Finally, my career and hobby have merged...

[metalmike 34]

So what's the deal with US moving their HQ to DFW now, because of the AA merger? Has this affected your job or will they stay in Phoenix for a bit?

[spilok 1,132]

A hearty congratulations, John.  A job has to be "fun".  If it's not, then move on.   Sounds like you are going to have a lot of fun!

 

Stan

[mwilk 1,104]

 

 

So what's the deal with US moving their HQ to DFW now, because of the AA merger?

Mike,

         I know your question is for John, but maybe I can offer some insight into why the move to Dallas, American is by far the larger airline and the DFW metroplex market is much larger than Phoenix. It was decided very early in the merger negotiation that the headquarters for the "New" American Airlines would be in Dallas. Eventually, US Airway's dispatchers will move to DFW along with our Central Load Planning. Both of those facilities are currently in Pittsburgh. Before it's over, there will be numerous people displaced and furloughed from their current positions. Don't be surprised if multiple hubs aren't downsized or eliminated before it's over.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Mike,

         I know your question is for John, but maybe I can offer some insight into why the move to Dallas, American is by far the larger airline and the DFW metroplex market is much larger than Phoenix. It was decided very early in the merger negotiation that the headquarters for the "New" American Airlines would be in Dallas. Eventually, US Airway's dispatchers will move to DFW along with our Central Load Planning. Both of those facilities are currently in Pittsburgh. Before it's over, there will be numerous people displaced and furloughed from their current positions. Don't be surprised if multiple hubs aren't downsized or eliminated before it's over.

 

And as a veteran of many mergers in the organizations I have done IT work for, if there is a complex such as the one I work in or the ones Americans personnel work in, chances are the real estate and resources those complexes serve are too valuable to give up.

 

 In the case where I was involved in past mergers, I was with IT groups similar to the one I participate in now and we provided essential services as we were the only ones trained for them--remembering that software development is done from the ground up when new systems are created to support a larger entity. 

 

There was one exception, when I worked for Doubletree back in the 90's.  They bought out Hilton and promptly abandoned Phoenix for good reason--Hilton had by far the bigger IT organization.  My two supervisors left for Memphis and both left Hilton unhappy, since Hilton's culture absorbed Doubletree's.  I could have also went to Memphis but Phoenicians don't believe in humid weather.....  Just kidding, I do like Tennessee but I wouldn't have moved there since my wife and I were happy in Phoenix and I had a new job with Best Western almost immediately.

 

I don't think I would be asked to relocate to Dallas and since I work as a contractor, work elsewhere would be easy to come by.  The most affected will probably be some infrastructure and some crew resources, but given the projected growth in air travel I suspect there will be more than enough work to go around.  Being either a pilot or flight attendant is not an easy role and there will be a growing need for both in our industry.  And infrastructure, such as HR, has skilled people who are highly sought after.  Whatever happens, I've just learned to take it as it comes having grown up career wise, so to speak, in a merger culture.

 

John

[mwilk 1,104]

John,

          The culling of management and non-contract personnel has been underway for quite some time. The realignment of hubs will take a few years and will probably start the day after the time period that Parker gave the politicos for no change runs out. For an example, see what United did to Continental's former hub in Cleveland or what Delta did to Northwest's hub in Memphis. 

[John_Cillis 2,406]

John,

          The culling of management and non-contract personnel has been underway for quite some time. The realignment of hubs will take a few years and will probably start the day after the time period that Parker gave the politicos for no change runs out. For an example, see what United did to Continental's former hub in Cleveland or what Delta did to Northwest's hub in Memphis. 

 

It's always sad to see that, especially when people have tenure.  I hope the industry can absorb them.  Our area is different, since it is mandated with creating infrastructure for the new company and as noted, it will take a while.  One thing I do know working in IT (which is why I became a contractor and shy away from perm offers) is that my work is project driven and once one project ends, some other company elsewhere is looking to start a new one.  I hope I can stay with the new American and would probably relocate to Dallas if given the opportunity, just because all my life my passion has been flying and now my interest has grown as I learn how flight attendants and pilots keep us moving.  I always knew, but you get a new respect when you know they are counting on you and the team you belong in to create a system that makes their lives even a bit easier.

 

John

[mwilk 1,104]

John,

          You can have my spot as I'm retiring in about 19 months. My bother was a crew scheduler for American for a lot of years. Not an easy job when you consider all of the variables, especially weather. Good luck.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

John,

          You can have my spot as I'm retiring in about 19 months. My bother was a crew scheduler for American for a lot of years. Not an easy job when you consider all of the variables, especially weather. Good luck.

 

Thanks....  The variables are what I found interesting during my first week when they gave me in depth training on how crews are scheduled.  Moreover, factors such as delays on long haul flights come into play since the pilots can't be behind the controls after a certain number of hours, so they actually carry spare resources on some flights in case there's a short turnaround (I've been delayed traveling commercial in the past simply because an incoming flight's crew exceeded their time limit and couldn't fly the turnaround).  I use these factors when considering what tests to code for against the software--so called "happy path" and negative testing.

 

My favorite part of going to work though is being able to take a break and watch the traffic taking off and landing, followed by when I pull into the parking lot with Terminal 4 and the Tower in the background.  In spite of the crew layoffs, our area is jammed with employees and there is a wait for space given the systems deliverables we have for the merger.

 

John

[kevin911010 0]

Congratulations for finding a job that you enjoy. I kind of wonder if some day my hobby will become my career, but the other way around. I am a professional developer and I have been writing codes for the past 11 years. Developing websites scaled for the cloud, setting up databases and migrating servers is starting to get a bit boring to me (but I still quite like it at the moment). I have also been playing flight simulation since the Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 era (anyone tried that?). Wouldn't it be amazing if someday I become an airline pilot flying the latest Boeing 787 onto a 9000ft asphalt runway!