[justme]

Just putting this out there for consideration. AirTran just recently laid off over 2000 employees to cut costs, but are funding "stunts" and record attempts and spending thousands of dollars to paint airplanes with random people on the side. Just one of the many reasons I do not like AirTran. see link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...6498235&ps=bb3

[PHXFlyer]

It's called advertising. No matter how many employees a company lays off in tough economic times, there is always a need for advertising. I remember when Delta emerged from Bankruptcy there were people on the streets of New York handing out free music download cards with the new Delta logo on them.

The US domestic and to a somewhat lesser degree international passenger traffic has fallen off substantially. The layoffs are due to capacity reductions. Fewer planes flying require fewer pilots, flight attendants, maintenance people and so on down the line. The companies still need an advertising budget to get butts in the seats. If that advertising includes a guy living on planes for 30 days or painting a bikini-clad super model on the outside of the plane then so be it.

Incidentally this is NOT a specific customer service complaint. It would have been more appropriate to post in the General Discussion forum. Mods?

[bah humbug]

Originally Posted by justme

Just putting this out there for consideration. AirTran just recently laid off over 2000 employees to cut costs, but are funding "stunts" and record attempts and spending thousands of dollars to paint airplanes with random people on the side. Just one of the many reasons I do not like AirTran. see link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...6498235&ps=bb3

When did Airtran lay off 2000 employees? That is so not true......

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by bah humbug

When did Airtran lay off 2000 employees? That is so not true......

I did some checking. 169 pilots and 480 other personnel back in Sept. '08. That doesn't seem to equal 2000 and internet searches didn't come up with any other significant workforce reduction at AirTran since then.

The OP was just as factual in his other post about TSA rules, etc. Apparently he knows how to post half-truths and mis-information on forums but lacks the skills to do a simple Google search.

[Jetliner]

Air Tran has NEVER laid off even close to 2,000 people. As for the layoffs lest September that were mentioned, most (if not all) are back. Most of those were voluntary leaves for that one month alone.

He says he's o former legacy carrier employee. That wouldn't happen to be Delta would it?

[justme]

I said it in another post, I'll repeat it here. My original statement that Airtran laid off 2,000 people may have been incorrect, but non-the-less, has nothing to do with the point I was trying to make. I did not ever say that Airtran should not spend money on advertising, I never said that laying people off to cut costs was wrong. I only posted to bring to light the idea that funding "stunts" so soon after you have had any lay offs may not be the best idea. As for which airline I have worked for in the past, in fact it's more than 1, I didn't say for a reason. It will stay that way.

[Jetliner]

Originally Posted by justme

I only posted to bring to light the idea that funding "stunts" so soon after you have had any lay offs may not be the best idea.

OK, but as pointed out already you need to check your facts before you post. AirTran never laid off anywhere near that number of people, most of the layoffs were for a one month period only, and how do you know how much they spent on this? The never paid for lodging since he slept on the plane. They never paid for food, as I understand it people brought him stuff. Also someone on the inside told me that he always had someone else flying with him (who do you think was holding the camera for all that video of him on the planes) - that person probably also got food. So in the end, the only real expense would have been paying Mark himself. How much of that would realistically covered payroll for how many employees?

Something else you have to keep in mind is that AirTran has signed on quite a few sports figures in the past (Danica Patrick, Dan Wheldon, Jake Delhome, and prior to the doggie incident Michael Vick), plus a few others. They didn't pay them with money. They gave them a certain number of plane tickets. Not every flight they would take is going to be 100% full, so that means that not every flight is loosing one seat of revenue, so this is a hell of a lot cheaper than paying them outright. Now it looks like this guy's frequent flier credits are being donated, but I'm willing to bet he still has a few free flights ahead of him.