How does Parker still have a job?
Jul 8, 2019, 8:31 am
#31
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I was a CO person until CO/UA happened and Smisek made a mess; seeing a lot of parallels at AA now to 2012. At that time I left UA/CO and despite living in 2 UA hubs, have little desire to go back.
Jul 8, 2019, 9:14 am
#32
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Austin, TX - AUS
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Deciding to fire Parker is just part of the battle. The other questions are which other executives also need to be let go, and who will take over as CEO. Promoting an executive (who worked closely with Parker) may result in Doug Parker 2.0 and AA would be no better. Hiring from outside AA also brings risks.
I was tempted to compare AA of today to UA under Smisek, but that would be an insult to Smisek.
I was tempted to compare AA of today to UA under Smisek, but that would be an insult to Smisek.
Jul 8, 2019, 9:21 am
#33
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Jul 8, 2019, 9:34 am
#34
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Austin, Texas, USA
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For some of us, the decision to stick with AA is not one we can make consciously. I travel domestically for work and have to be within $100 of the cheapest R/T airfare. To avoid Spirit and Allegiant, I am able to parlay my elite status bag allowances to offset the net difference. From my market, DL and UA are far more expensive that AA, often running $200 or more than the AA flights. AS is sometimes competitive price-wise but can often involve inconvenient and lengthy connections. WN is sometimes competitive, and I occasionally fly them, but often times, they too are more expensive given that I typically book just inside the 14-day window. Unlike me, I think that a lot of higher-tier elites do have more flexibility in their bookings and do have the ability to shift their spend around, and based on my recent upgrade successes, they may be doing just that. IMO, the only thing that keeps any of the higher-tier elites around are the international J cabins and the Flagship Lounges.
Ultimately, I agree with the OP. Looking at the situation from the view of an investor, things don't look so rosy. In a time when airlines are doing well overall, and many are showing record profits, AA lags behind it's competitors in almost every measurable category. Forget the ranking lists...those can be weighted to fit a narrative. The hard and fast data including stock price (and Y-O-Y comparison); P/E ratio; gross income; net income; DOT statistics; etc. show the true picture. Simply comparing those to AA's previous results can begin to form a trend, but then when compared to their peers over the last couple of years is where the nervousness should begin to be felt.
Parker was instrumental in combining the two airlines and did so relatively (this is a very loose meaning) well. Now that the merger has been completed, I believe that there is a need to bring in someone with a more long-term view of how to continue the viability of the airline. At this point, it is highly unlikely that there is anyone else AA could merge with that would provide value (or be approved by regulatory agencies) and in the past that has been how he has progressed and created value...HP->US->AA.
Ultimately, I agree with the OP. Looking at the situation from the view of an investor, things don't look so rosy. In a time when airlines are doing well overall, and many are showing record profits, AA lags behind it's competitors in almost every measurable category. Forget the ranking lists...those can be weighted to fit a narrative. The hard and fast data including stock price (and Y-O-Y comparison); P/E ratio; gross income; net income; DOT statistics; etc. show the true picture. Simply comparing those to AA's previous results can begin to form a trend, but then when compared to their peers over the last couple of years is where the nervousness should begin to be felt.
Parker was instrumental in combining the two airlines and did so relatively (this is a very loose meaning) well. Now that the merger has been completed, I believe that there is a need to bring in someone with a more long-term view of how to continue the viability of the airline. At this point, it is highly unlikely that there is anyone else AA could merge with that would provide value (or be approved by regulatory agencies) and in the past that has been how he has progressed and created value...HP->US->AA.
Jul 8, 2019, 11:59 am
#35
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AA tends to fall down operationally. Many of us know how to get around this albeit it's usually more work on us. Plus we have AC memberships and/or a dedicated phone line we can call. The average traveler is totally screwed. Flying TPA/MIA Saturday 95% of the a/c were connections which were long missed. But the GAs told all pax to go to MIA and they'd be taken care of. We of course know this is one big lie. Many of those paxs probably lived in TPA and would have been far better going home and getting re-accommodated than spending what could be hours if not days at MIA. Clearly the GAs didn't have the proper resources so they just kicked the can to someone else to do with.
Jul 8, 2019, 2:20 pm
#36
Join Date: Dec 2011
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I am not defending AA here, but I will say in the last 5 or so years, the hard product on much of the wide body fleet has vastly improved.
We fly mostly international J and F, but when we step into the domestic experience, it's now more-often-than-not not an airline we are proud to be elites of.
We fly mostly international J and F, but when we step into the domestic experience, it's now more-often-than-not not an airline we are proud to be elites of.
811 aircraft who see more cycles / day, more passengers / day etc.
From small overhead space to lack of USB power to tiny Airbus windows to Oasis cabins to non-refurbished planes received in the LUS era.
Much of the AA hard product is kind of austere & has the most exposure to any carrier's passenger base in the US.
I agree with your 2nd point.
Jul 8, 2019, 2:58 pm
#37
Join Date: Feb 2008
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No, reality.
Jul 8, 2019, 3:03 pm
#38
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Not really. How you going to "flip the BOD" spending $20+M on a proxy flight to elect a new board? Good luck. There is effectively NO oversight of captive boards, all the market can do is punish them - like AA is being punished - but selling our stock does not oust the management.
Jul 8, 2019, 3:16 pm
#39
Join Date: Aug 2017
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That maybe true, but of the 965 aircraft in service, 811 are not wide bodies !
811 aircraft who see more cycles / day, more passengers / day etc.
From small overhead space to lack of USB power to tiny Airbus windows to Oasis cabins to non-refurbished planes received in the LUS era.
Much of the AA hard product is kind of austere & has the most exposure to any carrier's passenger base in the US.
I agree with your 2nd point.
811 aircraft who see more cycles / day, more passengers / day etc.
From small overhead space to lack of USB power to tiny Airbus windows to Oasis cabins to non-refurbished planes received in the LUS era.
Much of the AA hard product is kind of austere & has the most exposure to any carrier's passenger base in the US.
I agree with your 2nd point.
Jul 8, 2019, 3:43 pm
#40
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: SAN
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There seems to be this fantasy around here that if Parker goes, everything will return to the way it once was with all the old perks reinstated, plenty of free upgrades, high sAAver award inventory, nicer FAs, the end of Oasis, and better operational performance. With or without him, the good old days are gone with the wind....
Jul 8, 2019, 3:45 pm
#41
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Jul 8, 2019, 3:58 pm
#42
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The days of "densification" and charge for this and that are here to stay. Again, it's the operational performance. And poor operational performance drives up costs and reduces profits. A new CEO might improve on operational reliability and improve customer service but AA will march on with degrading the Y experience.
Jul 8, 2019, 4:02 pm
#43
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Agree completely about the LUS 321s.
There seems to be this fantasy around here that if Parker goes, everything will return to the way it once was with all the old perks reinstated, plenty of free upgrades, high sAAver award inventory, nicer FAs, the end of Oasis, and better operational performance. With or without him, the good old days are gone with the wind....
Jul 8, 2019, 6:55 pm
#44
Join Date: Oct 2011
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All I remember are old mad dogs and tired 737 interiors with flaky, slow wifi and no entertainment.
I'd have a hard time believing the hard product has ever been better.
Jul 8, 2019, 9:13 pm
#45
Join Date: Jan 2012
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In General
- The padding on seats seems to be getting thinner and thinner. Those Mad-Dogs might be old, but those seats at least were decently padded.
- I think 30-inch pitch (particularly on the A319s and 737 MAX) is a relatively recent phenomenon. I do recall a time when AA had the most legroom in main cabin.
- I think some of the newer seats don’t have adjustable headrests. I didn’t appreciate those until they started to disappear.
- There are still some great FAs, but my overall impression is that crew sense of pride in their work has generally declined.
First Class
- First class on the 737 used to have a standard of 41” of pitch. The newer and reconfigured planes have less (36-38”), although maybe that change is being halted.
- AA used to have the best domestic catering of the Big 3 (before the merger); now they’re pretty much the worst.
- Availability of upgrades for elites has generally declined.
Sure, WiFi has become more widely available, which is an improvement. And I guess you could say that the option to stream video is an improvement in entertainment, despite the fact that it has come at the cost of in-seat entertainment. Overall, though, I’d say the domestic experience has drastically declined over the past two decades, and especially in the last few years.