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From the flight attendants, some New Year's resolutions for all
US
Airways, 2005, Pittsburgh Post Gazette By Teddy Xidas
Flight
Attendants at US Airways get it. As employees of a struggling airline, we are
doing everything we can to ensure the survival of our company. We're even
considering a third tentative agreement that everyone knows is another step
back down our career ladder, for every flight attendant. The vote on that
proposal will be completed Wednesday, January 5, 2005.
We
have a lot of our lives invested in US Airways, and we're not willing to throw
that away. That's why those recent reports of blaming flight attendants for
supposedly calling in sick in "record numbers" and causing flight
cancellations over the Christmas holiday weekend were so upsetting. That just
wasn't true.
Our
jobs revolve around the safety and comfort of US Airways passengers. We're not
going to turn our backs on our passengers.
We
fully appreciate that the airline industry is a customer-driven service
industry. Flight attendants are ultra-sensitive to passenger satisfaction. We
have more direct contact with our customers than anyone else at US Airways.
Day-in and day-out, we see firsthand that the key to survival for our airline
is meeting the needs of the customer. We do it at the personal level, and we
depend on management to do it on the business end.
In
the spirit of this New Year, with our airline poised at the brink of success,
or oblivion, I'm offering five suggestions to management on how we can make US
Airways soar, keeping a close eye on the passengers we serve.
1)
Stop the blame game. Your employees are not the problem; we are the solution.
Once you get beyond the finger-pointing, we can begin to work together to
right our airline.
2)
Share information. Let's lay our cards on the table, and we can see where
we're going. Share your business plans, your goals and basic financial
information with your employees. We'll share what we know about how to better
meet our customers' needs. Building a great airline is a two-way street. We
need each other.
3)
Realize employees can't be squeezed anymore. We're beyond the limit, actually.
Our members have taken pay cuts totaling $14,000, in real dollars adjusted for
inflation, over the past 20 years. The average flight attendant now earns
barely $22,000 in 1984 dollars. There's nothing more we can give. You'll have
to look to other stakeholders for an equal sacrifice.
4)
Tell the truth about those low fares. Deregulation has resulted in cutthroat
competition that is rapidly killing the industry. Airline management needs to
make the case to the flying public, and to policy makers, that the industry
cannot survive the competitive downward spiral of fares below costs.
5)
Find a new business model. The way you are conducting business simply does not
work. Change it! This last point seems like a no-brainer, but US Airways and
other major airlines continue to cling to a model that does not work, instead
of a model similar to Southwest and other airlines that are turning profits
while drawing raves from passengers.
US
Airways may not be able to transform itself into Southwest, with its
point-to-point service and its single aircraft model, but it could certainly
learn a few lessons about how to restructure itself. Consider this: Southwest
has the highest percentage of unionized employees in the industry, with the
best contracts. But it's not complaining about being saddled with "high
labor costs" or "disgruntled employees." In fact, it just
celebrated its 31st year of profitability and was recognized with a Corporate
Conscience Award for innovative work force retention after 9/11.
The
Southwest model values its employees and encourages their participation in
creating solutions, rather than blaming them for problems.
I
challenge US Airways management to invite employees to participate in
developing creative approaches to cost savings and customer service -- and
more importantly, to treat its employees as the valuable asset we are in
providing customers with the best service the industry has to offer. If we
work together, I believe US Airways can thrive in 2005.
Teddy Xidas is the new President of the AFA US Airways Master Executive Council and President of the Association of Flight Attendants Local Executive Council 40 (txidas@afausairways.org). |
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