Letter From A Passenger – Nikki Calhoun

Dear Gerard Arpey,

After reading an article about American Airlines I decided I needed to express my thoughts to you. I read that American Airlines profit last  year was 231 Million. I think that is wonderful that American not only pulled themselves out from a near bankruptcy but has turned the airline back into a profitable company. Good job to all at American Airlines. The part of the article I found disturbing is that the top executives split close to $200 million in stock bonuses while the employees got nothing.

I think it is appalling that American Airlines would not share the profit with their employees. After all there would be no profit with out them. As a small business owner myself I give my employees a percentage of the companies profits each quarter as bonuses. Last year I gave to my employees over $125,000.00 in bonuses. This might not seem like a lot but it is in my small company of 30 employees.

By doing this I have found that the employees take ownership and enjoy working here. We are proud to be the best in our industry always receiving high customer service marks.

I fly American exclusively for my business and personal travel and am a platinum member.I am always impressed with the service I get from ticket agents to flight attendants. Don't destroy what you have accomplished by being greedy. If you share with the employees there will be more for all the executives to make. You really do get back ten fold from what you give. DO THE RIGHT THING! Treat your people RIGHT!

 
Nikki Calhoun
President