Originally Posted by iahphx

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.