Originally Posted by
theblakefish
TWA Fan 1, I applaud you for starting this thread and for expressing your views, but your tone is somewhat combative in the OP and I don't think that it is fair to Larry.
CAL
is very different than it was when LK took over for Gordon Bethune, but then again, so is the entire airline industry. Singling out CAL for dropping those things that made it exceptional without the larger context of the industry is unfair and untrue. Do I wish that some of the old things were back? Sure...I would like pillows, I don't want to see meals go, I wish that my mother (non-elite) didn't have to spend $50 to check two bags to NYC...but you can't get those things very differently on any other domestic legacy carrier, now can we?
Also, you neglected to point out the tremendous international expansions that LK has undertaken. Look at the European and Asian route maps during GB's tenure and compare them to the network today. It would have been easier to just string CAL along on a mostly-domestic network, a-la USAirways, but he didn't and aggressively perused routes to PEK, PVG, DEL, BOM, MUC, and the IAH-FRA routes -- just to name a few. These have benefitted the airline tremendously, what with domestic revenue at a standstill right now.
There are many other things that he has done, so please remember these when talking about LK's legacy. I think he has done an admirable job, and CAL is doing very well vis-à-vis the other domestic legacy carriers. I wish Mr. Kellner the best, and thanks for the MUC parting gift! ^
blakefish: I agree wholeheartedly on the international expansion undertaken under Kellner's watch. I apologize for my oversight on this matter.
Secondly, as far as your poignant story that your mother's experience nowadays on CO is not very different from any other legacy carrier, not only do I agree with you, but that was--in fact-the crux of my post.
CO used to be different, it used to be exceptional. Its customers came to expect this from them, and its employees derived tremendous pride from this exceptionalism.
The fact is that this exceptionalism has been largely whittled away as a direct result of Kellner's policies.
Whatever meager savings or revenue hit were realized have come at the considerable cost of CAL losing its status as the airline that took care of its customers better than the others did.
And there is a real monetary value that can be applied to losing that status.
Also, please don't get me wrong: I have absolutely nothing against Larry Kellner. He's a very nice, extremely bright guy, who was a cracker-jack CFO at CO. I wish him all the best in his continuing ventures.