UAL ALPA "Apology"

[PCL_128]

Excellent ad. Despite vtech's asinine comments, that's exactly the kind of PR move that needs to be made.

 

[saabservant]

Very nicely done.

Hey, anybody know of United's hiring plan?
Got an email request to fill out personality assessment.... no, I do not want to be a deep-sea diver, and I happen to like Greek mythology...

Have lots of 121 PIC, ex-Marine, no degree though...not expecting to hear from them...

Thanks, and Happy New Year to all

 

[AC560]

Excellent ad. Despite vtech's asinine comments, that's exactly the kind of PR move that needs to be made.

The only thing it advertises is that there are union difficulties at UA and if I am taking my family to Florida maybe I should book elsewhere. While it may be good for union moral I don't think it creates any long term benefits for UA or its employees.

 

[Yuppyguppy]

You a Skywest pilot? Sounds like the koolaid speaking. I think UAL needs a "winter of love"
PBR

Love the name PBR...and I pm'ed vtech and let to let him know what a POS he is...

 

[BoilerUP]

The only thing it advertises is that there are union difficulties at UA and if I am taking my family to Florida maybe I should book elsewhere. While it may be good for union moral I don't think it creates any long term benefits for UA or its employees.

Hate to tell you, but there are union difficulties at almost every single airline in operation today...

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

The only thing it advertises is that there are union difficulties at UA and if I am taking my family to Florida maybe I should book elsewhere. While it may be good for union moral I don't think it creates any long term benefits for UA or its employees.

Yeah and there is political disharmony in the US.... maybe you should find a country were there isn't...


or you could fly skywest and jetblue to see Mickey...

 

[AC560]

Hate to tell you, but there are union difficulties at almost every single airline in operation today...

I am aware of that, the average American though doesn't. What the readers of this article see is wow things are messed up at UA, guess we should fly somebody else.

What can possibly be the positive outcome of this article aside from maybe rallying union membership which isn't worth the price paid in alienating your customer base.

Yeah and there is political disharmony in the US.... maybe you should find a country were there isn't...

Your analogy doesn't even begin to compare apples to apples.

or you could fly skywest and jetblue to see Mickey...

Which will probably be the effect of the advertisement on the traveling public.

 

[pipe]

How many pilots are still out on furlough (not counting military or medical)? How many have by-passed? I'm curious how many pilots ALPA projects UA to be short and by comparison, how many management says they are short. Things just aren't getting better in this industry, are they?

No. That trend began in 1979, but I am certain we'll see an uptick very soon.

PIPE

 

[PCL_128]

The whole point of such ads is demonstrating to management that the union has the ability to turn their customer base away if management doesn't play ball. Do you think strikes are good for business? Slowdowns? Nobody wants to do these things, but they are the only leverage that unions have to exert on management. Without hurting the bottom line, management won't pay attention. If they're smart, they will take care of the root cause of the labor unrest before things get out of hand.

 

[AC560]

Without hurting the bottom line, management won't pay attention.

Bottom line performance has little to do with executive compensation. One also has to consider that the weaker UA becomes the more likely a merger will occur. From a compensation standpoint the executives at UA would win big selling the airline off.

 

[PBRstreetgang]

The only thing it advertises is that there are union difficulties at UA and if I am taking my family to Florida maybe I should book elsewhere. While it may be good for union moral I don't think it creates any long term benefits for UA or its employees.

Drive and see America, no $hit! If you think what UAL execs have done to the employees is allright, buy that ticket, if not drive!
PBR
P.S. If its not UAL it will be DAL, AA, or any other number of alphabet combos.

 

[GravityHater]

The full text:

An Apology
The professional pilots of United Airlines would like to apologize to the traveling
public for United Airlines’ def iciencies during this Holiday Season.
The pilots of United Airlines sympathize with our travelers’ plights earlier this week.
Many of our pilots did not make it home to share the holidays with their loved ones
either. United may blame this week’s flight cancellations on poor weather in the
Midwest, but, as most of our competitors demonstrated, the real culprit was United’s
lack of manpower – attempting to fly more with fewer employees – all at your
expense. United has been an all-weather airline for more than 80 years. We
pioneered many of the safety innovations such as onboard weather radar, anti-skid
brakes, better weather forecasting and improved navigation instruments that allow
operation in inclement weather all over the world. Until recently, we have been able
to eff iciently handle weather events in the Midwest and throughout the world without
major disruptions.
Over the last few years, however, United has had to endure a management team that is
bent on personal prof it over customer service. They have pared employee staff ing to
the bare minimum, making them unable to respond to even well-anticipated weather
events. Many of our pilots work to the FAA maximum limits every month, all year
long. We have repeatedly warned United’s management that they do not have the
crew resources to staff our airline adequately and have repeatedly asked them to
discuss these shortcomings. So far they have declined to do so. Instead, they diverted
$750 million of cash payouts so that they may receive personal stock dividends of
$2,196,165. The top f ive United off icers received a combined salary between
$65,983,879 and $100,850,809 in 2006. We believe your holiday travel experiences
would have been much better this week if they had used that money on the airline
instead of on themselves.
United Airlines is our livelihood and our source of pride. We are here for the duration
and we are here for you. We are disappointed in the way you, our valued customers,
were treated by United’s management. You deserve better from a world-class airline.
Signed,
The Pilots of United Airlines
United Chapter, Air Line Pilots Association
9550 W. Higgins Road, Suite 1000
Rosemont, Illinois 60018
847-292-1700
ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT

 

[pipe]

TILTON'S RESPONSE:

So what. I don't really give a sh!t.

That's all for now.

Glenn

 

[Sonny Crockett]

We have a new MEC Chairman now.


You will start to see some REAL Union leadership, not just lip service.

 

[Jonny Sacko]

Man, I hope you're right. It's hard to find lately.

 

[John Pennekamp]

We have a new MEC Chairman now.


You will start to see some REAL Union leadership, not just lip service.

Care to elaborate? I've never heard major complaints about Mark's leadership.

 

[Hvy]

Care to elaborate? I've never heard major complaints about Mark's leadership.

Mark's Leadership? What leadership? Are you serious?

 

[Morning Wood]

No. That trend began in 1979, but I am certain we'll see an uptick very soon.

PIPE

Airlines with the exception of TWA were making record profits in the mid to late 90's. Every major was hiring in droves. Simply look at a UA or DL seniority list and see how many pilots were hired between 1997 and 2000.

The "trend" you refer to has been cycling off and on further back than 1979. I have friends that were hired at TWA in 1968 and were furloughed 3 times. Some sat sideways for 15 years before even thinking about being able to upgrade to F/O. Back then, there was no such thing as Southwest, JetBlue, or regionals to apply to. But then again, majors today aren't hiring pilots with 250 hours and a commercial ticket.

 

[pipe]

Airlines with the exception of TWA were making record profits in the mid to late 90's. Every major was hiring in droves. Simply look at a UA or DL seniority list and see how many pilots were hired between 1997 and 2000.

The "trend" you refer to has been cycling off and on further back than 1979. I have friends that were hired at TWA in 1968 and were furloughed 3 times. Some sat sideways for 15 years before even thinking about being able to upgrade to F/O. Back then, there was no such thing as Southwest, JetBlue, or regionals to apply to. But then again, majors today aren't hiring pilots with 250 hours and a commercial ticket.

UA contract 2000 and DAL's UA+1 were nothing compared to deregulation salaries for the same positions when adjusted for inflation.

PIPE

 

[stlflyguy]

....or rather...

TILTON'S RESPONSE:

So what. I don't really give a sh!t.

That's all for now.

Glenn

I like it but not wordy enough....

"What we're seeing is a disaggregation between long-held industry norms in staffing and the actual triangulation of the demand for flying, supply of personnel, and atmospheric phenomena that would manifest itself in the running of an operation such as ours. I suggest there's a dichotomy between what the pilot's union has been promoting and the actual atmospheric phenomena that has followed every United Airlines aircraft throughout the Midwest."

I believe this to be a bit more Tilton-esque....

stlflyguy