Gordon's Bonus
 

You folks might be interested in reading USA Today. Big article about Gordon's bonus.

Gee...nice to know in this age where you people are being stuck with extra fees and ridiculously high fares,are losing the amenities that you came to expect....when my fellow employees are losing their jobs, being forced to pay higher insurance premiums, receiving no profit sharing checks, being saddled with higher employee pass riding fees...the list goes on....nice to know that Gordon has his priorities straight.

I think I did the right thing in resigning.

Here is the link:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/compan...tinental_x.htm

The amount of this bonus is so insignificant given the size of the company and the cost of operations, staff, etc. To imply that it's contributing to problems at the company is beyond absurd.

Do you know how much the $100 on-time bonuses cost the company? Would you prefer that those are cut out?

Welcome to capitalism. Continental's BoD has to pay to retain the best people that they think can save the company and make it profitable again. If you leave a company with reasonable practices like this, you're going to have a rough time hanging onto a job.

...defending the liar...what a suprise...


The amount of the bonus is significant as it relates to the significant problem CO has in customer retention directly related to Gordo the Liar.

The amount of the bonus "might" be insignificant to the overall "size" of CO. However, the bonus(es) to all of the, for the lack of a better term, management, are very significant psychologically to the loyal and underpaid employees of CO. The acceptance of such bonus(es) reflect a very poor attitude toward the frontline employee that work their buns off for the "company" and continuously faces the fear of layoffs.

The type management that accepts bonuses, etc., during a time of company financial duress is covered very thoroughly in the basic high school management course as an immense demotivational item. This makes employees feel very "down" and will eventually reflect their "down attitudes" to the people that they interface with, the very important customer.

Oh, I must have forgotten, Gordon is a high school dropout. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

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"The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You"

[This message has been edited by JAWS_II (edited 10-21-2002).]

Well,according to the article he did not take his pay for 4th quarter and as I understand it even with a 162K bonus, his net is still less than the contracted pay.

But what intrigues me is that a bonus for being better than the peers sounds good in a bullish period...but a bonus for a smaller loss than the rivals!

Oh, poor baby! No 250K in 4th quarter? I guess he's driving the Porsche with 87 octane fuel these days! I say we FTers pool some money and help him out. I am ready to donate a candy wrapper and a pair of old socks!

dbaker, would you brand Gordo a 'modern capitalist maverick'? I think he is more of a really bullish man with a not so perfect education and with interest in the 'finer things in life' (thus the 3 Ss and not really running a good airline).

arturo heer thet gerdin hav fyle talk read two him, sew bee vry karful wat yu sey heer.
mebe evin dee-bakir sind flye talk to gerdin sew he kan keep peepl frum giteng oopsgrads.

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Loving, Caring, Honest, Intelligent, Empathetic, Creative, and Giving©.

bertie: Gordo's bonus is 62.5% of "just over $1 million", which is mucho mas then the 4th quarter pay he "sacrificed"

Thank you, JAWS. You articulated exactly what I was thinking. It's just the arrogance of Gordon during a time of such financial woes that blows me away.

I was back on a jumpseat 4 days after September 11. I was frightened, but I felt I owed it to my company and to the crew and pax lost on the doomed flights to be there. When I saw that suddenly 9/11 seemed to become the excuse for the onslaught of nickel and diming people to death...that's when I hung up the wings.

It's arrogance to collect the paycheck that the BOD has ok'd for you? It's arrogance to tweak your business model anyway you can to stave off financial disaster even if it means enforcing unpopular fare and baggage rules? While I appreciate your decision to leave the aviation industry (I'm not sure I would have wanted to be on a plane 4 days after 9/11!), those who have stayed, INCLUDING upper management, have been working their collective tails off to keep Continental afloat. Why then is Bethune not entitled to that part of his compensation? I think he is earning it. Just as other employees are earning pay RAISES this year, such as Resagent86.

Houston, with all due respect, I hope you still feel this way when you or your fellow employees start getting asked for wage concessions or start receiving pink slips..all while Gordon sits pretty on Smith Street.

For me to have given up a 20 year career must tell you that I saw gross mismanagement and said "Enough is enough." But as long as you feel Gordon deserves this bonus, I hope he continues to do the great things that you feel he has.

Well the next 1625 or so $100 stand by fees will pay Buffoons bonus!!! NOT!!!!

He doesn't deserve a bonus for not fixing a business model that was in disarray prior to 9/11; Mr buffoon just uses this as an excuse. So now he brings along a business model that drives passengers away.. does this buffoon think that I'm going to pay higher fares.. NO.. why.. I don't have a choice and neither do most business travelers these days, so what will we do, we will fly for convenience rather than stick with CO. In the end the buffoon loses more money and gains another bonus

Nice Job Gordo.. worst to first and back again.. and Houston, you can ride him all the way back to the bottom.

Gordon Bethune is simply one of the best CEO's in the country. Anyone who flew CAL 10 years ago and cannot acknowledge that he turned the place around must really (I don't want to be unkind.) I have NEVER talked to a CAL employee anyplace who was not effusive in praising him which is why the place is one of the top rated emloyers in the country.

Full disclosure: I'm a leisure traveller and obviously full y's probably may feel differently about some of this. But the challenge is to name another airline that's better (I just read the thread on FC upgrades and even silver's seem to do quite well) Constuctive criticsm is always valid but: This is an airline that goes months without a canellation and has at least for my last 30 segments been mostly always on time (with the rare 15 minute deviation).

The other challenge is for we who are CAL loyalists to stick with the product and thus stop halt the voyage to the bottom represented by Jet Blue, Southwest and the disgusting products produced by the European steerage carriers.

I'm sure in the event of a serious bump in the road for CAL Gordon will get a better job....will you get a better airline?

I for one wish that none of the CEOs of the companies I use be paid more than $1 million/year.

Will that happen? Will it be Microsoft or Exxon? Probably not- yet neither of these companies is loosing so much money.

I wonder what that new Tilton guy at UA gets- maybe a couple of million more than Gordo?