I've been the chairman and CEO of America West Airlines since September, 2001, taking the post 10 days before September 11. I'm directly accountable to our board of directors and have six direct reports in the following areas: operations, marketing, finance, legal/administrative, public affairs, and communications.

When I left Vanderbilt B-school 18 years ago, I wasn't exactly certain what I wanted to do. I knew that I had an aptitude for finance, so I worked to find a job where finance was important. I targeted capital-intensive industries, which led me to airlines.

TYPICAL DAY
6:30 a.m. -- I'm awake, though I only just arrived home (at midnight) from New York. Our chief financial officer and I presented at an airline analysts' and investors' conference put together by Merrill Lynch. Approximately 200 people attended, including current and potential institutional investors, who want to hear the America West story.

7:30 a.m. -- Attended a Valley of the Sun United Way annual meeting. I've been a board member since 2003, and this group does great things for our community.9:00 a.m. -- Arrived at the head office in Tempe, Ariz. Since I was out of town yesterday, I have a good bit of catching up to do, and I begin with about 70 e-mails.

10:00 a.m. -- Had a scheduled meeting with the head of our flight attendants' union. Since labor relations are such an integral part of our industry, I meet quarterly with each of our unions' leaders to update them on the company and to ensure they have easy access to me and the rest of the management team. Unfortunately, something came up with our flight attendants, and we're rescheduling.

10:30 a.m. -- We learn through a press release that the Teamsters have petitioned for an election to represent our customer-service agents. We're disappointed because it means that a group of employees either feel we aren't listening to them, or that they will have a stronger voice or accomplish more with formal representation. We have several represented groups at America West, so this isn't the first, but it's disappointing given how hard we're working to improve communication and engage our employees in constructive two-way dialogue.

11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. -- I have a couple of scheduled meetings on strategic issues for the company. Between meetings, I realize the Teamsters press release might be picked up by some media outlets, so I should inform my fellow board members before they read about it elsewhere. I draft a letter to each of them and use the opportunity to update them on a number of items such as our recent monthly financial performance, some strategic issues, and our search for a new general counsel.

Keeping board members adequately informed is one of my bigger challenges. Because our business is so dynamic, something that affects America West shows up in the newspapers almost daily. Our directors are successful businesspeople who have their own companies to run, so I need to balance the desire to communicate (between our five meetings each year) with their time constraints. I tend to send update memos like this about once a month, which seems to work pretty well.

3:00 p.m. -- We have an "Employee Town Hall" at our maintenance hangar nearby. I give a 30-minute presentation on the state of our airline to about 100 employees and finish with a question-and-answer session. It's extremely important to communicate face-to-face with employees, so twice a year we hold about 15 meetings like this.

5:00 p.m. -- I haven't seen my wife or three kids in a couple of days, so I run home, pick up the kids, and we head out to watch the Diamondbacks vs. Yankees baseball game. We have to leave in the fifth inning of the 1-1 game because I have another town hall meeting at the maintenance hangar at 8:30 p.m.

8:30 p.m. -- Town hall II. Very similar to the first one of the day, but we do two to ensure I get a chance to talk to the mechanics on the night shift. My three young children, ages nine, six, and four, tag along and sit watching TV or coloring while I present. After I'm done at about 10:00 p.m., I take them on a tour of our engine shop, and we look at the airplanes in the hangar, which they love.

10:30 p.m. -- Arrive home. Check the Internet for industry news. It has been a big day. United has been rejected for a government loan, and Delta's pilots have announced they're willing to give more concessions given the state of the industry. I read every article I can find on both topics.

12:00 a.m. -- Sit down to compose my "Day in the Life" piece. Most days aren't this long, thankfully. This one was extended by a "night shift" town hall meeting. Otherwise, this is pretty standard fare -- interaction with investors, employees, labor unions, community leaders, and directors, and [keeping tabs on] big developments at competitor airlines that may require us to adjust our strategies. In the middle, I work hard to spend time with my great family.

It's a blast, really, and I'm off to bed at 1:15 a.m. I need to be up tomorrow around 6:30 a.m. so I can get some work started in the office before another town hall meeting at 9:00 a.m. with approximately 100 employees and pilots.

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