Actually AA is not going to be "good" by comparison this year to other airlines profit. May even be the least profitable airline this year, and they have the largest fleet with the most RJ scope.

 

Yep, how deep into Dads wallet did we get when we wiped out his Buick this past summer?

 

$35 million according to USA today...

 

Just as PSA management takes no responsibility when things go wrong, I am certainly not taking any for that one.

 

Enough to give every pilot on property a $18 /hour raise.

And while not insignificant, that $35 million dollars is just a footnote for AAG. They look at that number and don’t even blink. AAG reported a pre-tax profit of $769 million dollars just for this 2nd quarter by itself.

But hey, it’s a business. They aren’t in the business of handing out many when and where they don’t think they need to. We’re filling classes and attrition is manageable. Until that changes or we find ourselves with some more leverage this is it.

 

But you know truthfully, why should they take any more accountability than they already do? It’s not like AAG writes PSA managment a blank check and says, “here go buy whatever you need”. They have budgets and things like tens of million spent on a new IT infrastructure are hard to justify at a time when fuel prices are surging and the industry is on the cusp of retirements that will put the leverage in the hands of labor for the next decade.

It’s not like they didn’t have some idea that the IT infrastructure was dated and at risk. If AAG doesn’t want to spend money on it, PSA doesn’t get new IT. If AAG doesn’t want pilots at its WOs to get a raise, they don’t get a raise. It’s not as if our managment is calling these shots.

 

Because they are responsible for the operation.

 

Right. They are responsible for making sure the wheels stay on this bus so to speak. But they aren’t any more responsible for this than the regional manager of a fast food chain is of their different locations. If corporate doesn’t think they need new digital cash registers, they don’t get new cash registers despite this regional manager telling them otherwise.

 

They certainly didn't do an admirable job of keeping the wheels on the bus back in June.

I have higher expectations of management of a supposedly stand-alone company than you do. This is probably due in part to my disdain for the way the industry is structured, with legacy carriers utilizing contractors and subsidiaries to avoid paying wage levels they otherwise would if they performed the services "in-house". Meanwhile the legacy carrier still effectively exercises "operational control", and portrays the service level as equal to the legacy brand...until something goes wrong...then it's the subsidiary's fault.

I'd probably be more willing to accept the above, if someone would step up and accept responsibility and accountability. That doesn't happen though with PSA. It's always "outside our control"...which leads to the rational question - "If it's outside our control, how does anything anyone does matter?"

I applaud you for being able to better accept the reality of the situation. You're probably even able to wear the American Airlines lanyard to hold your badge on...despite the fact that our pay comes not from AA, but from PSA.

I struggle with the "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" operating philosophy. You can consider it a character flaw.

 

I’d really rather wear a different lanyard. I wish PSA ALPA would make some.