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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
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boeing747-800
Well-known member
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- 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....
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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.
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Lake Alice
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- 793
boeing747-800
Well-known member
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canyonblue737
Well-known member
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skykid
On Point
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FlyBoeingJets
YES, that's NICE
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canyonblue
Everyone loves Southwest
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USNFDX
Purple Member
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canyonblue said:I believe you have never been a SWAPA member so how can you even make a statement like that.
Very easily...Like I'm no Yankees fan, or I'm no Alpa fan or I'm no UAW fan or I'm no Republican fan.
You're getting to be worse than SWA/FO....Did you borrow his chip?
By the way, I am a SWAPA fan, and I never been a member.
Tripower455
Well-known member
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- Nov 23, 2003
- Posts
- 1,357
Ahhh, so, now I should deny jumpseat to any guys that fly 747's because I disagree with your views?
How about NOT using the friggin jumpseat for political statements or to sate your own personal retaliatory needs. Because ONE guy (who doesn't even commute) might have said something, the rest of the SWA guys are now gonna suffer? Even if he did say it, what purpose will it serve to punish someone else?
It's bad enough commuting offline (I did it for 9 years BEFORE all the post 9/11 nonsense), dealing with the tsA, gate agents and other JSers, why make it any harder for those guys?
Gimme a break. I know this is hard for a lot of you, but show some class and professionalism, and don't punish the guys who are trying to get to work or home, based on the alledged commentary from, of all things, the NYT......
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Tripower455 said:
Nicely said. The jumpseat is a resource for us pilots. Idiots that want to use it as a tool as retribution, seriously need to rethink their reasons for doing so. Management would like nothing more than see all jumpseating disappear... and we are definately our own worst enemy on this issue.
I remember a UAL captain that pulled out a blacklist then was dead set on banning me from his jumpseat because my name was apparently on that list. He got all irate, and demanded that I get off his plane. I asked why, and he replied "You know why. You're on my scab list".
Cooler heads finally prevailed when I looked at him and said something to the affect of, "Ummm... hate to break it to you, but I was about eight years old when United last went on strike."
Jeff Hefner
New member
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2006
- Posts
- 1
Gray Skies, etc.
I tried to post earlier and it disappeared into cyberspace so if it eventually shows up please forgive the two posts. This thread and forum was passed on to me this morning and I decided to join so I could personally address the controversy.
I am the much maligned and detested Jeff Hefner that is the topic of this thread. Let me say first and categorically that this "interview" never took place and the "quotes" attributed to me are not factual and are fabricated. I have never spoken with this individual nor any other reporter about this topic and the quotes are not my views. Now how this happened is anybody's guess but I think from the conversations that the SWAPA President has had with this reporter might shed some light on it.
I am the current SWAPA Air Safety Committee Chair and the Go-Team Chief Investigator. The events of 8 Dec. 2005 at MDW have unfortunately somewhat heightened my visibility in the national aviation community. In January I authored and released a SWAPA Air Safety Alert which dealt with winter operations and some programming issues that involved our on-board performance computer. This Alert was distributed to our pilot group and a copy of it found its way into the hands of this reporter. Our staff here at SWAPA has a record of this guy attempting to contact me after the alert was released but he was not put through. I don't do interviews nor am I the public face of our union. When confronted with my denial yesterday by our union president the reporter began some creative story changing and now has no recollection of when he actually might have spoken to me. Fact is he never has, and never will.
For those of you that gave us the benefit of the doubt until the facts could be determined, thanks! For those of you that did not, well, think about your initial reaction. Try not to use the jumpseat as a weapon, we are all much better than that
Jeff Hefner
SWAPA Air Safety
I tried to post earlier and it disappeared into cyberspace so if it eventually shows up please forgive the two posts. This thread and forum was passed on to me this morning and I decided to join so I could personally address the controversy.
I am the much maligned and detested Jeff Hefner that is the topic of this thread. Let me say first and categorically that this "interview" never took place and the "quotes" attributed to me are not factual and are fabricated. I have never spoken with this individual nor any other reporter about this topic and the quotes are not my views. Now how this happened is anybody's guess but I think from the conversations that the SWAPA President has had with this reporter might shed some light on it.
I am the current SWAPA Air Safety Committee Chair and the Go-Team Chief Investigator. The events of 8 Dec. 2005 at MDW have unfortunately somewhat heightened my visibility in the national aviation community. In January I authored and released a SWAPA Air Safety Alert which dealt with winter operations and some programming issues that involved our on-board performance computer. This Alert was distributed to our pilot group and a copy of it found its way into the hands of this reporter. Our staff here at SWAPA has a record of this guy attempting to contact me after the alert was released but he was not put through. I don't do interviews nor am I the public face of our union. When confronted with my denial yesterday by our union president the reporter began some creative story changing and now has no recollection of when he actually might have spoken to me. Fact is he never has, and never will.
For those of you that gave us the benefit of the doubt until the facts could be determined, thanks! For those of you that did not, well, think about your initial reaction. Try not to use the jumpseat as a weapon, we are all much better than that
Jeff Hefner
SWAPA Air Safety
FearlessFreep
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2002
- Posts
- 330
Deleted Original Post -
My opinions of this might be a bit strong for the delicate sensibilities for those involved in this imbroglio.
This action is no way in regard to the rhetoric posted by a possible (we don't really know for sure) Mr. Hefner: "For those of you that did not, well, think about your initial reaction". This statement is the height of impropriety. It is not the place of anyone who is proporting themselves as a representative of WN to chastize anyone HERE for their opinion prior to or after "the facts can be determined".
This is a somewhat public forum and as such should not be "policed" by outside entities.
There is so many different implications in this whole quagmire - it is just so powerfully entertaining!
My opinions of this might be a bit strong for the delicate sensibilities for those involved in this imbroglio.
This action is no way in regard to the rhetoric posted by a possible (we don't really know for sure) Mr. Hefner: "For those of you that did not, well, think about your initial reaction". This statement is the height of impropriety. It is not the place of anyone who is proporting themselves as a representative of WN to chastize anyone HERE for their opinion prior to or after "the facts can be determined".
This is a somewhat public forum and as such should not be "policed" by outside entities.
There is so many different implications in this whole quagmire - it is just so powerfully entertaining!
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FN FAL
Freight Dawgs Rule
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2003
- Posts
- 8,573
Andy said:
Andy said:
I can understand the "teeter totter" analogy, but why do they have to penalize the "fat kid"? Balance can be achieved by paying Caravan and Beech 99 guys 150K to 200K a year. If the guys in the middle can't look at both ends of the teeter totter and figure out what's going on, we could harvest their organs and use the rest for mineral recyling.
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Jeff, well spoken and to the point. I encourage SWAPA to take strong action against the Times in this matter. A half column inch retraction on page 2 is likely all you'll get, unfortunately.
To all of us, however, this event serves as a graphic reminder that we must get both sides of the story before drawing a conclusion. All too often we simply make a decision based on inaccurate or misrepresented information. While entertaining, we needlessly energized the "jumpseat denial " issue.
As a previous poster stated, sometimes, indeed, we are our own worst enemy. And there's always another side to the story...
To all of us, however, this event serves as a graphic reminder that we must get both sides of the story before drawing a conclusion. All too often we simply make a decision based on inaccurate or misrepresented information. While entertaining, we needlessly energized the "jumpseat denial " issue.
As a previous poster stated, sometimes, indeed, we are our own worst enemy. And there's always another side to the story...
Falconjet
Well-known member
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- Mar 28, 2002
- Posts
- 1,586
SW and their people continue to amaze me. I am a proud member of ALPA, but I have a hard time seeing anybody in Herndon running something like this to ground that fast and getting the truth out.
Kudos to Jeff and SWAPA.
Oh yeah, the NYT sucks donkey. That ought to about cover the flyby.
FJ
Kudos to Jeff and SWAPA.
Oh yeah, the NYT sucks donkey. That ought to about cover the flyby.
FJ
LXJ31
dirka dirka jihad dirka
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2002
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- 309
NYT is, for some reason, held up as the standard for what news reporting should be. Strange considering how many of their reporters have been caught in the past couple of years simply making stuff up. The Arts section isn't too bad, but beyond that you might as well read The Weekly World News.
Occam's Razor
Risible...ALWAYS risible
- Joined
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- 2,551
Jeff Hefner said:
Jeff,
1. Thanks for coming on here to tell your side.
2. Thanks for volunteering. Air Safety guys are the unsung heroes of union work.
3. I slimed you on another thread for the statements attributed to you. I apologize. Sometimes my indignation clouds my timing.
Blue skies.
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