Burnsie28 From United States of America, joined Aug 2004, 7411 posts, RR: 9 Posted (6 years 3 weeks 2 days ago) and read 1629 times:
Quote: Excluding bankruptcy costs, Northwest on Monday reported its best first-quarter earnings report in nine years, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune (free registration). The carrier made $100 million for the quarter, though that swings to a $292 million loss once bankruptcy charges are included
Good for NW, minus the fact that managers took millions. Can't wait for them to exit.
Floridaflyboy From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 1985 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (6 years 3 weeks 2 days ago) and read 1624 times:
Well, glad to see things looking up for NW. They're moving in the right direction. Hopefully once they exit bankruptcy and get back on their feet, they return some of what they stole from their employees.
PSU.DTW.SCE From United States of America, joined Jan 2002, 6871 posts, RR: 29 Reply 2, posted (6 years 3 weeks 1 day 23 hours ago) and read 1553 times:
All that is said in that other article is the typical banter about the executive versus the rank & file. Saying managers isn't even appropriate. The average manager at NW is making probably somewhere between $60-80K.
As that article points out, the executive team as taken significant pay cuts in recent years, they are paid less than most of their industry peers, and well below what they could make in other industries. A lot of that other compensation is through retirement packages, & non-monetary items.
In the end its really just a drop in the bucket. Not worth holding their feet to the fire just to save another $500K-$1M. Think about what they have to deal with on a daily basis. When you get to their level, there is no such thing as a day off, and you have to make hard decisions that affect a lot of money & a lot of people.
Futurecaptain From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (6 years 3 weeks 1 day 23 hours ago) and read 1539 times:
After reading the article it seems a $292 million loss is very good compared to a year ago. Good to hear they are planning on coming out of BK protection in June. I think they are the last major airline still in banruptcy in the US, can anyone else think of another?
Floridaflyboy From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 1985 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (6 years 3 weeks 1 day 23 hours ago) and read 1520 times:
Quoting Futurecaptain (Reply 3): After reading the article it seems a $292 million loss is very good compared to a year ago. Good to hear they are planning on coming out of BK protection in June. I think they are the last major airline still in banruptcy in the US, can anyone else think of another?
Delta787 From United States of America, joined May 2006, 321 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (6 years 3 weeks 1 day 23 hours ago) and read 1517 times:
When Northwest emerges from bankruptcy in June, there will not be a single legacy airline in bankruptcy. Its been a long time since we've been able to say that.
Flighty From United States of America, joined Apr 2007, 7445 posts, RR: 2 Reply 7, posted (6 years 3 weeks 1 day 23 hours ago) and read 1493 times:
It is kind of surprising that NW has not decided to merge with anybody.
I wonder if that is still an option. NW is in a great position in Asia and the heartland, and maybe that is enough. Not everybody can be Delta, bent on world domination. Maybe NW will be a textbook opposite case compared to Delta. Sit tight, continue to milk DTW and MSP, and focus on doing that better than anybody.
A small price to pay for saving a company in my opinion. Managers and executes are rewarded for performance, unlike unions who are compensated per contracts.
Delta787 From United States of America, joined May 2006, 321 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (6 years 3 weeks 1 day 23 hours ago) and read 1466 times:
Quoting Flighty (Reply 7): It is kind of surprising that NW has not decided to merge with anybody.
I wonder if that is still an option. NW is in a great position in Asia and the heartland, and maybe that is enough.
I doubt you will see any mergers until the next industry downturn. Any chance of major airline consolidation was squashed when the US-DL merger fell through.
Burnsie28 From United States of America, joined Aug 2004, 7411 posts, RR: 9 Reply 11, posted (6 years 3 weeks 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 1201 times:
Quoting MattMSP767 (Reply 8): A small price to pay for saving a company in my opinion.
Sorta, employees are now not happy etc... and not to mention, NW was posting profits before they got rid of Anderson to bring in Steenland who wanted pay cuts but Richard tried to avoid them at all costs. Steenland is worthless.. he didn't really do anything other then put NW in BK and then take away a lot then cut pretzels to save 150K a year... then he walks away with $2.6 million, at least Grienstein rejected it...
"Some People Just Know How To Fly"- Best slogan ever, RIP NW 1926-2009
PSU.DTW.SCE From United States of America, joined Jan 2002, 6871 posts, RR: 29 Reply 12, posted (6 years 3 weeks 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 1094 times:
Quoting Burnsie28 (Reply 11): Sorta, employees are now not happy etc... and not to mention, NW was posting profits before they got rid of Anderson to bring in Steenland who wanted pay cuts but Richard tried to avoid them at all costs. Steenland is worthless.. he didn't really do anything other then put NW in BK and then take away a lot then cut pretzels to save 150K a year... then he walks away with $2.6 million, at least Grienstein rejected it...
Burnsie, I know you have a personal vendetta against Steenland, but don't get your feelings in the way of reality......
a) NW was posting profits in the good 'ole days, as was everyone else. When Anderson (RA) left, they were not. Their cost structure was unsustainable in light of the competition and domestic revenue environment. RA did a good job immediately post 9/11, was the writing was on the wall at a pre-packaged trip through Ch. 11 was going to be necessary. It can be argued that RA delayed this, by NOT making the cuts earlier, in a similar fashion as DL did too, both thought they could make it through without making hard decisions.
b) Steenland (DS) was not the one that put NW in Ch. 11. Yes, he was CEO at the time, but it was not the one responsible, nor really is any one particular person the scapegoat for such. It was the build-up of a lot of thing over a number of years and a variety of management teams, plus alot of external factors really beyond anyone at NW's control
c) Lets not picture Grienstein (GG) as an angel and DS as the devil here, its not so simple. There BOD, as well as shareorders, the financial community, and the debt holders all have a major stake in the reorganization of NWA, and in many cases gives the CEO the marching orders to carry out. $550K base, for a total of $2.6M in total compensation for leading a successful bankruptcy restructuring is a bargain. GG will reap his compensation in other ways.
d) Employees are always upset about everything at NW. Thats the nature of the business and the industry. NW has always been like that, and I don't think anything will ever change until the current generation of employees & management leave. We are talking a good 10-20 years until the situation improves. There is too much bad blood that has existed for too long, over decades and decades for anything to improve overnight. The whole issue of executive compensation is stupid - seriously pick a fight worth fighting over. I would agree with the compensation was outragous, like the Home Depot issue or some of the tech firms, but this is just pocket change.
e) Cutting pretzels may appear as a dumb move, but in reality does anyone really care after the fact? For the majority of short hops that NW flies is it necessary to provide food & IFE? With the ample opportunies to bring your own food on board from the airport, the short flights, and the fact that it seems the majority of passengers now days have their own laptops, DVD players, & Ipods - plus bring their own books & magazines, a lot of the in-flight offerings on flights under 2-3 hours seem unnecessary these days. Commuter trains generally don't provide any of that stuff - if you want it you bring it from home or pick it up at the station. I agree though, that the offerings on the West Coast - DTW/MSP flights are subpar, but you can say that about some of the other carriers too. NW doesn't want to be all things to everyone - they are a niche major. They want to run a reliable, efficient operation, to modern & efficient hubs/terminals, and offer technology to make things easier, such as through their website for reservations, rebookings, and check-in.
Cubsrule From United States of America, joined May 2004, 21242 posts, RR: 19 Reply 13, posted (6 years 3 weeks 1 day 3 hours ago) and read 1035 times:
Quoting DTW.SCE" class=quote target=_blank>PSU.DTW.SCE (Reply 12): NW doesn't want to be all things to everyone - they are a niche major. They want to run a reliable, efficient operation, to modern & efficient hubs/terminals, and offer technology to make things easier, such as through their website for reservations, rebookings, and check-in.
The thing that we often miss when discussing NW is that they do a fantastic job of this. I've long said that NW is the most consistent major, and I believe that. Their hubs are second to none, and the experience during irregular operations, which no one likes, is incomparable to any other carrier. How many carriers will give you a choice when they have to rebook: ask you if you prefer direct on a CRJ or F through DTW? It's happened to me more than once on NW...
[Edited 2007-05-02 16:58:37]
I can't decide whether I miss the tulip or the bowling shoe more
Floridaflyboy From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 1985 posts, RR: 0 Reply 14, posted (6 years 3 weeks 23 hours ago) and read 949 times:
Quoting Burnsie28 (Reply 11): Steenland is worthless.. he didn't really do anything other then put NW in BK and then take away a lot then cut pretzels to save 150K a year... then he walks away with $2.6 million, at least Grienstein rejected it...
I'm with you there, man! I believe Doug Steenland is ONE OF the worst execs in the history of the airline industry. He is the worst thing that has ever happened to Northwest, in my opinion. I mean, heck, even Nyrop had some respectable qualities.
PSU.DTW.SCE From United States of America, joined Jan 2002, 6871 posts, RR: 29 Reply 15, posted (6 years 3 weeks 22 hours ago) and read 926 times:
Again, you are missing the point, Steenland was put in that position to be the guy to take NWA through Ch.11
It wasn't necessarilly his fault, and his objective was to restructure NWA no matter how painful it was to the employee groups. In that sense, he has been working toward his objective. Now how he and the executive team went about it is another matter, but in a business sense, they have been one of the better, hard-nosed, management teams in accomplishing what they set out to do.
Steenland would've been considered a failure had NWA liquidated, the mere fact that they are on track to emerge in two months shows they are on the right track.
Again, I'm looking at this from a business sense, and as I've pointed out, from an employee perspective he has been terrible, but those hard decisions were a long time in the making.
If anyone at NWA has been a lame-duck in recent history, it was Dasburg, not Steenland.
Floridaflyboy From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 1985 posts, RR: 0 Reply 16, posted (6 years 3 weeks 22 hours ago) and read 905 times:
Quoting PSU.DTW.SCE (Reply 15): Again, I'm looking at this from a business sense, and as I've pointed out, from an employee perspective he has been terrible, but those hard decisions were a long time in the making.
Agreed. To clarify, my earlier post was referring to him from a labor perspective, not a business perspective.
Seems like employees at NW have never been happy. You could give them the world and they would still have reason to complain. The fact is Steenland did what he was assigned to do. Love him or hate him, but he did his job and is fixing a broken airline, hence the compensation.
Squid From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 18, posted (6 years 3 weeks 14 hours ago) and read 778 times:
You see all the employee's going on and oh about how excited their are about Delta and complementing Grienstein, itstead of bitching about how much you hate NWA, why don't you try building up NWA and Steenland? He did after all save you job. It's all about environment. If a few too many start bitching about something, they all do. So turn it around. Start thanking steenland, and start looking at the positive things. Furthermore, If I would have been in Steenland shoes, I would have gone with Allegiants pay scales. So think about that. NWA is not going to do anything any different and so it's up to you.
VC10DC10 From United States of America, joined Apr 2006, 959 posts, RR: 0 Reply 19, posted (6 years 3 weeks 14 hours ago) and read 775 times:
Quoting MattMSP767 (Reply 17):
Seems like employees at NW have never been happy. You could give them the world and they would still have reason to complain. The fact is Steenland did what he was assigned to do. Love him or hate him, but he did his job and is fixing a broken airline, hence the compensation.
RedTailDTW From United States of America, joined Oct 2006, 730 posts, RR: 3 Reply 20, posted (6 years 3 weeks 13 hours ago) and read 751 times:
Quoting MattMSP767 (Reply 17): Seems like employees at NW have never been happy. You could give them the world and they would still have reason to complain. The fact is Steenland did what he was assigned to do. Love him or hate him, but he did his job and is fixing a broken airline, hence the compensation.
Quoting VC10DC10 (Reply 19): Welcome to my Respected Users list.
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