j1b3h0
Line Up and Wait
First of all, the sick calls for Americans' pilots are NOT statistically above normal. Those who feel otherwise are victims of adver, er,...CNN. The pilots at AMR simply decided to do their jobs and their jobs alone. If there aren't ramp personell at the gate apon arrival, oh well...they'll wait 'til they get there. Never mind they're burning 200gals/hr.
AA has had over 160M in FAA fines for maint violations. Most pilots think it is in the best interest of the company to make sure every i is dotted and t is crossed. Note: A soiled seat cushion means one passenger won't board unless and until it gets replaced. Might seem silly when you're seated on the plane, awaiting pushback, but if it were your seat...
Want pilots to lobby ATC for short cuts, fly at the optimum fuel saving altitude, do every thing they can to make money for the company? Pay a substandard price and and you get substandard enthusiasm from employees. AA employees took huge consessions (particularly the pilots) after 9/11 to keep the airline out of Ch11, since then, upper management has rewarded themselves with hundreds of millions in bonuses - while the airline slipped from first to worse in every measureable category, then declared BK with 5B in the bank, just so they can wipe the slate of current retirement obligations, as well as stick it to already retired AMR employees. Parker is no angel, but at least he wants to run an airline...rather than just code share.
Most AA pilots love their job and what they do for a living. They also care deeply for every AA passenger. That said, they also know that (given the current political environment - in which the only people who should make a good living are executives and Wall st bankers) the only reason any pilot in the USA makes more than a burger flipper is because when it counted, those pilots were willing to do whatever it took to turn the tide. If more people did some of that French truck driver stuff in the USA, maybe the country would look a little less like Northern Mexico than it does currently.
Want someone to blame for AAs dismal performance? Look to the scoundrels who managed to anger 85,000 AMR employees. AMR, and for that matter, most airlines run almost entirely due to the efforts of the rank and file employees. Without their love and affection, any service business will flounder. Horton, et al should be fired and their severence packages should be used to restore the retirement of the group he's trying to rob.
AA has had over 160M in FAA fines for maint violations. Most pilots think it is in the best interest of the company to make sure every i is dotted and t is crossed. Note: A soiled seat cushion means one passenger won't board unless and until it gets replaced. Might seem silly when you're seated on the plane, awaiting pushback, but if it were your seat...
Want pilots to lobby ATC for short cuts, fly at the optimum fuel saving altitude, do every thing they can to make money for the company? Pay a substandard price and and you get substandard enthusiasm from employees. AA employees took huge consessions (particularly the pilots) after 9/11 to keep the airline out of Ch11, since then, upper management has rewarded themselves with hundreds of millions in bonuses - while the airline slipped from first to worse in every measureable category, then declared BK with 5B in the bank, just so they can wipe the slate of current retirement obligations, as well as stick it to already retired AMR employees. Parker is no angel, but at least he wants to run an airline...rather than just code share.
Most AA pilots love their job and what they do for a living. They also care deeply for every AA passenger. That said, they also know that (given the current political environment - in which the only people who should make a good living are executives and Wall st bankers) the only reason any pilot in the USA makes more than a burger flipper is because when it counted, those pilots were willing to do whatever it took to turn the tide. If more people did some of that French truck driver stuff in the USA, maybe the country would look a little less like Northern Mexico than it does currently.
Want someone to blame for AAs dismal performance? Look to the scoundrels who managed to anger 85,000 AMR employees. AMR, and for that matter, most airlines run almost entirely due to the efforts of the rank and file employees. Without their love and affection, any service business will flounder. Horton, et al should be fired and their severence packages should be used to restore the retirement of the group he's trying to rob.
:wink2:... 