“Full service no matter what you pay.” That’s what flight attendant Betty Lynn Fischbach promises in this 1981 ad for American Airlines as she places a meal on the tray of an economy class passenger. Was that meal delicious? Probably not, but it was free. And a skycap opened the cab door for an arriving passenger. That’s pretty swell. Low fares? American Airlines has ’em! Oh, 1981, we miss you (except for the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, the walkway collapse at the Kansas City Hyatt Regency that killed 111 people, and the air traffic controllers strike).
American workers protest, say company is blaming labor AgAAin
Just a couple weeks ago, American Airlines revealed its restructuring plan, proposing to lay off 13,000 employees, terminating pensions and shutting down its Alliance base in Dallas-Fort Worth. Worried about losing their jobs, American employees are protesting.
“I understand it somewhat,” 24-year mechanic Greg Cooke, one of 300 American workers protesting at DFW this week told Star-Telegram. “But I don’t want to have to move again just to put another four years in before I retire. I’m tired of them taking and asking off of the backs of the employees.”
Protesters including pilots and members of other unions, showing their support, marched in front the DFW terminal holding signs saying “Blaming Labor AgAAin.”
Workers believe the airline needs to pay its pensions and called for an end to the “corporate greed” of executive bonuses in previous years.
American, meeting now with union leaders, said that the restructuring process is difficult but necessary and will affect all employee groups, union and nonunion alike.
“We are meeting with representatives from each union to negotiate the changes needed to make us successful, and are focused on reaching consensual agreements in the next few weeks,” spokesman Bruce Hicks said. “Our goal is to exit as a growing, profitable company that preserves tens of thousands of jobs.”
Flickr photo by wbaiv
American Airlines to cut jobs, work remaining force harder
Update: 3:33PM EST: American expects to lay off “400 pilots, 2,300 flight attendants, 1,400 management and support staff positions and 8,800 ground workers and mechanics.” source
American Airlines parent company AMR is expected to lay out the company’s plan for moving forward from bankruptcy today and the news is not good. American Airlines may cut between 10,000 and 15,000 jobs across the company, outsourcing aircraft maintenance in a bid to keep flying.
“The surprise is going to be big and it’s going to be bloody and it’s going to be nasty,” Vicki Bryan, a bond analyst at Gimme Credit LLC in New York, told Business Week adding 10,000 jobs “is not unreasonable.” The airline will have to cut as much as $2 billion to gain competitive labor costs, more than the $800 million AMR estimated, she said.
Reporting a $904 million loss in December, American employs about 74,000 full- and part-time workers plus 14,000 at regional carrier American Eagle.
In December, Gadling noted the bankruptcy made American “among the last of the legacy carriers to finally concede to ultra-competitive pricing and sky high oil prices. It’s a sad day for stockholders, but like many of the fallen giants they’ll pick themselves up, dust off and continue to operate — albeit a little bit leaner.”
In addition to job cuts, American probably will want employees to work more hours and pay more for healthcare, while compensation stays the same or increases slightly,William Swelbar, an aviation research engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology told Business Week.
“It’s clear we have to be a more nimble, flexible and efficient airline in order to compete successfully and be consistently profitable,” said Bruce Hicks, an AMR spokesman. “Before discussing publicly any of our proposed changes, we will first meet with the leaders of the unions.”
Union representatives have called a 4 p.m. news conference to discuss AMR’s plans.
[flickr image via ellenm1]
Need status on American Airlines? January is your month!
A combination of promotions on American Airlines makes January a particularly fruitful month for members who want to join their elite ranks. Usually, passengers need to fly at least 25,000 miles to reach gold status on the airline, but a double miles promotion (until the end of January) has reduced that to only 12,500. In addition to that, residents of Illinois, Texas and California can earn an additional round of double miles for flying select routes through the end of March, effectively earning some passengers triple miles.
This means that instead of the normal 3490 elite miles that one would accrue between Chicago and Los Angeles (round trip) a total of 10470 miles can be stacked up — or 40% of the way to Gold Status. And once you reach gold status? A whole host of benefits are available.
For many, this elite status is what helps make traveling easier and justifies a full carriage of longer, more interesting travel in the years to come. Some even go out of their way to take a mileage run and accrue that status, though you should carefully consider your future travel plans (and balance sheet) before you make that commitment. For me, our Huffington Post offices and editors in California were worth making the trip to Los Angeles once or twice this month. And if it fits into the equation of your long term travels then it might be worth your time too.
Make sure you travel before the 31st of January for the global double miles promotion. You have until the end of March until the geographically based promotion runs out.
Saint Lucia rich in history and breathtaking beaches
On the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, Rodney Bay is home to Reduit beach and Pigeon Island National Landmark, an important monument to St Lucia’s history. We had a chance to walk around the historic site recently and were torn between the hilltop ruins of Fort Rodney and a panoramic view of the ocean and coastline where breathtaking photo opportunities are abundant.
Pigeon Island is a 44-acre island reserve just off the north coast of Saint Lucia, connected to the mainland by the construction of a man-made causeway built in 1972. The French, who owned the island in 1778, declared war on the British who retaliated by attacking them in Saint Lucia and capturing the island.
The British then built a Naval Base, heavily fortifying Pigeon Island. From there they were able to monitor the French fleet in Martinique which resulted in the defeat of the French at the Battle of the Saints in 1782.
Today, visitors can tour the grounds that feature ruins of military buildings used during the battles between the French and the British, two beautiful beaches, a restaurant featuring trendy local cuisine with a pub popular with locals and another restaurant with a historical theme. A lookout point at the top of the Fort gives a panoramic view of the Northwest coastline.
%Gallery-142734%Looking in one direction, visitors see what is left of barracks built for soldiers in 1778, weathered by exposure to the elements. In another direction, the ocean beats against the shoreline and can be seen much as those soldiers saw it over 200 years ago.
A trip to Saint Lucia is easy with several major airlines flying directly to the island. Coming from the United States, American Airlines flies daily from Miami and Air Canada does twice-weekly flights from Toronto. Across the pond, British Airways has daily non-stop service between London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and Hewanorra International Airport (UVF).
A few cruise ships stop there too, offering a quick taste of the island, including Seabourn Quest, Carnival Victory, Emerald Princess and Holland America’s Maasdam.
Regardless of how travelers get there, Saint Lucia is a must-see Caribbean island with panoramic vistas and a rich heritage, both of which can be viewed side by side at Rodney Bay.
Photos by Whitney Owen