“We Celebrate Bringing People Together”

May 5, 2009: Ted Hutcheson came to speak to our club via Ireland, 30 years at TWA, and Kiwi Airlines. He works in Atlanta and lives in New Jersey. Ted began his talk with the tongue in check quote: “the best thing for the airlines would have been for the Wright Brothers to have been assassinated.” His reason for saying that is although there have been peaks and valleys, no airline has ever been profitable in the long run. Having said that, he emphasized AirTran’s guiding principles throughout his presentation: first and foremost; taking personal responsibility for the safety of each traveler and every Crew Member.

A brisk review of the reasons AirTran is successful followed:

Pride: In our work, in one another and in contributing to the success of our airline.
Teamwork: Support one another and value every traveler’s needs.
Innovation: Act with an empowered “can do” spirit to continuously improve.
Cleanliness: Pick it up, keep it clean.
Anticipation of customer, crew member & business needs: Look ahead – be ready!
Every crew member is expected to contribute to our success through measurement and continuous improvement: Know your numbers!
Compliance with Regulatory Standards: In every decision and every action.
Technical Excellence and Continuous Learning: Do it right, then improve on it.
Honesty, Trust, and Integrity in all actions: With our suppliers and our customers.
Respectful Communication and Constructive Disagreement
Personal Responsibility for Resolving Issues: We do not pass the buck.
Acting with Purpose and Urgency: Do the right thing and then act on it.
Hard Work: Taking pride in doing the difficult things make us better than the others.
Fun: Positive people who celebrate success, learn from mistakes and enjoy our work.

Reported by Bill Crowe, Keyway Committee