Originally Posted by
FCYTravis
Yeah, his product sucks, but I guess if you're a shareholder you're happy. In the short-term.
Because, you know, American corporations aren't interested in service and long-term thinking anymore. All that matters is their stock price at any given moment.
It's an absurdly short-sighted way to run a business, much less an economy.
Well, his product doesn't "suck" -- in fact, it's a little better than the "old" USAirways. Of course, it's not great: the fare levels Americans are accustomed to paying will not buy great airline service. But it's certainly improving, and if they can get a couple of years of profitability under their belts, I suspect the product will be quite decent.
Parker is definitely interested in "the long term." He's trying to build a sustainable enterprise that will be a long term success. That's always been his plan, ever since he stabilized America West in early 2002. He's only once ever sold any of his stock options, a portion he sold last summer (he would have been an idiot not to have taken some profits off the table: just about every other long term shareholder, including me, had done so before). His net worth is materially tied to the future long term health of the airline -- more so than any other airline CEO I am aware of.