Message from PT (the real Clown) - March 10, 2008
Our industry is preoccupied with the prospect of consolidation of our major airlines at the same time our economy appears to be slipping into a recession. The combination that has received the most attention, and is believed the most likely to happen first, is a Delta/Northwest merger.
Most industry observers believe that airline consolidation is the only way our industry can cope with the pressures of sustained oil prices exceeding $100/barrel and a weakened economy. Also, it is safe to assume that once the first merger is announced, others will follow in short order.
As I said on last week’s conference call, this is the most significant challenge to Pinnacle since the Northwest Airline’s bankruptcy. Fortunately our Airline has always responded positively when challenged, and I am confident our current situation will be no exception. We know that the combination of industry leading performance has been the key to our success in each of our challenges over the past 11 years.
A combination of Delta and Northwest would result in a total of 10 regional airlines providing feed for one carrier. Although I have no idea how many will survive, I am confident the number will be much closer to four than 10. As I’ve said before, this process will produce two types of regional airlines: winners and losers. We have to do what it takes to again emerge as a winner.
Unfortunately, the past 90 days has seen our performance dip to very “un-Pinnacle like” levels. I can only reinforce what CS has said - that the security of all our People and their families depends on a rapid return to our position of industry leadership.
We kicked off the effort on February 20th with a mandatory meeting with all our Managers in Memphis. A brainstorming session resulted in several great suggestions that are already yielding positive results for our operation. In addition, each Manager agreed to go back to their People and develop at least five additional ideas to put our Airline back on track.
The response was immediate and many fantastic suggestions were presented, many of which have already been implemented. CS will be sharing many of the suggestion and the positive results they create over the next several weeks.
How can you help? Get involved now and don’t limit your involvement to your own department. We are all in this together and we will emerge a winner if we all pull together. We all know the priorities, always keep Safety first, take care of each other and our Customers, and win the fight to have the best on-time and completion performance in the regional industry.
There is nothing new or magical about this. It is something we have done consistently over the years and the main reason we not only survived our past challenges but are in a position to continue to grow our Airline. Survival is nice, but growth is the way we provide more security and more opportunities for all of our People.
I know the past 90 days have been a particularly difficult operating environment. I deeply appreciate everything all of you have done to support our Airline. I constantly hear about our People going the extra mile to ensure our Customers arrive safely. Thank you.
I believe the best days for Pinnacle lie ahead. I have full confidence that we will return to our position as the top performing regional airline in the industry. We will face the challenges head on and emerge a winner. Thank you again for everything you do and please remember to take care of each other.
Our industry is preoccupied with the prospect of consolidation of our major airlines at the same time our economy appears to be slipping into a recession. The combination that has received the most attention, and is believed the most likely to happen first, is a Delta/Northwest merger.
Most industry observers believe that airline consolidation is the only way our industry can cope with the pressures of sustained oil prices exceeding $100/barrel and a weakened economy. Also, it is safe to assume that once the first merger is announced, others will follow in short order.
As I said on last week’s conference call, this is the most significant challenge to Pinnacle since the Northwest Airline’s bankruptcy. Fortunately our Airline has always responded positively when challenged, and I am confident our current situation will be no exception. We know that the combination of industry leading performance has been the key to our success in each of our challenges over the past 11 years.
A combination of Delta and Northwest would result in a total of 10 regional airlines providing feed for one carrier. Although I have no idea how many will survive, I am confident the number will be much closer to four than 10. As I’ve said before, this process will produce two types of regional airlines: winners and losers. We have to do what it takes to again emerge as a winner.
Unfortunately, the past 90 days has seen our performance dip to very “un-Pinnacle like” levels. I can only reinforce what CS has said - that the security of all our People and their families depends on a rapid return to our position of industry leadership.
We kicked off the effort on February 20th with a mandatory meeting with all our Managers in Memphis. A brainstorming session resulted in several great suggestions that are already yielding positive results for our operation. In addition, each Manager agreed to go back to their People and develop at least five additional ideas to put our Airline back on track.
The response was immediate and many fantastic suggestions were presented, many of which have already been implemented. CS will be sharing many of the suggestion and the positive results they create over the next several weeks.
How can you help? Get involved now and don’t limit your involvement to your own department. We are all in this together and we will emerge a winner if we all pull together. We all know the priorities, always keep Safety first, take care of each other and our Customers, and win the fight to have the best on-time and completion performance in the regional industry.
There is nothing new or magical about this. It is something we have done consistently over the years and the main reason we not only survived our past challenges but are in a position to continue to grow our Airline. Survival is nice, but growth is the way we provide more security and more opportunities for all of our People.
I know the past 90 days have been a particularly difficult operating environment. I deeply appreciate everything all of you have done to support our Airline. I constantly hear about our People going the extra mile to ensure our Customers arrive safely. Thank you.
I believe the best days for Pinnacle lie ahead. I have full confidence that we will return to our position as the top performing regional airline in the industry. We will face the challenges head on and emerge a winner. Thank you again for everything you do and please remember to take care of each other.
