Why USAir may have melted down over Christmas

[Slim]

Bill Howard was the president and CEO at Piedmont when USAir purchased PI. Look how long he lasted. His background was operations, not marketing, personnel or finance.

My ex-wife worked as a part-time res agent at PI, in Reston, VA. Her attitude toward PI was incredible. Her benefits, as a part-timer, were better than mine as a full-time employee at AA.

Before the CMR strike, a USAir pilot rode on my jumpseat. His observations compared the pre-DAL Comair favorably to the PI days before USAir. Sadly, we can't go back. But, that is a big reason many of us at CMR did not favor being bought out by DAL.

Leadership is a rare commodity in the airline industry today. Managers come less than a dime a dozen.

Fly safe...Happy New Year to all!

 

[wndshr]

i have heard that in one of the Harvard Business School bathroom stalls, written legibly with a timeless black Sharpie: "make your first hundred million in airlines....easy money and no accountability!"

wouldn't it be nice if the CEO's were paid based on performance only, and lawyers were paid only when they WON a lawsuit thus minimizing the frivolous suits...

our world would be so much better, and easier to swallow the current downward spiral in airline career expectations!

 

[philo beddoe]

I Personally think that the most valuable thing we could have as pilots is veto power over executive hiring. The board would nominate, the employees would research and return a verdict. I know that I'm dreaming here, but I might as well since nothing else is working.

 

[vc10]

Unions had that right at United. They used it to veto a guy called Edwardson, who would otherwise have succeeded Greenwald. Edwardson was perceived by some as not being sufficiently respectful of labor (despite the fact that he flew economy class and pitched bags on holidays).

Instead, the unions' candidate was Jim Goodwin, who was perceived as more tractable. This was the guy who wasted time and energy pursuing the US Airways merger. Yeah, he was a complete disaster, and the unions were to blame.

Edwardson went on to be the highly successful CEO of CDW Computer. His workers love him.

What makes pilots think they have any special insight into how to select a CEO?

I Personally think that the most valuable thing we could have as pilots is veto power over executive hiring. The board would nominate, the employees would research and return a verdict. I know that I'm dreaming here, but I might as well since nothing else is working.

 

[philo beddoe]

It would have to used wisely, of course, and it assumes an honest assessment from labor. That second part is pobably impossible, of course, but it's a nice idea.

 

[exphojump]

Skirt,

I'm glad JetBlue is a great company to work for, but be careful with working class kool aid they are feeding you.

Shares owned are as of April 2004 in the Schedule 14A



David Neelman CEO $335K/year Salary+bonus+other compensation
He owns 7,304,968 shares outright. He is about the only insider who has not been cashing out in 2004.

Dave Barger COO $335K/year Salary+bonus+other compensation
He had owned 1,111,138 shares but has been selliing them all year long. October alone he sold almost 36,000 shares at about $22.00/share. $729,000 is not a bad bonus just for October 2004.

Insider selling is so common this year it's hard to find the regular SEC filings.

Even though the top management chips in, they are very well compensated.

Have fun,

It's gonna be a rough year.

 

[miles otoole]

Have fun,

It's gonna be a rough year.

Ain't that the truth. Neelman is still management. Don't for a second forget it.