Free Enterprise?

Or perhaps this post should be entitled "Only in America"... Miss Ginger doesn't think this kind of foolishness could happen anywhere else!


So here's her take on the shizz:

Many years ago, an airline named Continental moved from El Paso to Houston, and established its "Golden Jet Service". Over the years, the successful airline bought smaller airlines, like Texas International, and merged with other airlines, like Eastern.  Through the years, management struggles and bankruptcy's made Continental an also-ran with most of America's other airlines, but in 1991 a man named Gordon Bethune took the helm and made customer satisfaction his mantra.  Bethune knew that happy people make happy customers, so he immersed himself in creating a culture of empowerment, respect, and open-minded negotiation that allowed the airline to flourish and develop a relationship and reputation with the citizens of a city that would be come the country's 3rd largest.


Bethune retired sometime before 9/11, and left the carrier and the people who made it in the hands of Jeff Smisek.  Smisek had worked with Bethune over the years, and together they worked with the City of Houston to develop, expand, and redevelop Houston's Intercontinental Airport as the airline's largest hub by expanding service into the merging Latin American market. With Newark at their European gateway and Houston as their Latin American gateway, the airline could funnel millions of people onto profitable, long-haul flights with recently developed "regional" jet service.  What a gold mine!


But then, the economy soured, fuel prices rose, and 9/11 happened.  Continental, like most other airlines, sought government loans to stabilize themselves against the lost revenues.  They cut flights, reduced staff, and eliminated services to remain in business.

Ultimately, they merged with United Airlines to form the world's largest airline.  With Continental's Latin American reach from Houston, United's Asian reach from LAX, and the combined European reach from the carriers' formerly opposing hubs in Newark and New York, the decision seemed brilliant. And they kept Jeff Smisek at the helm,  to ensure that the new airline would have the service culture of Continental while leveraging the worldwide recognition of United.  They even commingled the names and logos in what may have been the last good decision of the process.  It all went downhill from there.


Smisek and his transition team negotiated Chicago as the headquarter city for the combined carrier, snubbing the long-standing relationship Continental held with the city of Houston.  In addition, failure to reach bargaining agreements in a timely manner with the multiple labor unions representing the various groups of workers have left most employee's edgy, dissatisfied, and downright grumpy!  That has certainly been Miss Ginger's observation on the many flights she has taken on the new carrier!

Meanwhile, a little Dallas startup called Southwest Airlines has quietly waited for it's opportunity to explode into the market.  While other airlines have competed to add new routes and the latest jetliners to their offering, Southwest's fleet of stalwart 737's has been hopping from point to point, filled to capacity with khaki-wearing flight attendants serving happy customers with low expectations. Because they have contracted for gates in underutilized, sometimes outdated or out of the way airports, they have been able to keep their fares as low as their profile, and some really smart fuel-hedges made by management in recent years have allowed them to remain the low price leader as other airlines (like United) have realigned themselves in an attempt to compete.


"So, Miss Ginger", you may be asking yourself, "What's so foolish about all this?"  Well, here goes:


Because Southwest has a little cash in their pockets, and since their recent acquisition of Airtran has given them a taste of the international life, the management of Southwest approached the City of Houston about expanding the facilities at Houston's Hobby Airport to allow them to add routes to Mexico and the Caribbean.  Seems like a reasonable request, right?  And just to make it all professional and shit, the folks from Southwest commissioned an independent consultant to study the feasibility and predict the economic advantage to the city.  Voila! If we expand Hobby, according to the study, Houston will benefit through the creation of jobs, expanded tourism (creating still more jobs), and an enhanced value of the airport and the facilities.  Add to the equation that Southwest can pay for the construction through the profits from the routes, and it all makes perfect sense, right?! And just to prove they are good sports, Southwest agreed to build an extra gate, and give it to the city, free of charge, to rent to whomever they wish. 


"But wait!", screams Continental  "the New United". "You can't do that to us! That study is flawed! You owe us the opportunity to commission our own study, 'specially since we practically BUILT Intercontinental for you, and all!"  


So they did, and of course, it painted pictures of gloom and doom. Jobs will be lost as customers are split between the 2 airports.  Lines will form as the TSA and Customs Office split their agents between two facilities. And flights will be cut because of the diminished traffic.


"Say WHAT?!"

So they City Council voted. And of course, they voted to allow Southwest Airlines to give them 6 additional gates at Hobby, free of charge, and guarantee them rent for 5 of them. The City of Houston and Southwest have forged a partnership for the future!


 But here's where it gets STUPID!  That night, that very same night, the New United issues this press release:

United Airlines to cut 1,300 Houston jobs

DAVID KOENIG, AP Airlines Writers, JOSHUA FREED, AP Airlines Writers

O. M. G!!  Miss Ginger thinks this may be the world's 1st case of corporate immaturity!  Southwest can't possibly begin service until 2015, yet United is going to cut jobs NOW?  Read the article, I beg you!  You'll get the full taste of how ridiculous this is!


Personally, methinks the airline industry needs a bit of government regulation to compete in a world economy where many of the largest airlines outside of the US are run by the countries they serve.  In a industry like air transportation, where the infrastructure (airports, run by the local governments) are so inextricable from the enterprise,  one has to wonder if "free enterprise" is really going to work.  If each airline had to build its own airport, think of how the cost of tickets would rise!  If the government didn't manage air control, how would you keep the planes from one airline from hitting those of another? Plus, if any yokel with the cash to buy a used airliner could put it in the sky, just think about the crap that would be falling from the sky!  WE all have to wear hardhats every time we went outside!


So, when you go to vote in the next election, will you vote for Mitt "let them make money at all cost" Romney?  Maybe that explains United's babyfied behavior... the Republicans are right: corporations ARE people!  Pissy, babyfied people who pout if they don't get their way!

http://www.fly2houston.com/iah

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Changes abound in the GingerNation!

Queen Ginger has a new Royal Air Carrier, like it or not! Many in Houston have lamented the merger of Continental Airlines with Chicago's native United, saying that United's inferior service and poor on-time record will hurt Continental. Regardless, as of today it's just talk, since the merger is pretty much complete.


Queen Ginger has flown Continental for many, many, years, and has never flown legacy United, but has never heard good things about them.  The Queen has many friends and acquaintances who have worked at Continental on the ground here in Houston and in the air, and they have always spoken very highly of Continental as an employer.  Former CEO Gordon Bethune is credited with turning Continental around by changing the culture, and current United CEO Jeff Smisek was, as I understand it, groomed by Bethune to take over the helm after his retirement. I see know reason to believe he can't create the same culture at the new United.


There's lots of buzz in Houston about what will happen to the service and reliability of air service from the new United in Houston.  Truth be told, other than the United name and Chicago as headquarters, it all seems like Continental to Queen Ginger!  The globe livery and blue and gold branding remain as it was at Continental, with only the name changed.  They kept Continental's website (the best, by far, in the industry!) and changed the name there.  They kept the service in the airport lounges (free booze!) and changed the names.  The frequent flyer program, while called Mileage Plus,  looks a lot more like One Pass than whatever United had.  Honestly, the changes Queen G have seen have been cosmetic, and well-handled.


Boy Ginger is QUITE the expert on organizational change, having been through it several times in his long career. He's seen it handled badly, and he's seen it handled well, and it seems to him that the new United is doing it right!  Give them a chance, Houston! You may be surprised!  Any Chicagoan GingerSnaps have a different perspective on the new United?

Farther away, Logo has announced that it is distancing itself from identifying as a "gay-themed" network, and will broaden the scope of it's programming to be more  mainstream.  Unfortunately, the direction they're headed is the dreadfully overworked "reality network" format, already overcrowded by Bravo, TLC, Oxygen, WeTV, MTV, and countless others.


Honestly, I'm not surprised by this turn of events- the programming on Logo was dreadful! How many repeats of that stupid "Queer as Folk" can a person watch?! Other than RuPaul's Drag Race and the long defunct "Big Gay Sketch Show", the programming on Logo, was, well, queer. There, I said it. Blast me in the comments if you wish.  


Honestly, as the GLBTQ community continues to fight for more freedom, more rights, and more "normality", it's to be expected that there will be less and less need for things to be specifically labelled "gay".  Gay bars will just be bars, Gay TV will just be TV, and Gay pride will just be a big celebration for everyone, like St. Patrick's Day!


Change is good!  I hope my little blog helps make it happen, in some tiny little way, shape, or form!

A Blow to Houston?

After months of speculation, Continental and United Airlines today acknowledged their pending merger, to be called United Airlines, and to be based in Chicago. Many, many people in Houston are unhappy about this, as Continental has long been one of Houston's largest employers.

Several years ago, Contintental, like many other airlines, was struggling financially. Then CEO Gordon Bethune had a vision: use the Houston hub to become a primary gateway to Latin America, upgrade the fleet to become the youngest in the industry with all Boeing aircraft, and create a service-oriented corporate culture driven by engaged, committed workers.

He scored on all fronts. Continental has more flights to Latin America than any other American carrier. Their Boeing plans are new, clean, fuel-efficient and reliable. And the people are well-trained and know how to do everything in their power to get plane off the ground on time. I fly them at least twice a month, so I have had many opportunities for poor service and have had no bad experiences!

The good news for the merged airline is that Jeff Smisek, now CEO of Continental, will take the helm. I've heard many, many people complain about terrible service on United flights. Miss Ginger personally has never flown them, so she can't judge. From what she's heard of Smisek, though, even though the planes and uniforms will say United, he knows he has a winning formula with Continental, and I expect although the changes for Continental's customers will be more visible as planes are painted and logos are replaced, the biggest change will be for United's customers, where they will see increased levels of services, better connection with the customer, fewer mishandled bags, and more on-time flights. For potential employees of the new airline: "It's Jeff's way, or the highway!"

Miss Ginger is not happy about the merge, but she is optimistic. Several years ago, when Houston's beloved Foley's merged with Macy's, there was similar uncertainty, nervousness, and fear. And yes, many people lost jobs. And many who stayed found themselves doing different jobs in a different way. Miss G was as nervous as any at first, but having worked for this new company for several years now, she can honestly say she has never worked for a better company! In the long run, it was a good thing for Miss G, and is a good thing for Houston. In some sick way, maybe keeping United's headquarters in Chi-town is payback for the loss of their beloved Marshall Fields!

Much of this is inevitable in a contracting economy. The United States had way too many department stores selling the same stuff in the same malls, and we have way too many airlines flying the same routes on similar aircraft. Other countries don't have 6 or 7 air carriers, they have one. It's more efficient economically in terms of space, people, resources. In the past, we had different airlines serving different parts of the country. But, as they have merged and purged and bankrupted and sold routes, we have ended up with a tangled web of crisscrossing markets, code-shared tickets, and marketing "alliances" that are confusing to customers and difficult to manage. Perhaps consolidations will sort some of that out. Clearly, it is working for Delta/Northwest, and hopefully will work for United/Continental. I also suspect this won't be the last airline merger we see.

Just think, in a few years we could all be flying "Consolidated Airlines"!!

UPDATE: I'm telling, this new airline is going to look much more like Continental than it will United. Check out the new livery and logo:

Miss Ginger Rates the Airports- 2009 Edition!

Everyone in Europe warned Miss G about Schipol Airport in Amsterdam- "leave early", they would all say. "The traffic into the airport is terrible". "You have miles to get to your gates." "The lines are atrocious!"
Uh, no. Schipol is the most convenient, well-designed aiport Miss G has ever seen, and it was quite easy to find her way around. We walked a couple of blocks from our hotel to the central train station, where we discovered that, due to an accident, the express train to Schipol was cancelled. But the "local" train only makes 2 other stops, so we got to Schipol in pretty much the same time anyway. Upon arrival, we were just a few steps from our respective check-in counters, and at my Continental counter there were 4 attedants waiting to greet me- no line at all! After check in, I breezed through passport control and quickly located the KLM Skyteam lounge that the girl at the counter directed me to.
I gotta say, this place makes the Continental lounge at Newark or IAH look like snowcone stand at the state fair! The place is HUGE- 5 times bigger than Continental's biggest lounges, and it's brand new and spotlessely clean! There's a breakfast buffet, self-serve cappuccino machines, and the liqour service is open bar- pour it yourself! As strong as you want! Miss G is has decided not to partake at this early hour, but it's kinda cool to know that she could if she wanted to! Miss G has about 30 minutes until boarding time, so she'd better get herself to the gate! More from Newark- maybe I'll have more pics or some video ready by then!