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Lonnie Bane, senior vice president of human resources at America West Photography by Dan Coogan

America West recently achieved a three-month on-time performance of 86.3 percent, breaking the company record and propelling the airline to the top of the industry. Not bad for an airline with an on-time performance that ranked dead last just two years earlier.

"The changes we've implemented in the last 18 months have dramatically improved operations and prove that we are a completely different airline today," says Doug Parker, America West chairman, president and CEO. "Our employees should be commended for their commitment and drive to return this airline to reliability. Thanks to their hard work, we've completely overhauled our operations, significantly improved the quality of our customer service and, in the process, remade ourselves into an industry leader."

A Top Priority

It wasn't always this rosy at the Phoenix-based airline. "In the summer of 2000, we were running one of the worst airlines in the industry," says Lonnie Bane, senior vice president of human resources. "Morale was low, turnover was high and employees were disgruntled. We weren't providing customers with a high level of service and reliability, and our airline consistently ranked at or near the bottom of the industry in key operational categories. We had to enhance virtually every facet of our airline by implementing a series of sweeping initiatives."

“We discovered that we had the right approach to HR, but needed to improve several programs, discontinue some and create a few new ones.”

The first improvements focused on America West's operating performance. The airline, which had outsourced maintenance since 1995, was doing a poor job of overseeing vendors; while safety was never compromised, the airline's maintenance programs were not producing reliable aircraft. Add to this the fact that America West—in an effort to compete with larger, business-oriented airlines—was scheduling its aircraft more hours a day than other airlines. The result: too many sidelined airplanes.

To get back on track, the airline invested several million dollars in spare parts and increased its maintenance staff by 40 percent. To improve operational efficiency, America West focused on improving customer service at airport counters and gates through new training programs and videos.

"We also turned our attention to employee morale," says Bane. "Our goal was to better align our HR practices with our business objectives and improve employee satisfaction by making America West a better place to work."

With a 100-day deadline—established by the airline's board of directors to provide motivation and establish the project as a top priority—a team made up of America West senior leaders and HR staff worked closely with Watson Wyatt consultants.

America West At-a-Glance America West is the only airline formed since deregulation to achieve major airline status. America West Airlines began service on August 1, 1983, with three aircraft and 280 employees. The airline grew rapidly and by 1990 achieved major-airline status, with annual revenues of more than $1 billion. Today, America West is a low-fare, full-service airline with 13,000 employees and 142 aircraft. Its coast-to-coast route system includes 92 destinations across the United States, Mexico and Canada and more than 800 daily departures. The airline uses its Phoenix and Las Vegas hubs as gateways for travel throughout its route network. The airline’s Columbus, Ohio, hub helps provide a balanced national route system with strength on both coasts.

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