millertime46
Newbie
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/12/AR2007101201887.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7101201887.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7101201887.html
flying usair can kill?
- Thread starter millertime46
- Start date
Edward
Veteran
Even though this is about USAIRWAYS or Mesa it is still news, so please follow this & make any comments in Aviation News.Thank you.
MCD
Member
- Jun 14, 2006
- 24
- 0
Hi Everyone,
I'm posting a letter to the Editor of The Washington Post from Elise Eberwein, US Airways Senior Vice President People, Communication and Culture in response to Sunday's op-ed piece about the Gotbaum case.
As always, feel free to send along a note to [email protected] should you have any questions.
Best,
Morgan Durrant
October 17, 2007
To the Editor:
There are substantial inaccuracies which are leading to unfortunate and misleading conclusions in A.L. Bardach’s Oct. 14 op-ed piece, “Why Flying Now Can Kill.†In the piece, Bardach attempts to link airline overbooking to the tragic death of Carol Anne Gotbaum, who died in police custody at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Sept. 28.
Bardach’s premise, and many of her facts, are simply incorrect.
For example, Bardach states incorrectly that Mrs. Gotbaum did not get on her connecting flight to Tucson, even though, Bardach says, Mrs. Gotbaum arrived at the gate 25 minutes before departure. Actually, Mrs. Gotbaum arrived at Sky Harbor from New York at 12:18 p.m. and held a confirmed seat on a 1:13 p.m. connecting flight to Tucson. Her arrival gate was three gates away from the Tucson departure gate; however, she did not get to the Tucson gate until 1:05 p.m. for the 1:13 flight – after the door had closed and the jetbridge pulled from the airplane. (The police report, widely publicized on the Internet, mistakenly says the flight was due to depart at 1:30 – we’ve contacted Phoenix police to correct the report).
Airport employees at that point told Mrs. Gotbaum she could stand by for the 2:58 p.m. flight to Tucson. She arrived for that flight with someone else’s boarding pass, which was not accepted. As employees continued to try to find her a seat, she became extremely agitated. Police were called, and she died later in police custody at the airport.
We’re disappointed that Bardach is attempting to link Mrs. Gotbaum’s tragic situation with her own overbooking experience earlier this year. For the record, overbooking is a standard industry practice, in which airlines sell more seats on their flights to compensate for the historical number of no-shows for individual flights. As a rule, airlines do this accurately. According to the most recent Department of Transportation statistics, just 1.4 passengers out of 10,000 will find themselves involuntarily denied boarding because of overbooking on US Airways.
The overbooking issue, however, just does not apply to Mrs. Gotbaum. She did not get on the flight because she arrived after the flight had closed.
We have no interest – and frankly, no place – debating with Bardach or anyone else about who was “responsible†for Mrs. Gotbaum’s tragic death. This is an extremely painful and personal time for the Gotbaum family and that’s why we have refrained from commenting on this story to this point.
We will not, however, allow anyone to irresponsibly and incorrectly attempt to blame this tragedy on the hard-working employees of US Airways. We appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight.
Sincerely,
Elise Eberwein
SVP, People, Culture and Communications
US Airways
I'm posting a letter to the Editor of The Washington Post from Elise Eberwein, US Airways Senior Vice President People, Communication and Culture in response to Sunday's op-ed piece about the Gotbaum case.
As always, feel free to send along a note to [email protected] should you have any questions.
Best,
Morgan Durrant
October 17, 2007
To the Editor:
There are substantial inaccuracies which are leading to unfortunate and misleading conclusions in A.L. Bardach’s Oct. 14 op-ed piece, “Why Flying Now Can Kill.†In the piece, Bardach attempts to link airline overbooking to the tragic death of Carol Anne Gotbaum, who died in police custody at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Sept. 28.
Bardach’s premise, and many of her facts, are simply incorrect.
For example, Bardach states incorrectly that Mrs. Gotbaum did not get on her connecting flight to Tucson, even though, Bardach says, Mrs. Gotbaum arrived at the gate 25 minutes before departure. Actually, Mrs. Gotbaum arrived at Sky Harbor from New York at 12:18 p.m. and held a confirmed seat on a 1:13 p.m. connecting flight to Tucson. Her arrival gate was three gates away from the Tucson departure gate; however, she did not get to the Tucson gate until 1:05 p.m. for the 1:13 flight – after the door had closed and the jetbridge pulled from the airplane. (The police report, widely publicized on the Internet, mistakenly says the flight was due to depart at 1:30 – we’ve contacted Phoenix police to correct the report).
Airport employees at that point told Mrs. Gotbaum she could stand by for the 2:58 p.m. flight to Tucson. She arrived for that flight with someone else’s boarding pass, which was not accepted. As employees continued to try to find her a seat, she became extremely agitated. Police were called, and she died later in police custody at the airport.
We’re disappointed that Bardach is attempting to link Mrs. Gotbaum’s tragic situation with her own overbooking experience earlier this year. For the record, overbooking is a standard industry practice, in which airlines sell more seats on their flights to compensate for the historical number of no-shows for individual flights. As a rule, airlines do this accurately. According to the most recent Department of Transportation statistics, just 1.4 passengers out of 10,000 will find themselves involuntarily denied boarding because of overbooking on US Airways.
The overbooking issue, however, just does not apply to Mrs. Gotbaum. She did not get on the flight because she arrived after the flight had closed.
We have no interest – and frankly, no place – debating with Bardach or anyone else about who was “responsible†for Mrs. Gotbaum’s tragic death. This is an extremely painful and personal time for the Gotbaum family and that’s why we have refrained from commenting on this story to this point.
We will not, however, allow anyone to irresponsibly and incorrectly attempt to blame this tragedy on the hard-working employees of US Airways. We appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight.
Sincerely,
Elise Eberwein
SVP, People, Culture and Communications
US Airways
jetmech01890
Advanced
so who"s story is more accurate even though the press has a hard time giving all the right facts the company is asking to change a offical report wtf this company contributed to her death pay the price
This story is another perfect example of the East Coast blame everyone mentality! The only people responsible are her and her family, certianly not US Airways, Mesa or even the PHX Police!
Who exactly is East Coast? Are you saying any one east of the Mississippi is always wrong, just like if your north of the Mason Dixon your a yankee? Is that your mentality?
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