ASA clown show

[katanabob]

I would say that someone is scrambling to keep his job.......... got to love it!!!

Either that or he's bipolar. How is it that one week we're underworked and overpaid, he tacitly approving gross violations of the contract, and waking SLC folks up with the news that they're moving.. wait, maybe moving. No, moving to LAX. Well, probably moving. The next week we're his salvation.

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As a result, our employees have been asked to perform miracles – and you have largely done so – but clearly those miracles are running dry. The end result has been a sharp drop off in our performance and a significant drop in customer satisfaction.
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I think we can summarize this one. "We previously didn't care, and everything was just fine. Now you people have slacked off and I'm going to have to do something about it." Amazing, how in this somewhat apologetic letter, he still manages to blame the end result on the 'frontline'.

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In the coming weeks and months, you will begin to see the evidence of our commitment to these goals.

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Good, since I haven't seen any in my time here. Better yet, why not start to show some commitment NOW? This is kind of like a heroin user saying, "Yeah, I'm going to quit next month. Promise."


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1. - New boarding ramps will be installed on both C and D Concourses to assist our passengers in boarding and de-boarding the aircraft – CRJs and ATRs alike. The prototype should arrive prior to September 1, 2006.
2. - New belt loaders will be arriving in Atlanta to fully equip our teams. New ground power/air units are on order as well.
3. - Portable stairs will begin arriving on the ramp to allow our Cabin Service personnel access to the cabin via the service door.
4. - Staffing will be increased at the gates. The podiums are being redesigned to better meet our customers’ needs.

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Ah, the old "let's make ATL look like SLC" trick. We've seen all of these items in practice for A YEAR AND A HALF NOW, and someone finally noticed that it works.

Is it just me, or does it seem like too-little, too-late? I do like how he talks about gate allocation. (quote omitted) Since we're going to have more gate space now (donating airplanes to Skywest, sending some to LAX, parking ATRs) it seems to me that parking issues will be the most self-correcting of all the problems.
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[John Pennekamp]

And last of all, Mr. Atkin showing up on our ramp for a ride to BTR, riding jumpseat with a crew, and the Captain having the Ba!!s to tell Mr Atkin that all the ramp people handling that flight was a farse and a snow job in an attempt to make his flight go out without a hitch. I hope that Mr. Atkin took that to the bank and kicked some a$$ with his so called "Leadership Team"

Only time will tell, and it will take some time.

Medeco

And that pilot was called into the chief pilots office and verbally disciplined for "speaking to Mr Atkin that way".

Nothing's going to change. The beatings will continue until morale improves.

 

[601Pilot]

And that pilot was called into the chief pilots office and verbally disciplined for "speaking to Mr Atkin that way".

Nothing's going to change. The beatings will continue until morale improves.

Yea, but I'm sure it was worth the tongue-lashing!

 

[Medeco]

And that pilot was called into the chief pilots office and verbally disciplined for "speaking to Mr Atkin that way".

Nothing's going to change. The beatings will continue until morale improves.

Thats not true.

He was asked to not talk to the sector manager in the way that he did. He was called by the sector manager about 20 min before the flight to inform him he was going to have a VIP on board and was asked to make sure the flight operated smooth. The captain told this sector manager that he was not going to Kiss any VIP's A$$ and would do his job as he always does.

Look up his reponse on the ALPA boards as to his CP meeting.

Its amazing how stories can be twisted.


Im not making excuses for BL, but I want to ask all the ASA folks, how can a manager fix things, if it requires major capital investments and your boss refuses to approve the changes? I personally think that at least to some extent this is and has been a major reason for the ASA ramp operations problems.

We shall see if it makes a difference.


Medeco

 

[shamrock]

And that pilot was called into the chief pilots office and verbally disciplined for "speaking to Mr Atkin that way".

Pathetic! If he spoke to JA anywhere close to the way Medeco tells it then I have a hard time seeing how they could justify verbal discipline. Guess mis-management is having a tough time with the heat the truth brings on them.

 

[John Pennekamp]

Thats not true.

He was asked to not talk to the sector manager in the way that he did. He was called by the sector manager about 20 min before the flight to inform him he was going to have a VIP on board and was asked to make sure the flight operated smooth. The captain told this sector manager that he was not going to Kiss any VIP's A$$ and would do his job as he always does.

Look up his reponse on the ALPA boards as to his CP meeting.

Its amazing how stories can be twisted.


Im not making excuses for BL, but I want to ask all the ASA folks, how can a manager fix things, if it requires major capital investments and your boss refuses to approve the changes? I personally think that at least to some extent this is and has been a major reason for the ASA ramp operations problems.

We shall see if it makes a difference.


Medeco

You're right... my bad.

 

[atrdriver]

Im not making excuses for BL, but I want to ask all the ASA folks, how can a manager fix things, if it requires major capital investments and your boss refuses to approve the changes? I personally think that at least to some extent this is and has been a major reason for the ASA ramp operations problems.

We shall see if it makes a difference.


Medeco

It is possible to improve the ramp operations without spending a dime. Number 1, get rid of the departure coordinators. Number 2, get rid of the "zone" concept. I can't count the number of times the crew in my zone has been busting it's a$$ to work 2 or 3 flights when the crew in the next zone ove was sitting on their a$$es because all of their "Ts" were empty. Number 3, take back GSE from DAL and have our oun people work on the ground equipment. I had a AC power cart the other day that had the contactor switch RUBBER BANDED in the on position, and that was how DAL GSE sent it back to us. Number 4, cross train the caterers, cleaners, etc so they can assist with general ramp operations when it is required. Number 5, let the supervisors fo their jobs. Right now the supervisors have no power to correct anything on the ramp. That is just 5 things that would greatly assist the ramp, and it would not cost a dime. Problem is, the people in the GO don't want suggestions from the front line employees that see the operation on a daily basis.

 

[acaTerry]

This reminds me of that movie "The Caine Mutiny"!! LMAO

 

[indianboy7]

Does anyone else get a visual of BL running around on the ramp looking like a lost puppy with his tail between his legs......I'm pretty sure Uncle Jerry saw the statistics from the DOT and nearly shat themselves. I'm even more sure that after they saw this, they went straight to ATL to beat some sense into Mr. SlimyBreque.....I wish I could be in his office with a 12 pack and a lawn chair when that happened....

 

[barbarian4]

Let's see...a new parking plan, proto-type passenger bridges (anyone remember the largest commute-a-walk system in the world that never moved?), and a new vision.

These guys really need to get a new playbook, I remeber when they tried all the same sh!t years ago and none of the problems got fixed. If they're not careful, someone (in SLC) might mistake their lack of ingenuity for incompetance.