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Originally Posted by gunnut
Unfortunately airlines need to save fuel to save some bucks. Otherwise they'll have to pass it on to the customers and drive them to another airline.
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Agreed, airlines are in a price competitive market. But, customers are not happy with the level of service they are receiving. Airlines with better customer service are more profitable.
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Most of the established airlines have financial troubles stemmed from generous pension plans and high union wages.
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Not anymore. Delta, Northwest, Continental, USAirways and United have all gotten rid of their pension obligations through bankruptcy. Most of them have cut union employees wages substantially. And where they could not cut, they outsourced to suppliers who promised to pay minimum wage for the same work. The only people in the airlines who have seen wage and pension increases are the ones who run the place and spend most of their time packing their golden parachutes.
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They were made before there were so many competitors. Nowadays new airlines like Southwest can come in, unburdened by pension plans and flying a single type of jet, and completely obliterate the old lines' business.
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SWA is heavily unionized. True, they have much more flexible work rules but those are negotiated with the various unions. Any airline can negotiate those work rules. Other than one machinist local the other airline unions have been very willing to negotiate. Any airline can rationalize its fleet. And it's a misconception that SWA flies only one type of jet. They have every dash of 737 there is. They have crippled the glass cockpits in the newer 737s so they don't have to train pilots on differing cockpit types. But, that makes SWA's 737s less capable than say American's. I hold two 737 type ratings, one for glass cockpits one for standard. They are very different training pipelines and very different aircraft from an operational point.
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Internationally, national airlines are subsidized by tax payers in other nations, so they can compete no matter what.
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And our airlines aren't? Lets see, 90% of airport runway and taxiway costs are paid by the Federal treasury, 100% of the airway system costs are paid for by the federal treasury. Weather, federal treasury. ATC, federal treasury. Security, federal treasury. 10% of runway and taxiway costs are paid by state and local governments. 100% of highway connections to the terminals are paid for by local and state governments. The terminals are paid for by localities, but they do charge the airlines rent.
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The American pension plan needs to be rethought of or reformulated or junked altogether. Retirement needs to be more risky. That sounds cold, I know. But it also makes people more responsible about their own retirement savings and learn more about the market economy.
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Agreed, but the pension was a part of the compensation package. I gave up the ability to manage my pension in return for a lower pay and an agreement that the airline would continue to pay me long after I retired. If they wanted me to have that responsibility, they needed to pay me more while I was working.