Bring me a bucket!

[M_Six]

This makes me sick.

The CEO of American Airlines is acting like he's giving up the world.

http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/09/25/travelcenter/wires/amr_carty_ap/

So sad, he had to buy up 40,000 shares of his company's depressed stocks. Of course he did, and right after the gov't bails them out his new stock will triple in worth. Are we supposed to applaud this putz for his "noble" sacrifice? He made over $2mil last year and his airline couldn't weather a week of reduced travel. Sounds like mighty poor management to me. Now he's asking his employees to take a pay cut. Wonder how long it'll be before they see that money again. If he really wants to make "the big sacrifice" he should resign in shame.

Gack...:-p

[wyvrn]

Most of the airlines are running at a loss or on very slim profit margins. Southwest Airlines is the only major one in the black, I believe. The ceo is not to blame for this as every CEO in the industry deals with the problem of lack of profits. It is unlikely that if he gave up his whole salary that it would make any noticeable dent in the problem.

[M_Six]

I agree, giving up his whole salary wouldn't make a dent. But I also believe the airlines have brought themselves to this brink. True, the terrorist incident pushed them over, but years of poor management and bloated payscales for the execs have kept them on the edge of bankruptcy for a long time. This is not only true of the airlines, but of many major corporations. Greed rules. Long-term planning is a myth, except where it concerns executive retirement packages.



Customer service in the airline industry is a thing of the past. What other industry can sell you something for hundreds of dollars and is not required to refund your money ever? Unless you pay full coach fare (usually ridiculously expensive) for an airline ticket, you can't get a refund, you can't sell the ticket, you can't even give it away, and ANY changes cost you $100. That is simply unacceptable. Things change. Plans fall apart. If you make reservations six months in advance and find out two months later that you can't go (new job, loss of job, whatever), you're still stuck with those tickets. And if you don't make the flight, the airlines will sell the seat AGAIN to someone else. Then they make you sit on the runway for hours just so they can pull away from the gate on time and keep their "on-time departure" figures up. They treat the public like cattle and expect loyalty in return.




Whew. Now I feel better. :)

[sharder8]

It is unlikely that if he gave up his whole salary that it would make any noticeable dent in the problem.

Just consider that one (1) Boeing 747 can bring in up to $125M in revenues in one (1) day!

Harder

[wyvrn]

I understand your rant. I kinda agree. But the rising costs of fuel have not helped the aviation industry at all. Remember that energy prices affect the entire economy, and the airlines do not have a choice of alternate fuels at the moment. Plus, the competition between airlines keeps ticket prices down. Then you have the online services which offer dirt cheap tickets, but consider the many fixed costs of running an airlines have not gone down. You still have to have the airports, employees, benefit plans, equipment, rent on land, administrative expenses, etc... I would not want to be in this industry right now, especially with the rising tensions in the Middle East.

This might be a hot new business, developing alternative fuels for our transportation systems. Hmmm..... Anyone have a couple billion in venture capital :D I know fuel cells and micro-turbines are being developed for homes and comercial industries, but I don't think they would be effective on a mobile platform.

[wyvrn]

Well looks like you got your wish:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/biztravel/2001-09-27-air-execs.htm