Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2004 2:55 AM
Subject: 29 December MEC Chairman Message
Bill Pollock
MEC Chairman’s message to the pilots
December 29, 2004
This is MEC Chairman Bill Pollock with a Chairman’s message to the pilots for Wednesday, December 29th.
I want to start out by thanking everyone for your hard work during this holiday period. I sincerely hope everyone has the opportunity to enjoy this holiday season and that during your busy schedule you are able to spend some time with your family and friends.
Unfortunately, as you know, US Airways’ operations over Christmas, especially in PHL, was nothing short of a fiasco. As an employee and as a pilot I am embarrassed by the actions that resulted in the disrespectful treatment of our customers. We did not make the tremendous sacrifices in LOA 93, which will provide for the successful transformation of this airline, to be squandered. I assure you that your union will demand that the atrocity that occurred in PHL will be fully investigated and those responsible for the damage to our airline will be held accountable for their actions.
But I also am extremely proud of how our pilots responded to the crisis. Many of you continue to volunteer to help restore confidence in our airline. US Airways pilots performed their jobs as they always do, providing safe, reliable and dependable transportation to our valued customers. Your consistent sense of responsibility to our passengers was the untold story during the Christmas holiday, and was unfortunately overshadowed by the problems experienced over the weekend. Pilots are flying extra sections to move stranded passengers and baggage, taking you away from your families, just to make sure that people traveling with bags and gifts could arrive at their destinations as soon as possible. Pilots are also volunteering their vehicles to deliver rerouted baggage to the homes of our anxious customers.
This is our airline and many of you have demonstrated by your actions this weekend, just how passionate we are about keeping it that way. You have carried out all that has been asked of you and then some. And while I know you aren’t asking for any recognition and praise for simply doing the job that people have come to expect of you, I want to thank you just the same.
A lot of our pilots continue to call and email, asking what they can do to help restore our customers’ trust in our airline. In response to the overwhelming request by employees desiring to help our company recover from the operational disruption last week, the company has put into place a process for those wanting to assist in an appropriate manner. About 150 employees have committed to “Operation Recovery†so far.
Two groups have been established to respond to the current situation. One group is focusing on operations and performing related administrative functions. Employees who wish to volunteer should call dialnet between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at 359-3020 or 1-800-327-0117 and choose prompts 1-5-8-2.
The other group is handling customer relations functions such as meeting and greeting customers in the airport ticket counter area, responding to questions and concerns, serving coffee and refreshments and helping at security checkpoints and directing traffic. Employees who wish to volunteer for these activities should call dialnet 872-5067 or 872-7411 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
As pilots we are no strangers to the operational abnormalities in PHL. We have been bringing this issue to management since the “Convair Days!†We have participated in countless task forces and committees to address the problems in PHL. We have filled out volumes of operational irregularity forms, made numerous trips to the PHL Chief Pilots Office, emailed everyone from the CEO down to the individual monitoring PHL Ramp Tower, and all to no avail. And while it may not be fair to attribute the travesty of this past weekend to the “Philly Factor,†enough is enough!
We have invested all we have into this airline. Too much is at stake not to demand accountability for this past weekend and the dismal performance we have witnessed in PHL throughout the years. We deserve the company’s undivided attention to our legitimate concerns. Certainly our passengers who travel through our busiest hub deserve better. We have reached the point of intolerance with short-term fixes. And we need real solutions now.
I will make sure that Mr. Lakefield knows how passionate we are about saving this airline and really fixing the problem in PHL. No one has a better understanding of the operation than those of us in the cockpit. I will remind Mr. Lakefield that ALPA and the US Airways pilots expect to be partners in instituting necessary changes to permanently repair the Philadelphia operation.
I will continue to work to ensure that ALPA’s a part of any solution, whether it’s in the PHL operation, scheduling, or delivering superior customer service. We’re continuing to monitor our investment in this airline. We cannot allow our sacrifices to be wasted. And the events of last weekend cannot happen again.
Thanks for listening, thanks for your concern and I’ll speak with you again soon.
Subject: 29 December MEC Chairman Message
Bill Pollock
MEC Chairman’s message to the pilots
December 29, 2004
This is MEC Chairman Bill Pollock with a Chairman’s message to the pilots for Wednesday, December 29th.
I want to start out by thanking everyone for your hard work during this holiday period. I sincerely hope everyone has the opportunity to enjoy this holiday season and that during your busy schedule you are able to spend some time with your family and friends.
Unfortunately, as you know, US Airways’ operations over Christmas, especially in PHL, was nothing short of a fiasco. As an employee and as a pilot I am embarrassed by the actions that resulted in the disrespectful treatment of our customers. We did not make the tremendous sacrifices in LOA 93, which will provide for the successful transformation of this airline, to be squandered. I assure you that your union will demand that the atrocity that occurred in PHL will be fully investigated and those responsible for the damage to our airline will be held accountable for their actions.
But I also am extremely proud of how our pilots responded to the crisis. Many of you continue to volunteer to help restore confidence in our airline. US Airways pilots performed their jobs as they always do, providing safe, reliable and dependable transportation to our valued customers. Your consistent sense of responsibility to our passengers was the untold story during the Christmas holiday, and was unfortunately overshadowed by the problems experienced over the weekend. Pilots are flying extra sections to move stranded passengers and baggage, taking you away from your families, just to make sure that people traveling with bags and gifts could arrive at their destinations as soon as possible. Pilots are also volunteering their vehicles to deliver rerouted baggage to the homes of our anxious customers.
This is our airline and many of you have demonstrated by your actions this weekend, just how passionate we are about keeping it that way. You have carried out all that has been asked of you and then some. And while I know you aren’t asking for any recognition and praise for simply doing the job that people have come to expect of you, I want to thank you just the same.
A lot of our pilots continue to call and email, asking what they can do to help restore our customers’ trust in our airline. In response to the overwhelming request by employees desiring to help our company recover from the operational disruption last week, the company has put into place a process for those wanting to assist in an appropriate manner. About 150 employees have committed to “Operation Recovery†so far.
Two groups have been established to respond to the current situation. One group is focusing on operations and performing related administrative functions. Employees who wish to volunteer should call dialnet between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at 359-3020 or 1-800-327-0117 and choose prompts 1-5-8-2.
The other group is handling customer relations functions such as meeting and greeting customers in the airport ticket counter area, responding to questions and concerns, serving coffee and refreshments and helping at security checkpoints and directing traffic. Employees who wish to volunteer for these activities should call dialnet 872-5067 or 872-7411 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
As pilots we are no strangers to the operational abnormalities in PHL. We have been bringing this issue to management since the “Convair Days!†We have participated in countless task forces and committees to address the problems in PHL. We have filled out volumes of operational irregularity forms, made numerous trips to the PHL Chief Pilots Office, emailed everyone from the CEO down to the individual monitoring PHL Ramp Tower, and all to no avail. And while it may not be fair to attribute the travesty of this past weekend to the “Philly Factor,†enough is enough!
We have invested all we have into this airline. Too much is at stake not to demand accountability for this past weekend and the dismal performance we have witnessed in PHL throughout the years. We deserve the company’s undivided attention to our legitimate concerns. Certainly our passengers who travel through our busiest hub deserve better. We have reached the point of intolerance with short-term fixes. And we need real solutions now.
I will make sure that Mr. Lakefield knows how passionate we are about saving this airline and really fixing the problem in PHL. No one has a better understanding of the operation than those of us in the cockpit. I will remind Mr. Lakefield that ALPA and the US Airways pilots expect to be partners in instituting necessary changes to permanently repair the Philadelphia operation.
I will continue to work to ensure that ALPA’s a part of any solution, whether it’s in the PHL operation, scheduling, or delivering superior customer service. We’re continuing to monitor our investment in this airline. We cannot allow our sacrifices to be wasted. And the events of last weekend cannot happen again.
Thanks for listening, thanks for your concern and I’ll speak with you again soon.
