This just made my day. Love irony. http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2015/10/05/alaska-airlines-ceo-admits-his-own-airline-lost-his-bag/73365630/ They do have a good policy if luggage isnt quickly located. He got his back the next day.
Hahaha. Two words: Menzies Aviation… Did he get the $25 voucher b/c his luggage was delayed by more than 20 min? (Love that feature. Always check in my luggage with them - by the time I get out into the baggage claim at Seatac, my bags are already on the carousel).
They did mention the voucher on the news so am guessing he got it, not that it matters, LOL. He got his luggage the next day. Aren’t they the airlines with the yummy choc chip cookies?
Too funny. USAir routinely leaves my bag behind! One time I paid to check it and everyone else tried to carry on and they had to take them down to cargo. Guess whose luggage got left? Yup, the dummy that paid to check it!
Mr. B has flown close to 500k miles on Alaska, and so far, so good - no lost bags. Delta, Southwest, and Turkish Air all managed to lose our bags (recovered the next day).
If he were the CEO of the Korean Airline, somebody may be in a big trouble and may have to “kneel down” before him and apologize to him.
Why doesn’t he have (and fly on) a private jet? At my previous company, I heard the CEO had two company-supplied private jets to make sure there is never a downtime.
Was your previous employer an airline?
No. The CEO was rarely on site, likely because his main job is to deal with the investment community rather than to manage the company. So he likely thinks it is more productive for him to live in NYC where the “real action” for him is at. (Our company really does not have a branch there.) He also got some tax-related incentives from the city also, without doing anything but relying on his words (threatening the city that he might move the company away from the city.) He had all the tricks under his sleeves. He likely honed his “skills” at his previous big bad company – but I heard the victims at that company were mostly the employees (their pensions/retirement benefits) so he really did something better for us employees here, because his victims when he was with us were mostly those fat cats.
Some of us thinks he is really a genius because he convinced the investors that our company would value maybe 3 times more than its worth. He joined the company for about 2 years only and raked in the gold and left the company at the right time (mind you, it was not because of improved productivity. It was because he outsmarted those fat cats on the Wall Street.) He also gave the next CEO a very “good” job to do so he could be handsomely rewarded too: Get rid of the debt (which the previous CEO and the private equity company put on this company) significantly by threatening (luring?) the investors that if they would not accept the deal (reducing the debt voluntarily – something about swapping the secure debt and the insecure debt), they would in the end get significantly less or even nothing back. It is interesting to see how these finance guys (CEO is by and large a finance guy) outsmart each other.
Hmm…since he rarely had the need to come down here, why did he need two company-supplied private jets? To show off to the investors? (just like real estate agent needs to drive a high-end car?)
The jet might be put into good use when he accompanied the investors to come down here.
You missed my point, Mcat. The CEO of Alaska Airlines probably flies commercial because his company is a commercial airlines.
Isn’t a commercial plane too large for a single traveler? I heard that those important persons like CEOs travel on the private jet because of the time savings. With no other passengers but him (the CEO), the schedule is more flexible, it takes shorter time for him to get aboard and the plane to take off. Thus, his travel time is saved.
Unless he is like the President who has his own Air force One (it is like a giant private jet.)
Alaska Airlines’ headquarters is in the same city as its largest hub (Seattle), so the CEO going to or from the headquarters probably has a non-stop Alaska Airlines or Horizon Airlines flight to ride on anyway.
If an airline CEO does need a “private jet” for some reason (e.g. the airline does not have scheduled service on the desired route), then the airline can internally charter a flight using a plane from its fleet, rather than having to maintain a one-off plane just for the CEO’s use.
Or he can fly first class like any passenger.
A CEO of a commercial airline using a private jet would be almost as strange as a Honda executive driving a Prius.
Exactly, hayden.
I’m not sure of that analogy. A CEO’s private jet is usually outfitted in a manner that is better than any first class section…with couches, a bed, desk/tables, etc…with the idea that he/she can be working or even having a meeting while flying…or resting well…
While it may be true that private jets for the CEO and other executives can facilitate working or resting in flight, they can also present an image problem, both internally (e.g. when negotiating new contracts with labor unions) and externally (e.g. when the company or industry is doing political lobbying).
^yes. Remember the car company CEOs that carpooled to DC to testify? Lol. No lost luggage there!
Exactly, ucbalumnus. Remember that most of us fly on business, and we tend to think our time is valuable also. Can you imagine the ad? “An airline even its CEO won’t fly on …”