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"Nothing but Gray Skies" article.. good read until the end.
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Falcon Jet 1
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SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
Pilots' Association
March 7, 2006
Captain Duane E. Woerth, President, ALPA
535 Herndon Parkway Herndon, VA 20170
Dear Duane,
On Monday, March 6 an article authored by Matthew Wald, New York Times writer, quoted a Southwest Airlines' pilot in an article entitled "Nothing but Gray Skies " After speaking to the reporter personally on at least two occasions today and speaking to the pilot who was "quoted" in the article I'm confident the reporter for some unknown reason included inaccurate and unsubstantiated comments attributed to a Southwest Airlines' pilot.
1. When asked several times today, the reporter could not recall specifically the time and place he allegedly interviewed the Southwest Airlines' pilot.. He was asked in very specific terms and was given several opportunities to confirm the precise comments he created to the pilot. He could not confirm they occurred as printed.
2. The reporter did call SWAPA for a comment in late .January in regards to another topic. He spoke to a SWAPA staff member who has a record of the call,. No information was passed to the reporter other than an acknowledgement of his request for information that would be passed to the appropriate individuals.
3 The reporter stated he was given the pilot's name by a SWAPA staff member, however the SWAPA staff' member confirmed this did not occur. It is the policy of SWAPA to never release the name of members to outside agencies; this includes the press.
4 The Captain involved was never interviewed by this reporter in regards to this story The Captain categorically denies the statements attributed to him.
The press can be your friend; however in this case Mr. Wald got it wrong. The alleged quotes reported by Mr. Wald in no way reflect the views or opinions of the Southwest Airlines' pilots SWAPA appreciates what all pilots have sacrificed to save their airlines and works cooperatively on many levels with ALPA, APA and all professional pilot organizations. SWAPA is contacting the paper to request a retraction and is pursuing other avenues to correct the inaccurate reporting which occurred
Best regards,
Joseph "Ike" Eichelkraut President, SWAPA
Brookview Plaza 0 1450 Empire Central Dr Suite 737 0 Dallas TX 75247
Phone: 214..350-9237 • Tollfree: 800-969-7972 . Fax: 214-350-0647 s www swapa org
Pilots' Association
March 7, 2006
Captain Duane E. Woerth, President, ALPA
535 Herndon Parkway Herndon, VA 20170
Dear Duane,
On Monday, March 6 an article authored by Matthew Wald, New York Times writer, quoted a Southwest Airlines' pilot in an article entitled "Nothing but Gray Skies " After speaking to the reporter personally on at least two occasions today and speaking to the pilot who was "quoted" in the article I'm confident the reporter for some unknown reason included inaccurate and unsubstantiated comments attributed to a Southwest Airlines' pilot.
1. When asked several times today, the reporter could not recall specifically the time and place he allegedly interviewed the Southwest Airlines' pilot.. He was asked in very specific terms and was given several opportunities to confirm the precise comments he created to the pilot. He could not confirm they occurred as printed.
2. The reporter did call SWAPA for a comment in late .January in regards to another topic. He spoke to a SWAPA staff member who has a record of the call,. No information was passed to the reporter other than an acknowledgement of his request for information that would be passed to the appropriate individuals.
3 The reporter stated he was given the pilot's name by a SWAPA staff member, however the SWAPA staff' member confirmed this did not occur. It is the policy of SWAPA to never release the name of members to outside agencies; this includes the press.
4 The Captain involved was never interviewed by this reporter in regards to this story The Captain categorically denies the statements attributed to him.
The press can be your friend; however in this case Mr. Wald got it wrong. The alleged quotes reported by Mr. Wald in no way reflect the views or opinions of the Southwest Airlines' pilots SWAPA appreciates what all pilots have sacrificed to save their airlines and works cooperatively on many levels with ALPA, APA and all professional pilot organizations. SWAPA is contacting the paper to request a retraction and is pursuing other avenues to correct the inaccurate reporting which occurred
Best regards,
Joseph "Ike" Eichelkraut President, SWAPA
Brookview Plaza 0 1450 Empire Central Dr Suite 737 0 Dallas TX 75247
Phone: 214..350-9237 • Tollfree: 800-969-7972 . Fax: 214-350-0647 s www swapa org
Last edited:
boeing747-800
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2005
- Posts
- 56
Not everyone agrees that the longer working schedule is a problem. "It's hard for me to feel sorry for them," said Jeffrey Hefner, the safety chairman of the union that represents pilots at Southwest Airlines, who have always flown longer hours than pilots at older airlines.
"They're a bunch of spoiled brats," he said. "Historically, this has been a really cushy job once you get to the majors. You make a lot of money, and you don't have to fly a lot. But there had to be a market balancing at some point
Like I said SWA xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx...don't bother getting on my jumpseat. You're mentality at the top says it all
ah-ah-ah....
"They're a bunch of spoiled brats," he said. "Historically, this has been a really cushy job once you get to the majors. You make a lot of money, and you don't have to fly a lot. But there had to be a market balancing at some point
Like I said SWA xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx...don't bother getting on my jumpseat. You're mentality at the top says it all
ah-ah-ah....
Last edited by a moderator:
Letter from the President of SWAPA
First of all to those who were willing to give the benefit of the doubt to a fellow pilot and to the pilots of SWAPA before spears were thrown, thanks. You are a credit to the profession. Cool heads need to prevail when dealing with "quotes" from the 4th estate.
SWAPA spent the day doing the necessary research to get the straight facts and preparing the reply you see above. I would ask each of you to contact your jumpseat point of contact and forward the contents of this letter to each of them in order to ensure SWA pilots are not denied any jumpseat rides by those few who might wish to take their anger out on jumpseating pilots for comments that turn out to be false. Additionally, pls cut & paste if you wish the contents of this letter & post it in your crew lounges so others can see the "facts" surrounding this article. The letter sums up quite well SWAPA's reaction and what steps are being taken to correct this situation. ALPA & APA representatives have also been notified of this response to the article. I'll withhold my comments about the author since my mother always taught me, "if you can't something nice about someone, don't say anything at all".
Thanks to sleeves & falconjet for posting the letter. Good on ya.
First of all to those who were willing to give the benefit of the doubt to a fellow pilot and to the pilots of SWAPA before spears were thrown, thanks. You are a credit to the profession. Cool heads need to prevail when dealing with "quotes" from the 4th estate.
SWAPA spent the day doing the necessary research to get the straight facts and preparing the reply you see above. I would ask each of you to contact your jumpseat point of contact and forward the contents of this letter to each of them in order to ensure SWA pilots are not denied any jumpseat rides by those few who might wish to take their anger out on jumpseating pilots for comments that turn out to be false. Additionally, pls cut & paste if you wish the contents of this letter & post it in your crew lounges so others can see the "facts" surrounding this article. The letter sums up quite well SWAPA's reaction and what steps are being taken to correct this situation. ALPA & APA representatives have also been notified of this response to the article. I'll withhold my comments about the author since my mother always taught me, "if you can't something nice about someone, don't say anything at all".
Thanks to sleeves & falconjet for posting the letter. Good on ya.
Last edited:
Lake Alice
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2005
- Posts
- 793
boeing747-800
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2005
- Posts
- 56
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