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Robert, an aircraft mechanic, of West Babylon NY (12/31/04):
I read the articles (complaining of US Airways travel problems over the 2004 holidays). Notice no one tells you what they paid for their tickets to fly on Christmas Eve or Day.

From reading these stories, I can also see like I stated earlier that it was poor planning on their part to not expect problems at an airport or airline on Christmas Eve or Day. It's no secret that US air and United are in bankruptcy and having labor problems because of it. Just as they were trying to get home or to a relatives to spend Christmas with their families, many employees of the airlines would have liked to do the same.

In the past, to work a holiday in the airline industry meant that you would be compensated for it. You would be paid a fair wage to give up time with your family so that consumers could travel to their loved ones for the holiday. That meant you were probably paid double time and 1/2 your normal pay. Not anymore. I don't work for US Air or United, but I can tell you that at the airline I work for, I went from 12 paid holidays a year down to 5. In addition to that, I went from double time and 1/2 holiday pay to just time and 1/2 pay. So in reality that puts me down to just 2 holidays per year if you look at it in terms of compensation.

For the record, I also worked both Christmas Eve & Day as I will New Year's Eve and Day, as I have for at this company since I started with them going on 7 years now.

There are always 2 sides to every story. That being said I just wanted to point out how bad the morale is in the airline industry at this time. I blame it on very poor management on behalf of the airlines. Management continues to go to their employees for concessions in pay, benefits and job cuts. They never put themselves in the loop for concessions, or blame themselves for any mismanagement. They may make it look like they take a pay cut, but they make it up in other ways such as stock options, increased retirement, golden parachutes etc. They keep running their airlines the same way with no change in the business plan. Their business plan is to go to the employees for givebacks so that they can keep flying.

Well, the employees are fed up with it as they should be. All they expect is to be paid a fair wage and get benefits for what they do. We are working for wages that are so far behind inflation that it's at the point that it just doesn't pay to go to work anymore. These aren't 9-5 jobs with weekends off we are talking about. These are skilled labor jobs, working all hours, weekends, holidays, in the rain, sleet and snow and at times sub-zero weather.

Most consumers don't give any of that a thought when they walk up to get on a plane. They think, hey I bought a ticket to go from point A to B and expect to get there. That's fine, but when I go to work I think, hey I'm a skilled employee and expect to get compensated for my time fairly. I dare you, go call a plumber or an electrician on Christmas Day and see if you can get one to show up at your house, and if they do come what will it cost you?

With oil prices at record highs, every other industry passes the cost increase onto their consumers. Not the airlines, what do they do? They turn to their employees for concessions and lower their ticket prices. This year the average cost of a ticket is 6% lower then it was this time last year. Airline employees are making less, but spending more for everything from gas at the pump to food on the table, and oil is or was at $50.00 a barrel. Does it make any sense?

Thanks for your time.
--Robert

Chuck of Dillsburg PA responds (1/1/05):
A quick followup to my previous comments was prompted by Robert of West Babylon's response and excuse for the situation at US Airways. A more perfect example of the ATTITUDE of the US Airways employees could not have been expressed. The assertion by Robert is basically that as a consumer we should have known better than to fly on Christmas day and that we deserve any problems we got because we paid a discount rate and how dare us to expect that we actually get what we paid for.

According to Robert's line of thinking we should expect lousy service because he and all the other disgruntled employees have been shafted so screw the consumer. Well Robert, I could have flown cheaper on another airline, but up until this point I was trying to support US Airways so you could keep your job. Every single US Airways employee that we encountered on Christmas Day in Philadelphia was rude, unhappy, and motivated to be as difficult as possible, and it was painfully obvious that the scheduled flight problems and "Lost luggage" situations that we encountered were intentional actions on the part of employees.

Robert's post confirms my assertion that employees are so disgruntled that they could care less about the customer, we are viewed as part of the problem because we are too cheap to pay higher fares and we have the gall to expect to actually expect professional ethics from folks like Robert.

My concern is this attitude will carry over into the maintenance area of US airways with tragic consequences. I can understand delays and problems, especially on the Holidays. What I am not tolerant of is intentional disruption of the system and the complete lack of concern and ethics expressed by the like of Robert at US Air. Robert uses the illustration of a plumber or an electrician not being reliable or available on Christmas to make his point. Is he serious?

Point 1. I didn't call U.S. Airways on Christmas Day to make my reservation, I had made it 4 weeks in advance.
Point 2. Plumbers and Electricians are not a vital part of our national transportation system and they are not responsible for the lives and safety of thousands on a daily basis.
Point 3. Plumbers and electricians are not advertising reliable and timely service on Christmas Day. I could go on and on.

I understand that U.S. Airways employees are unhappy. What I don't understand is how this unhappiness can manifest itself into a loathing of the consumer that pays the paychecks and keeps the airline in business. I can't understand why anybody would fly this airline again, especially with guys like Robert working on the planes. It seems like he would be happy to cause his own problems, much more serious than sick baggage handlers or flight attendants. SCARY STUFF!

Editor's Note: Robert does not work for US Airways.

Robert responds (1/2/05):
As stated at the end of the story, I do not work for US Air or United, so Chuck you weren't saving my job.

Chuck, you should listen to yourself in what you write. #1, You paid a skycap $40.00 cash to get your bags back. That's a pretty good tax-free wage to make on Christmas. How many other $40.00 bribes did this guy make that day? Maybe I should become an unskilled laborer like a skycap. Stupid me -- all that time and money I spent getting my licenses to fix planes that each carry hundreds of people at 35,000 feet.

#2, The next time you're on a flight, maybe in bad weather, think to yourself, "Aircraft mechanics are responsible for the safety of thousands on a daily basis. I hope the mechanic that worked on this plane isn't one of those low-paid guys because he had to give back money to the airline and was tired because he had to work 2 jobs to provide for his family. What do they make for working on a holiday and spending time away from their family anyway? God I can't believe I tipped a skycap $40.00 for slinging my bags."

There is no way that any mechanic would ever intentionally do anything that would cause harm or damage to an aircraft. Why, because we are like doctors. We have a moral code we must stand by. We can also be held liable for anything we do, for the lives that the plane flies. Don't you think that's something worth paying for? Maybe you should tip your mechanic on your next flight. I'm sure he could use the money to buy his kid some shoes.

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