Ben Smith Leaving AC

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LennyLeonard
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Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by LennyLeonard »

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Duke Point
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by Duke Point »

I predict he'll be back soon as CEO.

The Air France unions will eat his lunch and spit it back at him.

He's best at leading "beaten cur" groups like Air Canada pilots to the Koolaid trough. He has extracted tens of millions from the pilot group alone, not to mention convincing Air Canada's FA's to completely abandon WACON for their members at Rouge. He's responsible for convincing our weak kneed MEC to embrace a 10 year deal and how great it would be to take the lid off the 50 fin Rouge cap as if the complete decimation of Mainline 320 and 767 flying wasn't enough. I'll never forget him standing shoulder to shoulder with our MEC at the last re-opener "sales job tour".....a true shark amongst grinning idiots. It sent a chill down my spine. For six years he has masterfully played the MEC and the pilot group like cheap sock puppets.

The Shareholders will beg him to return. Watch. And we will applaud his return to our detriment.

Its a hilarious notion, but pay attention to how many pilots will "miss" him, and rave about how he has done "great things" for the Company at their direct expense, while all pilots languish in the middle of a stagnant ten year deal that he convinced us was "so great" just prior to record profits.

DP.
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Rooster69
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by Rooster69 »

But, but he gave the pilots B1s..........
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Dry Guy
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by Dry Guy »

Hahaha. He's in for a rude awakening when he faces a real union.
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Duke Point
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by Duke Point »

Rooster69 wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:41 am But, but he gave the pilots B1s..........
What good are three B1's when the FA's get up to nine C1's with a J-upgrade. C1/J for working holidays was another "nugget" our MEC failed to achieve, and Ben was unwilling to give. Pilots get plastic Christmas tree ornament for working Christmas day.

If you want to see J on a personal travel pass, date a Flight Attendant with a DOH of 2017. They will have worked all holidays and be flush with J upgrade passes.

DP.
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Last edited by Duke Point on Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
rudder
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by rudder »

CR turns 65 in approximately 25 months. My guess is that will be the year he will depart AC.

Succesorship planning (hopefully) has begun. There are 2 leading internal candidates. BS and MR. One has a strong internal CV at AC. The other also has a strong internal CV at AC but also has a strong external CV.

Perhaps the lack of external experience of one of the two is deemed a shortcoming which may be remedied based on a potential announcement later today.

2018 is not the year that AC needs a new CEO. But 2020 may be.
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Rooster69
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by Rooster69 »

Duke Point wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:14 am
Rooster69 wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:41 am But, but he gave the pilots B1s..........
What good are three B1's when the FA's get up to nine C1's with a J-upgrade. C1/J for working holidays was another "nugget" our MEC failed to achieve, and Ben was unwilling to give. Pilots get plastic Christmas tree ornament for working Christmas day.

If you want to see J on a personal travel pass, date a Flight Attendant with a DOH of 2017. They will have worked all holidays and be flush with J upgrade passes.

DP.

Tongue in cheek dude, no need for an explanation on what a FAs have.
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TheStig
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by TheStig »

Dry Guy wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:58 am Hahaha. He's in for a rude awakening when he faces a real union.
Ha agreed, one article I read stated his resume was bolstered by his ability 'to handle the pilot group', can't argue with that, but it didn't seem all that difficult from what I recall. I would have thought he'd be content with being groomed to be AC's heir apparent, but AF/KLM is certainly a much bigger fish in the Sea. I'm sure the money is better, but I can't imagine the job security is that high, things appear pretty hostile already.
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yycflyguy
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by yycflyguy »

Duke Point wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:14 am

If you want to see J on a personal travel pass, date a Flight Attendant with a DOH of 2017. They will have worked all holidays and be flush with J upgrade passes.

DP.
My wife says she is against this idea.
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Duke Point
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by Duke Point »

Rooster69 wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:35 am
Duke Point wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:14 am
Rooster69 wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:41 am But, but he gave the pilots B1s..........
What good are three B1's when the FA's get up to nine C1's with a J-upgrade. C1/J for working holidays was another "nugget" our MEC failed to achieve, and Ben was unwilling to give. Pilots get plastic Christmas tree ornament for working Christmas day.

If you want to see J on a personal travel pass, date a Flight Attendant with a DOH of 2017. They will have worked all holidays and be flush with J upgrade passes.

DP.

Tongue in cheek dude, no need for an explanation on what a FAs have.
I didn't miss it........just that the recent lawsuit to have our B1's revoked by the FA group has me a little testy on the subject.
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RVR6000
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by RVR6000 »

Duke Point wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:14 am
Rooster69 wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:41 am But, but he gave the pilots B1s..........
What good are three B1's when the FA's get up to nine C1's with a J-upgrade. C1/J for working holidays was another "nugget" our MEC failed to achieve, and Ben was unwilling to give. Pilots get plastic Christmas tree ornament for working Christmas day.

If you want to see J on a personal travel pass, date a Flight Attendant with a DOH of 2017. They will have worked all holidays and be flush with J upgrade passes.

DP.
The 3 B1 still trump the C’s. The new passes are better than the old system. I’ve been bumped to economy because a FA’s boyfriend took the last J prior to these B passes.
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pelmet
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by pelmet »

Helming Air France-KLM: It’s A Tough Job

Helen Massy-Beresford

Benjamin Smith will have his work cut out for him. The new CEO of Air France-KLM, appointed on Aug. 16 to replace Jean-Marc Janaillac, will straight away face a long-running labor dispute with Air France employees over pay when he assumes his new role by Sept. 30.

He will need to make quick progress to resolve that conflict if he is to avoid even more strikes and be able to concentrate on the longer-term strategic challenges he will face in improving the Franco-Dutch group’s competitiveness and profitability.

Smith’s nomination has sparked controversy in France, where industry observers have raised eyebrows at and unions have openly criticized the choice of Air France-KLM’s first non-French CEO—and warned that a North American boss will be looking out for 8.8% shareholder Delta Air Lines’ interests.

Smith was Air Canada’s chief operating officer (COO) and president until Aug. 16. As COO he has had major successes with union talks, LCC and hub expansion
French unions have spoken out against North American appointment

But those observers seem to be focusing on one aspect of Smith’s profile, his nationality, at the expense of another far more important one—his extensive and relevant airline experience.

During the search process, French Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne, representing the French state, which owns 14.3% of Air France-KLM, noted how important airport experience would be for the successful candidate, effectively ruling out front-. Philippe Capron, chief financial officer of water and waste group Veolia.

Smith, by comparison, has jet fuel in his DNA. The 46-year-old executive started his aviation career in 1990 at Air Ontario in parallel with his studies. He set up his own retail corporate travel agency in 1992, running it for eight years. His involvement with Air Canada began with a consultancy role in 1999, and he joined the group in 2002, rising through the ranks to his most recent role as chief operating officer and president, airlines.

Some of his major strategic achievements—such as redefining Air Canada’s hub strategy into three major hubs aligned with the airline’s key markets— should stand him in good stead for the challenges that await him.

Smith is likely to set out his own plan of action for his new group, but improving the efficiency and connectivity of the Air France hub at Paris Charles de Gaulle and KLM’s at Schiphol, Europe’s second- and third-busiest airports, respectively, was an important part of the Trust Together turnaround plan Janaillac launched in November 2016.

The aim of Trust Together was to improve profitability and competitiveness and close the gap with Air France-KLM’s peers. Gulf carriers have been piling on pressure on European network carriers just to distinguish from low-cost carriers (LCCs) in recent years. However Smith chooses to tackle these challenges, he will have similar goals in mind.

The launch of Joon, the sister airline to Air France described by the company as a “hybrid” rather than a low-cost long-haul carrier, was part of the plan to promote growth at Charles de Gaulle.

Smith’s experience as a key driver behind Air Canada’s low-cost brand Air Canada Rouge could help him get more out of Joon at a time when true low-cost long-haul is one of the tools legacy groups are employing to set them apart.
His prior experience may also help him set out a new path for Transavia, the low-cost subsidiary that has improved its performance in recent months—but whose growth is still limited for want of union agreement on expansion plans.

In Smith’s role at Air Canada, he gained experience in building that airline’s international network and in launching Air Canada Rouge, the group’s low-cost carrier, Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska reported in a research note to clients. “He therefore has experience of both a legacy carrier with heavy union involvement and LCC and restructuring experience. This fits with the Air France KLM group’s mix of legacy airlines (Air France, KLM) and lower cost platforms (Transavia).”

And if unions are up in arms about the appointment of a North American CEO, criticizing his lack of experience with the French social model—although he does speak French—the board will be hoping that Smith’s success in social dialogue at Air Canada, where he personally oversaw collective bargaining that resulted in historic long-term agreements, can be replicated.

“Mr. Smith’s experience in union negotiations was likely a key factor in his hiring,” Roeska wrote. “In his role launching Air Canada Rouge, he was the chief negotiator during the airline’s negotiations with pilot and cabin crew unions. This experience will be important as Mr. Smith’s immediate priority will be to try to solve the ongoing union issues Air France is experiencing in France, with an increasingly emboldened union that has already seen off one CEO, and is threatening further strikes in September.”

While unions are concerned that a CEO who comes from across the pond will be too geared toward the interests of Delta Air Lines, the board will be hoping that his international experience will help the European group get more out of its partnerships across the globe, a key strand of Trust Together Smith will surely want to build on.
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rudder
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by rudder »

Lisa Raitt and the Harper government are not there to permit an end run strategy around collective bargaining. And I doubt the French government would be willing to risk the political fallout of a frontal attack on organized labour and the right to strike.

If his plan is to reinvent the airline then he will have to demonstrate that labour will not be paying for it.

Ben Smith does have his work cut out for him.
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TimothysAr
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Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by TimothysAr »

Yep,agree with that Dan. He had a brilliant day yesterday. He can teach us all a few things now. Well done Ben.
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LennyLeonard
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by LennyLeonard »

Making a mess of things over there:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... or-new-era
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Radiocaster
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Re: Ben Smith Leaving AC

Post by Radiocaster »

He’s actually cleaning up and finally making this merger right.
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