SMI/J, lmao

Here's the crystal ball:

2014 - Jetblue votes in a union. CEO Dave Barger is 'surprised and hurt'. DB will now 'return' to United to right that ship.

No fee charged for expert forecasting, you're welcome.
:D

Jetblue is looking at voting in a union again. That is true. After this last contract proposal that gets rid of their 150% pay for all hours flown over 78, they're a ****ed off group of pilots. So, maybe they will vote in a union. Who knows???

And on a side note the gate agents at United in Newark get a $100 bonus each month if they can get 85% of their flights off the gate 5 minutes early or on time. It's sad that we **** off so many customers because the gate agents live or die for $100.

At this point I'd welcome Barger.

This place is quickly turning into "anybody but Smisek". The problem is one of revenue, yet the band is tuning up for the "costs, costs, costs" serenade. Pretty soon we will be on the side of the curve that would have UA losing money even if the worker bees toiled without pay.

There needs to be a fairly significant sweep at the top, not just the head narcissist.

Yes, leadership starts at the top.

It's been so many decades since we have had any, I'm not sure what the airline would do if we had some.

The non-union mid-level management positions that actually make the airline run have been decimated over the past decade. To a large extent, those who have the depth of talent to run the airline have either retired, been fired, or have moved on to better pay and conditions. Jeff is no doubt a huge disappointment to employees, investors, and passengers but firing him doesn't solve the brain-drain that UA has suffered (for the record, I say fire him anyway).

Employees= yes....passengers=yes....investors= no...our stock is almost at 40 bones....it's gonna be a good Christmas for the board's kids!

There is a lot to be said for this. I think this industry in general has shunned talent in management, and the lack of strong leadership at the top has hurt us even more.

When I was in the service the people who moved the mountains and had their finger on the pulse were the senior enlisted. An officer in a leadership position without one (or more) of these was doomed to failure. They were loyal, capable, patriotic (the equivalent here of buying in to the company vision) and they knew their people. I think you're right. These positions are being eliminated and when they're replaced their being replaced by 2nd lieutenants who, while sincere, are incapable of filling this experience gap. A recent college grad on the ramp with a clipboard making checkmarks on a form won't change anything.

Unfortunately corporate mis-management is prevalent in the entire airline industry. Eventually every airline succumbs to the urge to increase the bottom line even if it means ****ing off the two most important groups necessary to survive: customers and employees. It was always such a shock to see the difference between how my airline treated folks and the way SWA treated people. The stories I could tell of the number of times SWA has gone out of their way to accommodate me commuting or my family when non-revving, would fill a page. People fly because they have to and people work for the airlines because of the excitement and the mystique that still seems to entice folks to stand out on the ramp in sleet, snow or 100 degree days for 8 bucks an hour, just to say they work in the aviation industry.