAX, you take airline A. If you want to fly to MIA, you can take airline B. If you don't like what they're charging, you can go to Avis. Wasn't deregulation what opened the door for the regionals to fly mainline routes in the first place? I'm a furloughed Comair guy and I can see that. The "golden age of flying" we keep hearing about took place largely during regulation, didn't it? It's been made abundantly clear that the airline industry is not able or willing to pass it's expenses on to the public like almost every other industry does (the price of gas goes up, milk costs more). Instead, they pass the effects of their cost on to the employees: pilots, flight attendants, ramp/gate agents, etc. That's no way to run a business. I could be wrong. If I am please correct me. I don't want to be wandering around without getting my story straight.

 

The government runs nothing efficiently? You have to be kidding me. Why not privatize the police? Why not the fire department too? Isn't our military technically the government? Why not let the market decide what is an acceptable price for public protection. You're telling me NASA is an ad-hoc operation?

The idea that the market handles EVERYTHING better is ludicrous at best. Yes, generally, businesses are more efficient than the government. Yes, there are governmental institutions that are corrupt and inept. But, can you honestly watch CNN/FOX/MSNBC and truthfully believe that the economic models of countless banks, the big 3 automakers, and others have been operating on sound priniciples?

Now, I'm no governmental scholar, but I hardly think having rules constitutes socialism. I'm inclined to agree that regulation such as it was pre-1978 isn't good for the public or the industry. I do think, however, that a structured system of some sort operated under the principles of free enterprise with an abundance of competition is advantageous in comparison to the wild-west-last-man-standing mentality. Clearly, that has "been time and time again proven to run nothing efficiently"