Cargolux: you name it, we just culture it

Extreme Wing Wave. Photo ET

Cargolux: you name it, we just culture it

The slogans of Cargolux are going downhill, from the excellent “You name it, we fly it” to another one more generic “Spirit of Cargolux”, to a recent banal “just culture” where it is not sure if “just” means fair, or simply. It must be simply. As in Radio 100,7 station’s interesting summary from April 17, that “Luxembourg simply cannot handle Cargolux”.

That summary just simply lists the sorry state of affairs, freely translated: a general management that simply cannot and will not, top managers who simply left, a general manager who simply creates chaos, a Board that simply sits there for the benefits, a President who simply cannot be blamed, a government that simply is Pontius Pilatus unless it is a nice sunny day, a minister for aeronautics whose strategic decisions simply don’t fly, and a foreign shareholder who simply has to subsidize if numbers don’t add up.

I think this adequately summarizes the simple just culture thing, unfortunately. Though I would probably add a CFO who has a simple view of the world, and simply adds up numbers, that are anything else than helping the Spirit of Cargolux, unless it means “Spirit of Cargolux Italia”. By the way, it has to come up again that Cargolux Italia loses money hand over fist. Any sound decision maker has to look at the possibility of closing it. The Osaka route no longer requires it to exist. I’m told that even with 5 aircraft, the company still would write a loss.

Maybe the increasing crisis starts right there, at the number crunchers. So it appears that if CV wants to write black ink, the solution is to simply spend less, like is done on the good guys at Cargolux Italia who earn less but even work more and never get sick. Then you can lose some costly pilots in Luxembourg, simply through attrition, hopefully some others leave all by themselves, and maybe you overwhelm some of the pilots on sick leave who are violating the curfew. Fire them for cause, not in an open manly fashion. No the sneaky way, like spying on them, faking just simply a friendly discussion, but firing out a registered mail firing the unsuspecting person. That startled all the straight talkers!

Alright, it is a great move if you want to quell the revolution. In any organization you may find black sheep, though here it smells like settling scores. Certainly fear spreads around as the for Luxembourg unusual brutality of HR policies develop. Oh, to their merit, they tried also a Marie-Antoinette who famously said “But give them some cake”, when the French Revolution developed under her balcony. CEO Reich had his cake moment, with a policy to reward people with extra vacation, if they did not have any sick leave during the year. I’m told that quite some people rather simply leave, and check out other opportunities. It all seems to rest on the shoulders of a management team that fights everyone as if they were the last righteous quadrant. This needs to stop.

The effects on morale must be disastrous. Putting a private eye behind people to spy on them is not developing trust. If morale goes down, productivity goes down. By how much? Take a number, say 5% of the bottom-line. (I have included the cost of private eyes helping in the destruction of morale). Oppose that to an authentic positive “Spirit of Cargolux” that boosts productivity instead by 5%. And you have the cost of negative managing.

Generally personal destinies of employees have never been impacted the way they were through the sick leave episode earlier this month. Two captains got fired on very short notice. One captain had 22 years of career at Cargolux. Two co-pilots got also fired, and one FO got away with a warning letter.

Rumor has it that the whole affair was bungled rather than handled, with all the trauma, distrust and possibly the fears one can imagine. The startling piece is the obvious use of private eyes to spy on people. A legitimate control would have to emanate from the Caisse Nationale de Sante (CNS). How many people were spied on, and how many are still spied on now? At what cost actually? It appears that the SVP Flight Operations was not taking part in the massacre, nor was the VP HR.

People learnt that something weird was going on through program cancellations and other unexpected changes. Interestingly the meetings were held by Wieger Ketellapper, investigated officially for the famous extreme wing wave maneuver last year at Paine Field. His well-written but self-serving exculpatory own message is below. Reading it leaves an uncomfortable feeling with regards to that language of “just culture”, and the elements of shrewdness, possible score-setting, and intrusion into the lives of those pilots and their families.

The official reasons for dismissal are not yet known. It seems that’s the law. But could it be for being on sick leave too often? The timing for such a companywide health issue action then would be particularly bad, at a time when the specter of the German Wings disaster is still haunting people’s minds. Or would it rather be because those fired were not home after curfew? For an extreme wing wave you are allowed to write your own guilty, sorry, I learnt a lesson, let’s all stick together in the just culture memo on a not acceptable event. But violating the curfew by 30 minutes while on sick leave calls for immediate termination? I’m afraid hearing the many personal details and dramas, that a line was crossed and a guerilla started. It is not corporate issues, it is getting personal.

So the finger pointing has started, far more than I relate here. These rumors go: Is it OK if the CEO dropped the ball on Russian air rights, if you do extreme wing waves, maybe slam an aircraft on the runway that your knees go through the shoulders? The just culture lets you get away with it?

The answer may lie here in this message from last year, from the person in charge of firing pilots:

Dear colleagues,

on the occasion of the Paine Field takeoff investigation closure, I would like to address the same and a few further personal matters.

The Paine Field Takeoff.

First and foremost, it need not be reiterated that the takeoff in Paine was well outside the norm and not an acceptable event. The initial outcry was understandable. I know the enormous pride and effort that you as Cargolux pilots put into your professionalism. The event was rightfully perceived as hurting that very professionalism, in particular due to the fact that there was involvement of persons ultimately responsible for safety and standards.

I would like to thank the investigation team for their important role in closing this event. The processes that were followed were the same as for any other exceedance or incident that Cargolux has had in the past and I am thankful and proud to work for a company that subscribes to just culture and equal treatment.

The investigation has resulted in findings and recommendations that I agree with but, even if no intent on my part was established, as commander of the event flight, I am nothing less than fully responsible. Because of the broad responsibilities and effect of my positions as management pilot and instructor-examiner, I have decided on a few steps that go beyond the recommendations of the final report.

The instructor-examiner group trains and maintains the highest standards in the industry with full dedication. I know about the struggle they sometimes have, bringing an unpleasant message to their trainees and examinees. Consequently, I feel that my role in the ultimate outcome of the event flight, does not allow the trainers and checkers to be an effective team if I continue to be part of it. Therefore I have decided to withdraw from these activities.

Personal Matters.

It leaves me to address a few personal matters that are intertwined with corporate issues.

Upon becoming aware of the Paine takeoff event, some parties attempted to entice direct punitive action, steer public opinion and encourage upheaval without knowing the complete facts. I would not condone such behavior on the part of any person in Cargolux management nor will I condone it in the future, be it directed at anybody regardless of position. I have made mistakes and I am grateful for the lessons learned. Cargolux just culture has passed a hard test with flying colors. I ask that you join me in embracing just culture and ask you to observe the principle that it applies to every employee without exception.

The Way Forward.

The stressors in Cargolux are plentiful and the resultant discontent is understandable. In the last years, we have seen large shifts in shareholders, upper management, company performance and network stability. As a management pilot it is easy to forget the doubts and concerns of others regarding company performance and outlook when one is always close to the source. Information flow is a challenge in every company and Cargolux is no exception. It is however no less important to instill a sense of security and belongingness.

As a manager, I have had to make difficult decisions that have affected personal lives of some colleagues. If at any time I might have appeared as indifferent, cold or disinterested, I (and my family) can assure you that I have carried the troubles of our colleagues home with me. In the aforementioned professionalism amongst you all, leading by example, respect for each other and team spirit are alive and well, and much appreciated. To match that in management will be my primary goal in the near future. Life is a continuous lesson and those that live it are continuous students; my promise to you is that I will be a good student and relentless in keeping up our safety culture.

I am inviting you to come and talk to me. I am as much interested in your ideas as you are entitled to honest answers.

Sincerely yours,

Wieger.