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United Pilots Contradict Carrier on Cancellations

Holiday travel debacle can't be blamed on weather, pilots argue

December 31, 2007

The company says the bad weather in Chicago and Denver, where it operates hubs, is responsible for the mess.

But the Airline Pilots Association has filed a loud, and very public dissent. In full-page newspaper ads over the weekend, the union blamed the problems the company’s management.

United canceled more than 1,000 flights during the holiday week, impacting ten percent of its schedule. The performance tracker FlightStats shows American Airlines cancelled just two percent of its flights and had a significantly on-time record as well.

“While United management basks in the afterglow of their multimillion dollar stock dividend to themselves this Christmas holiday, their mismanagement of the airline left thousands of Christmas travelers stranded at airports all across the country,” said Capt. Mark Bathurst, Chairman of the United Master Executive Council for the union.

Bathurst said while United was canceling 1,000 flights, its rival Southwest Airlines cancelled none, while operating in the same environment. Bathurst charged crew shortages are a bigger problem for United than the weather, and categorized the holiday flight cancellations an “annual debacle.”

“It is unconscionable that United would allow this gaping hole in the schedule during the most critical time of year for holiday travelers and then try to shift the blame to acts of God,” Bathurst said. “This is nothing but further evidence of a leadership team that is simply incapable of managing a world-class airline.”

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