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Aviation History
1983
1983 - 2149.PDF
1'E has exclusive use—at bargain rates—of Newark's old North Terminal. It is always busy, crowded with queues of passengers hoping to get into last-minute empty seats as well as with booked travellers. There are only two ways of getting People seats. The first is to telephone the airline, then confirm your booking by turning up at the terminal desk and finally paying on board. The second is by booking and paying in advance at a travel agent are cabin crew who also handle reserva tions, check-in, and will soon handle aircraft dispatch. Donald Burr is the chairman, chief executive, and president, and owns about 7 per cent of People's stock, though in the early days he owned more than half of it. Ownership is rapidly being distributed among a growing, share- buying workforce. Re-inventing With a work force which has a low average age and experience, is required to be or to become multiple-qualified (cabin crew/flight dispatcher), and half of which is new to the airline, it is difficult to under stand how the airline manages even the training task, let alone the running of an efficient airline. Some of the in efficiencies have been described, but the ultimate test of efficiency is whether an airline makes a profit. People clearly does; and it is expanding at a time when other airlines are failing even to hold their own. The efficiency advantages of a non-unionised, multiple-qualified, profit- sharing workforce are obvious. But what about the youth and average lack of airline operating experience? Wouldn't it be more efficient to employ more experienced staff, to cut training costs? While Flight was pressing Medland on these topics he made the remark about People "re-inventing the wheel every five minutes". He meant two things by this; yes, the young employee discovers every day something that the old hand has taken for granted for years; but the advantage is that he or she brings a fresh approach to old problems—no preconceptions. If he sees a way of doing things which is more appropriate to today's operating environ ment, and to People's particular kind of market, he does it or he passes the idea direct to the boss. Open communication channels may have their disadvantages, but so do red tape and structured commu nications, with the filtering that takes place at each layer. People has a policy of keeping costs down by buying good quality used aircraft. Its employee hiring policy is the opposite. Except where it is essential it does not pay for experience. People would rather pay FLIGHT International, 26 November 1983 less and get high quality, trainable, motivated youth. Experience and safety But People does buy experience where it is needed. With such rapid expansion, pilot promotion to command is inevitably fast. So People takes on aircrew with a minimum of l.OOOhr command time on jets or large turboprops. With the market as it stands, it is not difficult to find this level of experience, even though it will take a pilot at least four years with the company to reach an annual income anywhere near the standard for aircrew employed by the majors. And that takes profit sharing into account. On that subject, People has to decide whether its transatlantic 747 aircrew should be paid more than 727 or 737 crews. That would certainly be standard procedure with other airlines, and pilot unions would demand it. Presently all aircrews are paid the same, and this is likely to remain so. As Medland explains, People does not want to create an aircrew elite in terms of income and perceived status. While aircrew income scales remain the same across the types, pilots will feel free to change "downwards" from 747 to the smaller types if they want to, or if it becomes operationally necessary. People's ground engineers all have a supervisory or quality control role, so the carrier buys experience there. Neither are the seven top people amateurs in the airline business. Burr and all of the managing officers but one came direct from Texas International, and all of them were in their People posts at the time the new airline started operations, April 30, 1981. Most had worked in aviation before their TI time. Burr's last post with TI was president and chief operating officer. He was number two to Frank Lorenzo. Melrose Dawsey is People's personnel (admin and standards) officer, and she had been Burr's executive assistant at TI. Lori Dubose was TI's director personnel resources, and with People she handles personnel hiring and training. Donald Hoydu started with Eastern in 1962, but came to People from his post as TI's director of facilities. He is officer for properties and facilities, but he also has administrative responsibility for the London route. David McElroy is the non- TI man. He is People's maintenance and aircraft acquisition officer, and had worked in senior technical posts with Flying Tigers and Itel Leasing. Harold Pareti is a lawyer who has worked for the Civil Aeronautics Board and came through TI, where he was v-p government This is the departure scene in one of the two Newark North Terminal ground-level piers, each of which has about ten working gates. By April 1985 People will leave the old terminal and take up exclusive use of the Terminal C, which will have three elevated piers and triple the number of gates. Will the new, more glamorous facilities put up People's costs? Burr says that the New York Port Authority needs People as much as People needs it, and will thus play fair 1433
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