I see several problems with the airline industry. In no particular order: Gross mismanagement by non-airline CEO's. Example: UA attempting to start a biz jet subsidiary then getting rid of it. Starting it was stupid; getting rid of it was smart. Complex fleets. Each airline should have a fleet that is relatively simple. If you need more than one hand to count the different aircraft models an airline has, then it has too many different types. I think an airline should have one type for short routes, one for medium haul, and one for long haul. If a route cannot take the aircraft, then drop the route. Example: If an airline has a medium haul aircraft seating 150 and the route it is on can only handle 100, then drop the route. 2. Hubs. While it may increase the number of city pairs possible, it also increases the amount of time aircraft are on the ground doing nothing more than being multi-million dollar paperweights. 3. Greedy unions and employees. Yes, I know pilots and flight attendants are highly trained and responsible for the lives of many people. But, come on now, there's a point where being well compensated may help the employee but it destroy the airline. 4. Complex fares. What's wrong a full fare and 1 or 2 discount fares? The airlines should also reinstate the standby fare available, say, an hour and or so before the flight leaves. If there's an empty seat, it gets filled with a revenue passenger. 5. Taxes. Taxes on an airline ticket are among the highest in the USA. Example: My flight between OAK and LAX is $81.86. I didn't pay that, though. I paid $23.14 (28%) more. There's a passenger tax (7.5%), passenger facility charge (up to $3 per airport or $12 per roundtrip), security fee ($5.00). With the exception of the security fee and "increased" security at the airport, all of the above occurred prior to 9/11 and the Iraq war. So, I have no pity when the airlines go to the government for more money. They made their beds, lay in them now! By the way, there's always an exception to everything. 2 of the 3 airlines making money (JetBlue and Air Tran) do have true hubs but they also have simple fleets and good management. David R. http://home.attbi.com/~damiross http://www.secure-skies.org/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael A. Burris" <yul@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: <AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 4:22 PM Subject: Re: [AIRLINE] A Dumb Move, Great Service, and an Ugly Rumor (The Good, the Bad, and the... > AIRLINE: > > I am still stunned that this airline, touted only a > short time ago, as being one of the largest in the > world and the largest in the US, could have fallen to > such a state. > > I agree with the theory that the entire industry was > on its way down, even prior to 9/11. And that UA, was > too good to its pilots and this pushed the marker up > for the entire industry and now they're (all of them) > are paying the price. In '99 when I was working for > AWA, UA was in talks concerning taking us over! > > How the mighty have fallen! > > Mike Burris > Cambridge, Massachusetts