OT: AA on CNBC

[Sailing South]

Tomorrow night, CNBC is airing a program about American Airlines . The only legacy airline that hasn’t declared bankruptcy, we must be doing something right . CNBC had a lot of access during the filming to include almost every department. They spent a week in the A/C maintenance department here in DFW. Could be interesting, I think it airs around 8pm. Not sure what time zone.

Scott Litster
AA Tech Crew Chief, DFW
&
A proud member of the Bear crew

[Randy Haskin]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

Tomorrow night, CNBC is airing a program about American Airlines . The only legacy airline that hasn’t declared bankruptcy, we must be doing something right

From what I'm hearing from the furloughed AA pilots who I fly with in the AF Reserve...it's not doing as much right as people might think, in spite of not being in bankruptcy.

How do things look from the mechanics point of view?

[Dago Dame]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

not to mention, they're about to get hard hit from southwest & the de-funked wright ammendment

[speeddemon]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

southwest & the de-funked wright ammendment

Oh yeah man...I've jammed with those dudes before. They are righteous musicians!

[63StingRay]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

From what I'm hearing from the furloughed AA pilots who I fly with in the AF Reserve...it's not doing as much right as people might think, in spite of not being in bankruptcy.

How do things look from the mechanics point of view?

Our hangers are full of not only our aircraft but our competitor's aircraft being worked on by American Airlines mechanics. Thats better than all the other legacy airlines.

Riley Ray
Systems Mech----Tulsa

[440_Magnum]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

Tomorrow night, CNBC is airing a program about American Airlines . The only legacy airline that hasn’t declared bankruptcy, we must be doing something right . CNBC had a lot of access during the filming to include almost every department. They spent a week in the A/C maintenance department here in DFW. Could be interesting, I think it airs around 8pm. Not sure what time zone.

Scott Litster
AA Tech Crew Chief, DFW
&
A proud member of the Bear crew

I can't say about the internals, but from a traveller's perspective AA is doing most things right. At least as well as everybody else. Most of my miles are on either AA or Southwest, and I definitely prefer AA. I wouldn't mind Southwest so much if they'd get rid of the stinking cattle-car open seating nonsense. Every time I board through the little A-B-C chutes, I feel like a bull being run through a crush to get de-wormed and dipped for ticks But I digress. AA has never stranded me (at least not for too long... :-) and has always done a great job of getting me connected and to where I'm going when something did go wrong. Can't say the same for the other "legacy" airlines that I've flown in the last 5 years. I had a LOT of miles on Delta that I wrote off when they took such a nosedive a few years back.

[Randy Haskin]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

I wouldn't mind Southwest so much if they'd get rid of the stinking cattle-car open seating nonsense. Every time I board through the little A-B-C chutes, I feel like a bull being run through a crush to get de-wormed and dipped for ticks

Since that 'nonsense' is part of the SWA business plan, don't look for that to go away any time soon. The time/money/effort saved with not booking individual seat reservations is obviously worth it in their eyes and, it seems, with the majority of the people who ride SWA.

[Tin Man]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

My best friend and his girlfriend are career (20+ years) ticket/gate agents at SFO and they are NOT happy campers with AA.
Tom

[Randy Haskin]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

Our hangers are full of not only our aircraft but our competitor's aircraft being worked on by American Airlines mechanics. Thats better than all the other legacy airlines.

I guess what I really meant to ask is how does the pay compare to pre 9/11 scales?

The airline pilots across the board have had a gigantic slip in average wage across the board -- something like 40% industry-wide in 5 years. I am curious if the mechanics and flight attendants have had similar hits to earnings.

[Sailing South]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

Here is the link to the program on CNBC www.aweekinthelife.cnbc.com/videoclips.html

Seeyaontheramp
Scott

[stuntflyr]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

I guess what I really meant to ask is how does the pay compare to pre 9/11 scales?

The airline pilots across the board have had a gigantic slip in average wage across the board -- something like 40% industry-wide in 5 years. I am curious if the mechanics and flight attendants have had similar hits to earnings.

Randy,
The pilots took a 23% hourly pay cut in 2003; as well, the company furloughed 2000 TWA pilots (up to and including 1988 hire Captains) and some really junior AA guys, therefore moving a pretty good percentage of pilots from higher paying airplanes to lower paying equipment, on a six year contract.

There are some very minor pay rate increases but it doesn't add up to much. After the vacation reductions, duty rig and trip trade raping and general abuse of the contract by the company, it sucks. I lost my very desireable TWA LAX 767 International Captain job and now fly the MD-80 out of STL on reserve under work rules that make the job, err, well... less than desireable. But hey, I'm still flying Captain! For now.

The pay rates are very much sub- Fed Ex, and UPS. For PAX carrying operators I saw a list the other day that listed WN (Southwest) paying the most and AA second in line.

If airline pilots were paid what they were in the seventies in corrected dollars today it would be about 25,000-30,000 dollars a month. It is about half that now for the top earners. It isn't what it used to be and you should look at freight haulers for a full pay career, if that is why you asked

I have told my children that flying is a very satisfying hobby and that they should find the career that makes them enough so that they can enjoy flying as just that.

Chris...

[Ron101502]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

Chris has it right. Starting my 30th year in the airline business next month, currently checking out as a 747-400 captain, I should have taken the advice of a high school teacher who said I should take over my dad's dental practice, fly fighters in the ANG or reserves, and buy a toy airplane for fun. Wish I had. (although I'd be a terrible dentist). There is NO future as an airline pilot, yes FEDEX guys can make $400k if they work 22 days a month and UPS makes good money but it's only a matter of time before what killed the passenger airlines kills them. The airplanes got too easy to fly!! Anybody can do it so anybody will, and the union can only defeat the law of supply and demand so long. And Southwest has no pension, the new guys will not get the stock options that made the old guys including my former college roommate rich, and their international expansion is gonna be contracted out. With starting pay of new MBAs (according to USA TODAY) at $108k, and Mesaba paying $10,900 a year for a F/O, where would you go? My airline (Northworst) is cancelling about 80 flights a day because all the pilots who still serve in the ANG and Reserves have taken military leave, a Major on flight status can now make more money than a DC-9 captain, and 15 years ago when I was a DC-9 captain I made $20k MORE than a 4 star general!

Aviation is a great way (if there is such a thing) to fight a war and a super hobby (like air racing or aerobatics) but a terrible way to earn a living and I bet many aerospace engineers can relate to that.

Ron Henning

[63StingRay]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

I have 35 years of working on aircraft, private and commercial. I do it to be around planes. Commercial airlines mechanics make around $60k a year. But I do get to fly to Reno every September for free!!!

[Randy Haskin]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

Well, life is no picnic in the military right now, either. Deployments are so out of control that airlift guys are no kidding away from home 250+ days per year since 2003. For fighter guys you can count on a 4-month stint in the desert every 18 months.

Money is so tight in the USAF that they are getting rid of people right and left. New Lieutenants in the last 2 years have been cut right and left -- simply shown the door to civilian life for no particular reason. 40,000 other officers are being cut over the next 2 years. There are old guys being involuntarily retired, and mid-level guys in certain specialties that are being paid to separate and become civilians.

So, what that means for those of us that are staying on active duty is that there is more work to be done with 10% fewer people.

Remember, also, that the military can only be your home for 20 years (give or take). Military aviators are going to have a lot of working years left after they retire at age 42 or so.

The airlines may not be as grand as they once were, but the military is really not an 'alternative'.

[No1FBfan]

Re: OT: AA on CNBC

$60K a year i wish.