Friday, April 18, 2008
NWA + Delta: Thotz and Obsurvayshuns.
The dust has settled a bit. People who didn't see this coming (In other words, were comatose.) are recovering from the shock of the announcement. The local Daily Blab is starting to run other types of news stories again. I'm referring, of course, to the news of the Northworst+Delta merger.
Some thoughts.......
They're calling this a merger, but in reality it's Delta buying Northworst to get the expanded Asian routes along with the associated hubs (Detroit, NOT Cleveland.) they've been coveting. It just so happens the planes and employees come with the deal. Not that Delta really WANTS them, as we will see in the coming months. I'll guarantee you that the majority of the employees of the merged entity who will be saying bye bye will be former NWA'ers. This will include FA's, pilots, ground workers, and executives. (The execs will get golden parachutes. Everyone else will probably get a kick in the butt while headed out the door.) Here's some reasons why. The whole purpose behind a merger like this of course is to save money. It's the primary reasons Wall Street has been pushing for this move. And how do you save money? Get rid of redundant departments, along with the redundant employees who work in them, that's how. The majority of NWA employees are unionized. The majority of Delta employees aren't. That makes for ugly employee relations. Once again, the best solution for the new Delta is for older NWA employees to go bye bye.
There's been a steady parade of Minnysoder pols on the TV, beating their chests like puffed up gorillas, swearing they're going to hold NWA's feet to the fire and preserve jobs and the hub. The state legislatures are even discussing a special session to "do what they can to protect state interests" in this deal. All of this is nothing more than a show for the good citizens of this "flyover" state, because reality says once this deal gets Justice Dept approval, there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it. Nothing.
Well, I'll take that back. There is ONE thing. Some years ago, the state legislature bailed the then faltering NWA by "loaning" it millions of dollars to get through a rocky post 9/11 period. This was in exchange for a promise to keep the HQ's here, and maintain the hub. We'll deal with the hub status in a minute. As far at the HQ goes, the terms of the deal means that when the HQ goes to Atlanta, the airline will need to immediately come up with approx 245 million Georges to pay back the state. In all of the copy about this merger generated by the local Daily Blab, I read where the combined worth of the two airlines will result in approx 7 billion in cash reserves. I think they should be able to cough up the 245 mil it will take to make the Metropolitan Airports Commission go away. Even if they don't they'll be able to hold any jobs still left here hostage, so they'll probably be able to talk MAC into bending over and grabbing the ankles.
The executives of both companies have been adamant that the MSP airport will remain a key hub in the new system. But, once the deal gets past the Dept Of Justice, and the ink is on the contracts and paperwork, you can expect that almost all of the Asian hub flights that now originate from this fair burgh will immediately be moved to the brand new shiny Detroit terminal recently completed. Why would they do that, you ask? Well, it's not like the Dakotas, Iowa, and all of the departed Fortune 500 companies (Honeywell, Wells Fargo, St Paul/Travelers, Daytons/Marshall Fields/Macy's to name a few former company HQs.) are a huge source of world travelers. Let's see, Detroit has a spanking new terminal building
The pilots of the two airlines had been in negotiations for over two months to come up with a common contract they could both live with. According to most accounts, they'd agreed on almost everything except the seniority lists. That list has proven to be the major stumbling block. Why is that? The seniority list is critically important to an airline pilot's career. It determines what aircraft the pilots fly, when they fly it, and which seat they'll sit in. (The left seat pays a LOT more than the right seat.) It determines what their pay will be, when they can take vacations, and which routes they fly. The international routes using the big heavies (B747s, B777s, A330's) are the most desired and lucrative. The problem here is that Delta bought out their more senior pilots a few years ago, so their pilots tend to be younger in age, while NWA has older senior pilots in it's workforce. Both sides want to maintain their seniority, for the reasons I list above. The problem is that the younger Delta pilots, who replaced the buyouts don't want to relinquish their new senior status. The older NWA pilots refuse to play second fiddle to the young pups from Delta. Another factor is that while NWA still has their pension plan in place, Delta jettisoned theirs while in bankruptcy, and if the Delta pilots want to get a decent pension, they'll need to keep flying until they're 65. (New recent rule by the FAA extended the mandatory retirement age to 65.) Most of the NWA pilots will need to retire at 60, per the rules of their pension plan. All of this will create a huge "bubble" of older NWA pilots stuck in the middle of a combined list, waiting in vain for younger yet more senior Delta pilots to go away, if the Delta pilots have their way. And they may very well GET their way. At the eleventh hour, the Delta pilots, seeing the handwriting on the wall, came to a last minute agreement with Delta, bypassing the NWA pilots. The NWA pilots are pretty upset about how all of this came down. They've been left twisting in the wind for the most part, upset with both NWA and Delta. I've a feeling once combined, the new Delta will engage in another round of pilot buyouts to get rid of the malcontents. It's the pilots own fault in many ways. Both of the union branches had ample time to get something done, and ended up in a staring contest. The Delta pilots said "screw this" and made their own deal. The NWA pilots are still sitting and staring. At themselves.
Don't hold your breath for better service. They don't call it Northworst for nothing. And Delta's reputation isn't exactly sterling either. Both airlines just went through cutting about 10% of their domestic routes. (They've both ADDED more profitable international routes.) There are more plans in the works to cut more domestic routes. In hubs they completely control expect flight frequencies to diminish Fares will rise to "take it or leave it" levels. Expect to pay more for things you used to get free. I wouldn't be surprised to see things like "cabin cleaning" fees, as they search for more ways to get more out of your wallet.
And the average traveler will put up with all of this. Why? Because the American traveler values cheap tickets above all else. And you get what you pay for.
You fucking academic eggheads! You don't know shit. You can't deregulate this industry. You're going to wreck it. You don't know a goddamn thing!
— Robert L. Crandall, CEO American Airlines, addressing a Senate lawyer prior to airline deregulation, 1977.
Some thoughts.......
They're calling this a merger, but in reality it's Delta buying Northworst to get the expanded Asian routes along with the associated hubs (Detroit, NOT Cleveland.) they've been coveting. It just so happens the planes and employees come with the deal. Not that Delta really WANTS them, as we will see in the coming months. I'll guarantee you that the majority of the employees of the merged entity who will be saying bye bye will be former NWA'ers. This will include FA's, pilots, ground workers, and executives. (The execs will get golden parachutes. Everyone else will probably get a kick in the butt while headed out the door.) Here's some reasons why. The whole purpose behind a merger like this of course is to save money. It's the primary reasons Wall Street has been pushing for this move. And how do you save money? Get rid of redundant departments, along with the redundant employees who work in them, that's how. The majority of NWA employees are unionized. The majority of Delta employees aren't. That makes for ugly employee relations. Once again, the best solution for the new Delta is for older NWA employees to go bye bye.
There's been a steady parade of Minnysoder pols on the TV, beating their chests like puffed up gorillas, swearing they're going to hold NWA's feet to the fire and preserve jobs and the hub. The state legislatures are even discussing a special session to "do what they can to protect state interests" in this deal. All of this is nothing more than a show for the good citizens of this "flyover" state, because reality says once this deal gets Justice Dept approval, there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it. Nothing.
Well, I'll take that back. There is ONE thing. Some years ago, the state legislature bailed the then faltering NWA by "loaning" it millions of dollars to get through a rocky post 9/11 period. This was in exchange for a promise to keep the HQ's here, and maintain the hub. We'll deal with the hub status in a minute. As far at the HQ goes, the terms of the deal means that when the HQ goes to Atlanta, the airline will need to immediately come up with approx 245 million Georges to pay back the state. In all of the copy about this merger generated by the local Daily Blab, I read where the combined worth of the two airlines will result in approx 7 billion in cash reserves. I think they should be able to cough up the 245 mil it will take to make the Metropolitan Airports Commission go away. Even if they don't they'll be able to hold any jobs still left here hostage, so they'll probably be able to talk MAC into bending over and grabbing the ankles.
The executives of both companies have been adamant that the MSP airport will remain a key hub in the new system. But, once the deal gets past the Dept Of Justice, and the ink is on the contracts and paperwork, you can expect that almost all of the Asian hub flights that now originate from this fair burgh will immediately be moved to the brand new shiny Detroit terminal recently completed. Why would they do that, you ask? Well, it's not like the Dakotas, Iowa, and all of the departed Fortune 500 companies (Honeywell, Wells Fargo, St Paul/Travelers, Daytons/Marshall Fields/Macy's to name a few former company HQs.) are a huge source of world travelers. Let's see, Detroit has a spanking new terminal building
The pilots of the two airlines had been in negotiations for over two months to come up with a common contract they could both live with. According to most accounts, they'd agreed on almost everything except the seniority lists. That list has proven to be the major stumbling block. Why is that? The seniority list is critically important to an airline pilot's career. It determines what aircraft the pilots fly, when they fly it, and which seat they'll sit in. (The left seat pays a LOT more than the right seat.) It determines what their pay will be, when they can take vacations, and which routes they fly. The international routes using the big heavies (B747s, B777s, A330's) are the most desired and lucrative. The problem here is that Delta bought out their more senior pilots a few years ago, so their pilots tend to be younger in age, while NWA has older senior pilots in it's workforce. Both sides want to maintain their seniority, for the reasons I list above. The problem is that the younger Delta pilots, who replaced the buyouts don't want to relinquish their new senior status. The older NWA pilots refuse to play second fiddle to the young pups from Delta. Another factor is that while NWA still has their pension plan in place, Delta jettisoned theirs while in bankruptcy, and if the Delta pilots want to get a decent pension, they'll need to keep flying until they're 65. (New recent rule by the FAA extended the mandatory retirement age to 65.) Most of the NWA pilots will need to retire at 60, per the rules of their pension plan. All of this will create a huge "bubble" of older NWA pilots stuck in the middle of a combined list, waiting in vain for younger yet more senior Delta pilots to go away, if the Delta pilots have their way. And they may very well GET their way. At the eleventh hour, the Delta pilots, seeing the handwriting on the wall, came to a last minute agreement with Delta, bypassing the NWA pilots. The NWA pilots are pretty upset about how all of this came down. They've been left twisting in the wind for the most part, upset with both NWA and Delta. I've a feeling once combined, the new Delta will engage in another round of pilot buyouts to get rid of the malcontents. It's the pilots own fault in many ways. Both of the union branches had ample time to get something done, and ended up in a staring contest. The Delta pilots said "screw this" and made their own deal. The NWA pilots are still sitting and staring. At themselves.
Don't hold your breath for better service. They don't call it Northworst for nothing. And Delta's reputation isn't exactly sterling either. Both airlines just went through cutting about 10% of their domestic routes. (They've both ADDED more profitable international routes.) There are more plans in the works to cut more domestic routes. In hubs they completely control expect flight frequencies to diminish Fares will rise to "take it or leave it" levels. Expect to pay more for things you used to get free. I wouldn't be surprised to see things like "cabin cleaning" fees, as they search for more ways to get more out of your wallet.
And the average traveler will put up with all of this. Why? Because the American traveler values cheap tickets above all else. And you get what you pay for.
You fucking academic eggheads! You don't know shit. You can't deregulate this industry. You're going to wreck it. You don't know a goddamn thing!
— Robert L. Crandall, CEO American Airlines, addressing a Senate lawyer prior to airline deregulation, 1977.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Compact Flourescent Lamps
We've been using flourescent lights for year and years. The very FIRST patent was U.S. patent 889,692 for the first mercury vapor lamp in 1901. The first experimental fluorescent lamp patent was #2,182,732 issued in 1927 to Edmund Germer. A team of GE scientists designed the first practical commercial fluorescent lamp. (Patent #2,259,040) (GE had earlier bought the rights to Germer's patent # 2,182,732.), They went on the market in 1938. That means the traditional fluorescent tube lamp has been available for exactly seventy years.
I remember one day at school, my brother and I found they had dumped a bunch of burned out tubes in the back dumpster and we had an absolute ball smashing them things to smithereens with rocks. I remember a big cloud of white powder rising from the debris.
Later on, in the high school gym locker room, I remember a coulple of the guys started throwing shoes back and forth over the lockers at each other. One of the shoes hit the fluorescent tubes above this guy who was in the middle. Three of them were shattered, and Tony sat there in the middle of this field of glass and white powder. The coach came out, and told him to sit still as he went to get a broom and sweep up the mess. Coach was primarily worried about the glass shards in his hair. No one thought about what might be in the powder. Hell, if that happened today, they'd call out a hazmat team to clean the mess up, and send Tony to the hospital for decontamination, and then Tony would head straight to the nearest shark to file a lawsuit.
My point in all this is that, up until about 25 years ago, no one thought twice about just pitching these damn things. So if people are going to argue that these new bulbs are no good because they contain a trace amount of mercury, well, sorry people. The horse is out of the barn, past the corral, through the pasture, and plum clean over the horizon and into the next county. We gotta start using less energy sometime. We have to begin somewhere. This nation is drunk on lighting and the associated electricity use. We might as well start now. It's easy enough for most people if we're not lazy about it.
"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny ..."
Isaac Asimov
I remember one day at school, my brother and I found they had dumped a bunch of burned out tubes in the back dumpster and we had an absolute ball smashing them things to smithereens with rocks. I remember a big cloud of white powder rising from the debris.
Later on, in the high school gym locker room, I remember a coulple of the guys started throwing shoes back and forth over the lockers at each other. One of the shoes hit the fluorescent tubes above this guy who was in the middle. Three of them were shattered, and Tony sat there in the middle of this field of glass and white powder. The coach came out, and told him to sit still as he went to get a broom and sweep up the mess. Coach was primarily worried about the glass shards in his hair. No one thought about what might be in the powder. Hell, if that happened today, they'd call out a hazmat team to clean the mess up, and send Tony to the hospital for decontamination, and then Tony would head straight to the nearest shark to file a lawsuit.
My point in all this is that, up until about 25 years ago, no one thought twice about just pitching these damn things. So if people are going to argue that these new bulbs are no good because they contain a trace amount of mercury, well, sorry people. The horse is out of the barn, past the corral, through the pasture, and plum clean over the horizon and into the next county. We gotta start using less energy sometime. We have to begin somewhere. This nation is drunk on lighting and the associated electricity use. We might as well start now. It's easy enough for most people if we're not lazy about it.
"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny ..."
Isaac Asimov
