PCL_128 said:Normally, I would completely agree. I'm as conservative as they come on most things, and I love the free markets. There are a few things that I think need to be excluded from such market forces though, due to their importance in the nation's economy. Would you want to bid out a police force to the lowest bidder in a free market system? Nope....public safety is part of the role of the government. Same with our friends....theFirefighers maybe? We need them also...just like the military...these are very different approaches. I doubt it. I view the airlines as the same sort of thing. At one time the railroads wanted the same type of protection....look what we have done with the railroads....lots of subsidies & do we have a better private or publicly owned (not government subsidized) railroad...why shouldn't they receive the same type of regulartory benefits that would help them? Barge companies on the Mississippi? Fedex & UPS will be lining up next? They provide a service that is absolutely essential to the American economy and way of life. So do the other folks I mentioned above don't they? The whole economic system is now built around the ability to freely "move about the country" (some props to SWA there). I think this makes it important to remove the airlines from the normal market pressures, since they have proven themselves to be unable to cope with them.
Truly a pleasure, sir. I always like talking with the "old guys." If I was talking this over with a young guy like SWA/FO, this would have degenerated into a shouting match by now. Glad we could have a pleasant debate.:beer:
The airline industry has not been allowed to really have a free market even with the dissolving of the CAB....other regulatory agencies step in & slap this law or Congress steps in & adds more levels of beaucracies & lunacy to the process.
You are right, it is a valuable asset to our economy. It will & can flourish but I'm saying it may not do it in its present form...that's the phrase that scares the dickens out of folks I know...but is the airline drastically different now than 5 years ago...who'd thunk it right? That includes SWA....models may need to change, expenditures will adjust, employee groups will find themselves displaced due to technology (our reservation folks know that better than anyone else...but over 900 of the 1900 adjusted & learned new skills) & the removal of more "friction" from the process of getting from point A-B. Safety, price, efficiency, customer service are king....those companies who can harness the right combination ( & reduce "friction) of those items will find themselves a very stiff competitor for SWA or any other legacy out there. Will Virgin Atlantic be that airline? JB revitalized after they get their act together? A Ryanair (from Europe) that comes to America finally....we also assume the only way to generate revenue on an airplane, significant revenue is to have folks buy tickets.....are there other ways to generate revenue with a captive audience inside an inclosed space?
What if your airline right now could figure out a way to wireless on board their flights right now? Presto chango, new ways to make money....are there are ways that we aren't even aware of right now? Charge for it, would people pay? you bet they would....what if you had online gambling (Ryan Air is going that way)...how about advertisement on board...selling space for that? Other methods too numerous to say on how revenue "could" be generated to offset the higher fuel....but even more than that it is the concept that if we as employees assume our jobs will always remain as is, unless we're a sports star or someone with a truly unique talent (open heart surgeon, etc) that can't be simply sold for a lower bid because the demandis too high...well, we will find ourselves without a job the same way the iceman in the mid-20s found himself without a job once electricity came around & everyone got refrigerators & that job became obsolete. Pilots won't be obsolete but the business model we operate under may & someone else will find a more efficeint & better way to use that specialized skill of a pilot.
Businesses & employees must continue to look at ways to make themselves more valuable to their company & to themeselves in the general marketplace. Flying jobs will be around for a long time....that is great news....in what shape or form & with what pay is to be determined.....having a "whoa is me, I want the good 'ole days to return" is equivalent to those who couldn't see that several years ago that defined benefit programs were to go to the rubbish bin of history in terms of financial retirement plans. Again, this isn't meant to be slam toward those folks...eveyrone was sold a bill of goods & that time has now come to get on with life & make adjustments. Many are...I'm sure you will too PCL....cheers...again my comments are meant to generate any venom in or toward anyone...they are merely comments meant to provoke some thougt about an industry that is obviously changing....plus I still love to fly!!!.
And Mule, as for your comment, "meaningful debate" & "chase" in the same post is stretching it but thanks for the compliment....PCL has been carrying on most of it quite well....
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