Airline CEO for a day

[mannej]

Just a bit bored here, but if you were given the chance to be an airline CEO for a day (any airline), what would you implement to leave your lasting legacy?

Mine: Bring the Red roo's jumbo's back to PER . As much as I love the 777 and similar widebodies, it has nothing on the jumbo. Perth really lacks something without any regular jumbo services.

Any other crazy ideas?

 

[oz_mark]

Just a bit bored here, but if you were given the chance to be an airline CEO for a day (any airline), what would you implement to leave your lasting legacy?

Mine: Bring the Red roo's jumbo's back to PER . As much as I love the 777 and similar widebodies, it has nothing on the jumbo. Perth really lacks something without any regular jumbo services.

Any other crazy ideas?

Maybe as CEO you might want to convince the board to buy some 747's otherwise in time, there won't be any arounf to fly to Perth!!

 

[samh004]

Came across this thread today and considering recent enhancements in one airline and breakdowns in another, if you could run either, what would you do with them?

 

[notzac]

1 day is all I get?

Let's see ... according to this, a certain CEO earns $2.4m per annum in "short term benefits" (presumably corporatespeak for salary amirite?), which breaks down to $6575 and change for a days work.

That doesn't seem very much does it? Don't know I could achieve much with that.

So, I'd have a breakfast "meeting" at my favourite local cafe for an hour or two, followed by a limo ride to MEL T1 where I'd select three flights at random from the departures board to Jetstarize, just for kicks. Next, I'd go upstairs to the CL, throw everyone out and invite as many AFF'ers as could make it for a srsly boozy lunch (can we drink them dry?) Next, I'd cancel a flight (I can already hear "Qantas regrets to advise members and guests that QF436 has been cancelled.." over the tannoy) to shuttle everyone up to SYD just in time to schlep across to T1 for an even boozier afternoon and light dinner at the FLounge prior to boarding QF1 (seat 1A for me, of course!) for a trip across to LHR -- where I'd entertain myself by seeing how quickly I could spend that $6575.

How does that sound?

 

[Postcode]

Interesting question. First thing I would do is sort out customer disservice to ensure there are customers in the future.

Am currently in Kilkenny Ireland on a wild goosechase ancestral hunt - should have stayed in Counties Cork and Kerry, and there is a magazine at every news retailer aimed at backpackers looking for backpackers jobs in Australia. It details visas, bank accounts, tax and stuff like beaches and the rest. Glossy and so appealing.

The front cover has a large picture of Mr Alan Joyce from Ireland who backpacked his way to Australia and did fairly well. He obviously read an earlier edition and took its advice.

Bet the mag sells heaps.

 

[harvyk]

mannej, couldn't agree more re:747 in PER, I'd also put some on TT routes (I miss the old QF25 \ 26 )...

notzac, let me know when you do that, I'll be in on that, especially the parts about boozy CL \ FLounge.

 

[medhead]

For me I'd ask my PA to clear my schedule.

1 day is all I get?

Let's see ... according to this, a certain CEO earns $2.4m per annum in "short term benefits" (presumably corporatespeak for salary amirite?), which breaks down to $6575 and change for a days work.

How does that sound?

I think short term benefits are usually the incentives that have a short term (1 to 3 years) before vesting. Usually these are linked to really high huddles like being in the top 50 percentile of your peers in terms of EBITDA or whatever. Not very high huddles but I think your plan might have a short term impact on company performance.

 

[thewinchester]

I'd seen this thread a while back, and I'd been mulling over what I'd do.

Finally found my inspiration this evening - and I'd get every member of the airline board, including myself to a major domestic airport, and make them be there from 6am through to Midday.

Putting them in frontline staff uniform, I'd want them to spend a few hours on check-in and ramp, followed by a few hours surveying passengers and then having them pitch in to clean one aircraft.

Come Midday, there'd be no time to change out of crew uniform as board a flight a flight to Melbourne T1, sitting in Y (and locked out from any upgrade benefits & preferential treatment before and onboard, and none of this waiting in the CL either).

Once they land, they are to go straight to one of the meeting rooms, and all spend the next four hours collaborate on what we saw, how we felt, and what needs to be fixed both now, next week and in the long term. Just for extra torture and passenger experience, a selection of Y meals and on-board coffee/snacks would be brought over for dinner.

The meeting would wrap up around 11pm, where we'd have put everything in place to fix at least one thing each affecting the pax experience before week's end within their area of business expertise. Money to fund moving heaven and earth to make the changes wouldn't be a problem, because I bet half of them would save more money than they cost and make the staff & customer experience a whole lot better.

They'd all have to spend part of the next week working with people and removing any stumbling blocks to make the idea work. One week later, they'd all report back on how each of the initiatives they've been running has worked - followed by selecting one more idea which they get a month to work on.

In short - if you want to see change, then the people at the top need to see why the change needs to be made. The people at the top need to be connected to the business they oversee, and what better way to do that then putting them on the ground, doing and going through exactly what their front-line staff do each and every day.

After all, without the front-line staff doing their job, there's no company to run.

 

[samh004]

If someone from Virgin Blue sees your post thewinchester I think you may get yourself a job! I doubt anyone from Qantas would ever have the balls to provide the level of customer service you are describing.

 

[thewinchester]

If someone from Virgin Blue sees your post thewinchester I think you may get yourself a job! I doubt anyone from Qantas would ever have the balls to provide the level of customer service you are describing.

Well, I'm available - and I'm going cheap!

 

[JeniSkunk]

I'd seen this thread a while back, and I'd been mulling over what I'd do.

If anything, the idea of having the suits from the Board actually have to serve on the front line, should be mandated company policy to happen as a regular occourence, say once a month without exception. That way, it won't be seen as a fancy one-off or a once a year PR Event.
Another thing I'd do for where the suits can be sent to is having to serve time in the call centre hell desk.

Jenifur Charne

 

[harvyk]

I'd seen this thread a while back, and I'd been mulling over what I'd do.

Finally found my inspiration this evening - and I'd get every member of the airline board, including myself to a major domestic airport, and make them be there from 6am through to Midday.

Putting them in frontline staff uniform, I'd want them to spend a few hours on check-in and ramp, followed by a few hours surveying passengers and then having them pitch in to clean one aircraft.

Come Midday, there'd be no time to change out of crew uniform as board a flight a flight to Melbourne T1, sitting in Y (and locked out from any upgrade benefits & preferential treatment before and onboard, and none of this waiting in the CL either).

Once they land, they are to go straight to one of the meeting rooms, and all spend the next four hours collaborate on what we saw, how we felt, and what needs to be fixed both now, next week and in the long term. Just for extra torture and passenger experience, a selection of Y meals and on-board coffee/snacks would be brought over for dinner.

The meeting would wrap up around 11pm, where we'd have put everything in place to fix at least one thing each affecting the pax experience before week's end within their area of business expertise. Money to fund moving heaven and earth to make the changes wouldn't be a problem, because I bet half of them would save more money than they cost and make the staff & customer experience a whole lot better.

They'd all have to spend part of the next week working with people and removing any stumbling blocks to make the idea work. One week later, they'd all report back on how each of the initiatives they've been running has worked - followed by selecting one more idea which they get a month to work on.

In short - if you want to see change, then the people at the top need to see why the change needs to be made. The people at the top need to be connected to the business they oversee, and what better way to do that then putting them on the ground, doing and going through exactly what their front-line staff do each and every day.

After all, without the front-line staff doing their job, there's no company to run.

That's a very serious reply for what I'm assuming is a joke thread. BTW you haven't been watching undercover boss have you?

On a side note, I agree with you, all managers \ decision makers within a company should be required to participate within the company at the lowest levels on a regular interval, and to actually see how the company is perceived by the customer. The problem is most high level managers are given a very different view of the company to what a front line staff member would see.

 

[thewinchester]

If anything, the idea of having the suits from the Board actually have to serve on the front line, should be mandated company policy to happen as a regular occourence, say once a month without exception. That way, it won't be seen as a fancy one-off or a once a year PR Event.
Another thing I'd do for where the suits can be sent to is having to serve time in the call centre hell desk.

+1 on the call centre, albeit that's a role (specially in Reservations) which does require a lot of specalist training to even know the basics. I doubt any of them could spare the time to properly learn how to service client enquiries via a GDS.

And wouldn't you just love it that every once in a while when they call up to book a flight to see them forced to use the same reservations lines as everyone else, and their number being given lowest status possible.

That's a very serious reply for what I'm assuming is a joke thread. BTW you haven't been watching undercover boss have you?

Nope, can't stand most reality TV programming. Even Amazing Race is starting to get on my nerves.

On a side note, I agree with you, all managers \ decision makers within a company should be required to participate within the company at the lowest levels on a regular interval, and to actually see how the company is perceived by the customer. The problem is most high level managers are given a very different view of the company to what a front line staff member would see.

I think we all would agree with that. How can you manage a business when you've not experienced and understood how it works?

Just keep Alan Joyce away from Q Catering - the NPPP's are bad & cheap enough as they are.

 

[drewbles]

If someone from Virgin Blue sees your post thewinchester I think you may get yourself a job! I doubt anyone from Qantas would ever have the balls to provide the level of customer service you are describing.

This sounds suspiciously like what they do on 'Undercover Boss' although the boss initiates it.

The problem with this would be that all the staff know who Allan Joyce is. The companies on the TV show, whilst large, are faceless corporations, enabling the CEO to truly go 'undercover' as the percentage of staff who know who the CEO is is tiny, and the chance of any of them knowing what the CEO looks like almost non existent (there was one that went undercover and he asked an employee what he'd like to do in the company, and he said 'become the CEO when xx_ (the current CEO) left; he had no idea he was actually talking to the CEO).

A lot of big companies need to put execs in the frontline staff shoes. They lose touch with reality. A great idea for QF too for the not-so-public execs.

 

[medhead]

The problem with this would be that all the staff know who Allan Joyce is. The companies on the TV show, whilst large, are faceless corporations, enabling the CEO to truly go 'undercover' as the percentage of staff who know who the CEO is is tiny, and the chance of any of them knowing what the CEO looks like almost non existent (there was one that went undercover and he asked an employee what he'd like to do in the company, and he said 'become the CEO when xx_ (the current CEO) left; he had no idea he was actually talking to the CEO).

I think you might be surprised at how little staff know what the CEO looks like. I would recognise Allan Joyce just as well as I would have recognised the CEO of a company I used to work at, when I first started with them. There were 2 legendary stories doing the rounds about staff that had worked there for many years during a visit by the CEO. The first was about a (PR type) person telling the CEO then he better get out of the CEOs overalls because the CEO was visiting the site that day and he'd need them. The other was a worker when asked by the CEO what he did there, replied "as little as possible".

 

[alieninperth]

A lot of big companies need to put execs in the frontline staff shoes. They lose touch with reality. A great idea for QF too for the not-so-public execs.

I used to work in the service industry (chain of coffee shops) and it was compulsory for all members of staff to work at least a few days on the front line. I often had the CEO who was worth a few mill working along side me making coffee. They also had a policy where every employee, including execs, had to be fully trained baristas. It was a great for them to see what we minimum wage plebs had to go through. I also believe that the Woolworths people do it. I know of one fairly senior guy who spent a week as a shelf stacker and in the stock room.

Not sure that it represents real value for money when you have someone who is earning over $100k stacking shelves for a week.

 

[drewbles]

I think you might be surprised at how little staff know what the CEO looks like. I would recognise Allan Joyce just as well as I would have recognised the CEO of a company I used to work at, when I first started with them. There were 2 legendary stories doing the rounds about staff that had worked there for many years during a visit by the CEO. The first was about a (PR type) person telling the CEO then he better get out of the CEOs overalls because the CEO was visiting the site that day and he'd need them. The other was a worker when asked by the CEO what he did there, replied "as little as possible".

I'm sure the majority of QF's would. It's not like their CEO isn't in the news... frequently

Priceless on the 'as little as possible' comment. I'm sure he enjoyed the unemployment queues at $GOVERNMENT_DEPARTMENT after that

 

[harvyk]

Not sure that it represents real value for money when you have someone who is earning over $100k stacking shelves for a week.

Are you kidding me? I see great value in someone who is a decision maker earning over $100K (and the rest) stacking shelves.

It means that they actually understand what the position entails, and when they see spreadsheets with numbers they actually understand what they are looking at.

One of the best managers I have worked for had spent years doing my job prior to me arriving, and would still frequently assist us. Thus he had a really good understanding of what the job entails and what was needed, thus projects where often delivered on time, and under budget.

One of the worst managers I have worked for was "born a manager", thus had no idea of what the staff he was looking after actually did. The end result was projects frequently had cost and time blowouts (it was not uncommon to see projects which had 50% to 60% cost blowout (eg we charge the client $1.5mil and yet it cost us $2.5mil) and a 6 month project extended out to 1.5 years. Needless to say, that company no longer exists.