CNBC AA "behind-the-scenes" documentary Oct '06; consolidated thread
Oct 23, 2006, 10:39 am
#241
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Totally Agree !!
Originally Posted by Jakebeth
I saw pieces of the program last night that I had previously missed.
That which struck me as most odd was Robert Crandall. He openly admitted to not investing in AA, nor any other airline, and telling employees and others that airlines are not investments, all during the time that he ran AA.
That's a corollary of the industry held by most people in the investment world, so it's not as though it comes out of left field. It's an absolutely unbelievable position to take as the CEO of a company, though.
I know that there are tremendous impediments to profitability among air carriers, so it's no stretch to make the point that it's extremely difficult to make money in airlines. But I do not and will not believe that it's impossible. No company should ever be led by a CEO who believes that his or her mission to make money for shareholders - the owners of the company - is a truly impossible task. I am dumbfounded.
That which struck me as most odd was Robert Crandall. He openly admitted to not investing in AA, nor any other airline, and telling employees and others that airlines are not investments, all during the time that he ran AA.
That's a corollary of the industry held by most people in the investment world, so it's not as though it comes out of left field. It's an absolutely unbelievable position to take as the CEO of a company, though.
I know that there are tremendous impediments to profitability among air carriers, so it's no stretch to make the point that it's extremely difficult to make money in airlines. But I do not and will not believe that it's impossible. No company should ever be led by a CEO who believes that his or her mission to make money for shareholders - the owners of the company - is a truly impossible task. I am dumbfounded.
Regards,
GRR_Flier
Oct 23, 2006, 11:38 am
#242
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FYI: if you want to purchase a VHS or DVD copy...
For those who have inquired here about the availability of the CNBC AA special, I received this e-mail body in reply to my inquiry of BurrellesLuce Transcripts (previously Burrelle's Transcripts):
"Thank you for contacting us. We provide VHS Videotapes or DVD copies of 'Inside American Airlines: A Week in the Life.' They are $40.00 per copy. To place an order, please call us at 800-777-8398. Our hours are Monday-Friday, 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM, Mountain Standard time."
It's actually $43 with shipping and handling, and takes ~two weeks.
"Thank you for contacting us. We provide VHS Videotapes or DVD copies of 'Inside American Airlines: A Week in the Life.' They are $40.00 per copy. To place an order, please call us at 800-777-8398. Our hours are Monday-Friday, 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM, Mountain Standard time."
It's actually $43 with shipping and handling, and takes ~two weeks.
Last edited by JDiver; Oct 23, 2006 at 11:44 am Reason: add shpx info
Oct 23, 2006, 1:11 pm
#243
Join Date: Aug 2006
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Originally Posted by GRR_Flier
I was surprised at the comment too. Also was equally impressed at the way Arpey handled pointed questions like escalating exec pay this year. It was a great show .. enjoyed it .. taped it for friends.
Regards,
GRR_Flier
Regards,
GRR_Flier
Oct 23, 2006, 1:20 pm
#244
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Originally Posted by Roadrunner2
Did anyone else notice the comment that passengers were not willing to pay an extra $15 for MRTC? If it was only that small amount (I had read $50 extra), then AA marketing dept failed in getting people to pay those few extra dollars.
Absolutely. I think it's incredibly sad that hundreds of thousands of AA passengers are shoe-horned into Coach every year because of an extra $15. Should never have happened, and I'd bet that if AA revived the MRTC campaign, people would welcome it back with open arms (and wallets). I think the flying public has seen enough of "flying the bus."
Absolutely. I think it's incredibly sad that hundreds of thousands of AA passengers are shoe-horned into Coach every year because of an extra $15. Should never have happened, and I'd bet that if AA revived the MRTC campaign, people would welcome it back with open arms (and wallets). I think the flying public has seen enough of "flying the bus."
Oct 23, 2006, 1:47 pm
#245
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Originally Posted by cartman13
It's sad but very true. They will never be able to consistently earn their cost of capital till capacity is allowed to go away. As long as they can play the bankruptcy card and get bailed out... too much capacity will remain in the system. Anyone in the investment world that views airlines as anything more than a short term trade is going to feel a lot of pain. But yes... truly an @$$inine remark for a CEO to make about his own industry.
Last edited by mwhitted; Oct 23, 2006 at 1:50 pm Reason: Oops! I guess actually he DID make the comment while he was CEO. But not in quite so public a forum.
Oct 23, 2006, 2:11 pm
#246
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There are different levels of risk that can be assumed by huge Wall Street investors versus an employee making $50,000 a year. His comments were appropriate, given the risk of an investment in the airline industry.
Oct 23, 2006, 3:20 pm
#247
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Originally Posted by jakebeth
That which struck me as most odd was Robert Crandall. He openly admitted to not investing in AA, nor any other airline, and telling employees and others that airlines are not investments, all during the time that he ran AA.
Originally Posted by GRR_Flier
I was surprised at the comment too. Also was equally impressed at the way Arpey handled pointed questions like escalating exec pay this year. It was a great show .. enjoyed it .. taped it for friends.
Oct 23, 2006, 3:38 pm
#248
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Originally Posted by JDiver
For those who have inquired here about the availability of the CNBC AA special, I received this e-mail body in reply to my inquiry of BurrellesLuce Transcripts (previously Burrelle's Transcripts):
"Thank you for contacting us. We provide VHS Videotapes or DVD copies of 'Inside American Airlines: A Week in the Life.' They are $40.00 per copy. To place an order, please call us at 800-777-8398. Our hours are Monday-Friday, 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM, Mountain Standard time."
It's actually $43 with shipping and handling, and takes ~two weeks.
"Thank you for contacting us. We provide VHS Videotapes or DVD copies of 'Inside American Airlines: A Week in the Life.' They are $40.00 per copy. To place an order, please call us at 800-777-8398. Our hours are Monday-Friday, 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM, Mountain Standard time."
It's actually $43 with shipping and handling, and takes ~two weeks.
Shall we say $21?
I take PayPal and VIPs for my upcoming trips
Oct 23, 2006, 3:40 pm
#249
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Originally Posted by JIMCHI
There are different levels of risk that can be assumed by huge Wall Street investors versus an employee making $50,000 a year. His comments were appropriate, given the risk of an investment in the airline industry.
He also said HE never invested in ANY airlines. Any individual who simply won't invest in a company has absolutely zero business being placed in charge of its financial health.
The point is, it doesn't matter what he tried to say quietly, loudly, or to whom he did or didn't actually say it while CEO. He made his beliefs crystal clear. If he had absolutely no vision to make AA a profitable enterprise under the brutal conditions under which it operated, then he had no business running it.
Incidentally, we should all remember that AMR generated copious amounts of free cash in the late 1990s, a period during which the industry had a nice reprieve from its usual troubles. AMR and many others had an opportunity to plan for the next downturn, and arguably did not do so with any rigor. If the data I'm looking at are accurate, the company allowed its liabilities to increase by more than 20% during the second half of the decade.
I'm not saying I would have done a better job of managing the company, or that the path to prosperity was obvious. I am saying, however, that the whole notion of throwing one's hands in the air and declaring it a losing game - and someone who was previously CEO, no less - is just bullsh*t. His whole cost-cutting jabber was cute, but if he really believed there was no way to make money running the airline, he should have quit and let someone else give it a try long before he did.
Oct 23, 2006, 3:52 pm
#250
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I think that this was just Bob Crandall being Bob Crandall. He likes to stir things up.
Oct 23, 2006, 3:55 pm
#251
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Originally Posted by PresRDC
I think that this was just Bob Crandall being Bob Crandall. He likes to stir things up.
Oct 23, 2006, 4:05 pm
#252
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 135
Originally Posted by Jakebeth
He also said HE never invested in ANY airlines. Any individual who simply won't invest in a company has absolutely zero business being placed in charge of its financial health.
The point is, it doesn't matter what he tried to say quietly, loudly, or to whom he did or didn't actually say it while CEO. He made his beliefs crystal clear. If he had absolutely no vision to make AA a profitable enterprise under the brutal conditions under which it operated, then he had no business running it.
I'm not saying I would have done a better job of managing the company, or that the path to prosperity was obvious. I am saying, however, that the whole notion of throwing one's hands in the air and declaring it a losing game - and someone who was previously CEO, no less - is just bullsh*t. His whole cost-cutting jabber was cute, but if he really believed there was no way to make money running the airline, he should have quit and let someone else give it a try long before he did.
The point is, it doesn't matter what he tried to say quietly, loudly, or to whom he did or didn't actually say it while CEO. He made his beliefs crystal clear. If he had absolutely no vision to make AA a profitable enterprise under the brutal conditions under which it operated, then he had no business running it.
I'm not saying I would have done a better job of managing the company, or that the path to prosperity was obvious. I am saying, however, that the whole notion of throwing one's hands in the air and declaring it a losing game - and someone who was previously CEO, no less - is just bullsh*t. His whole cost-cutting jabber was cute, but if he really believed there was no way to make money running the airline, he should have quit and let someone else give it a try long before he did.
Oct 23, 2006, 4:09 pm
#253
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 135
Originally Posted by Jakebeth
I sort of had that feeling, of course. It's just irritating because the whole mantra of the inevitable loss of money in the airline business seems an awful lot like a crutch sometimes.
Equity investors get crammed down and their financial losses serve to bouy the bankrupt airlines. When the gov't steps in to "help a fallen airline" they are actually just screwing the guys that got it right.
They are messing with the invisible hand.
Oct 23, 2006, 4:18 pm
#254
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I only saw the first hour and my comcast DVR screwed the recording up... Can anyone post it on youtube?
Matt
Matt
Oct 23, 2006, 5:42 pm
#255
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Originally Posted by cartman13
It's just a bad model. You can't succeed if noone else can fail. Everytime an airline does something right and someone goes into backrupcy. They get to come back and irrational supply re-enters the market.
Equity investors get crammed down and their financial losses serve to bouy the bankrupt airlines. When the gov't steps in to "help a fallen airline" they are actually just screwing the guys that got it right.
They are messing with the invisible hand.
Equity investors get crammed down and their financial losses serve to bouy the bankrupt airlines. When the gov't steps in to "help a fallen airline" they are actually just screwing the guys that got it right.
They are messing with the invisible hand.