Originally Posted by
spin88
Um, like no. Parker got bailed out at America west/US air by pilots who fought and fought and fought and so never to a new contract and were paid far less than they otherwise would get. Then the AA unions stupidly signed on with parker and some financial wheeler dealers to takeout AA's management. None of these "wins" was based upon a better business plan or building a great business.
This. Parker was Mr. Right Place at the Right Time. The reality is that America West and USAir should have both been allowed to fail and let the industry consolidate that way. He found his way into AA by playing nice with the idiotic AA unions that though the current AA management at the time was as bad as it could get. They have of course now realized their stupidity.
Now, running the largest airline in the world, Parker has managed to underperform both DL and UA significantly despite their smaller size in what was possibly the easiest market for domestic airline profitability in history.