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Pete McDonald Writes to "Chicago Tribune" to Clarify Facts about United Operations
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Pete McDonald sent the following letter to the "Chicago Tribune" in response to recent press coverage of our operations:
"Much has been written about United's operational performance during the holiday season, most of which missed the facts, which I would like to share.
"We operate under two guiding principles: safety and taking care of customers, and we make our operating decisions during extreme weather conditions based on how we can safely get our customers to their destination while minimizing inconvenience to them.
"That is exactly what we did this past week and throughout the month. This was the most challenging December in United's history, with delays from weather and air-traffic control issues more than double those of our competitors. United was uniquely impacted by the weather as our two largest airports, O'Hare and Denver International -- where two out of every three domestic United flights begin or end -- dramatically reduced the number of arrivals they could accept because of the weather. Ground delay programs, prompted by weather, made these two airports among the three worst performing airports in the country measured by on-time arrivals.
"We decided to run our operation late in the evening in the days leading up to the holiday to get our customers where they were headed for Christmas, opting to cancel flights later in the week when fewer people were traveling, and we had better opportunities to get customers on other United or competitor flights. We know travel plans for some of our customers were disrupted as we worked to recover our operations, and we thank them for their patience and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience they may have encountered.
"Contrary to what some have suggested, the fact is that we have better pilot staffing levels than we have had in recent years. We have 115 more pilots this year than we did last December, and we have less domestic flying. For flying overall, this nets out to a 2 percent increase in pilots together with a 1.5 percent decrease in flying hours versus last year.
"Given the facts regarding the weather impact on Denver and Chicago and the actual increase in United pilots, it is disingenuous for ALPA to suggest disruptions to the schedule were caused by pilot shortage; such a blatant disregard for the truth is disrespectful of our employees who worked tirelessly to meet the needs of our customers in what has been an extraordinarily difficult month.
"ALPA further distorts the facts on our recently announced special distribution of $250 million to shareholders, which includes our employee stockholders who will receive $20 million in January, and follows the paydown of an additional $500 million in debt, which strengthens our financial position.
"Perhaps the most important fact, though, missed in coverage of our operations is the extraordinary job by our employees getting our customers safely to their destinations. We are extremely proud of their work, and our commitment to our customers.
Pete McDonald Chief Operating Officer United Airlines
Pete McDonald Writes to "Chicago Tribune" to Clarify Facts about United Operations
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Pete McDonald sent the following letter to the "Chicago Tribune" in response to recent press coverage of our operations:
"Much has been written about United's operational performance during the holiday season, most of which missed the facts, which I would like to share.
"We operate under two guiding principles: safety and taking care of customers, and we make our operating decisions during extreme weather conditions based on how we can safely get our customers to their destination while minimizing inconvenience to them.
"That is exactly what we did this past week and throughout the month. This was the most challenging December in United's history, with delays from weather and air-traffic control issues more than double those of our competitors. United was uniquely impacted by the weather as our two largest airports, O'Hare and Denver International -- where two out of every three domestic United flights begin or end -- dramatically reduced the number of arrivals they could accept because of the weather. Ground delay programs, prompted by weather, made these two airports among the three worst performing airports in the country measured by on-time arrivals.
"We decided to run our operation late in the evening in the days leading up to the holiday to get our customers where they were headed for Christmas, opting to cancel flights later in the week when fewer people were traveling, and we had better opportunities to get customers on other United or competitor flights. We know travel plans for some of our customers were disrupted as we worked to recover our operations, and we thank them for their patience and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience they may have encountered.
"Contrary to what some have suggested, the fact is that we have better pilot staffing levels than we have had in recent years. We have 115 more pilots this year than we did last December, and we have less domestic flying. For flying overall, this nets out to a 2 percent increase in pilots together with a 1.5 percent decrease in flying hours versus last year.
"Given the facts regarding the weather impact on Denver and Chicago and the actual increase in United pilots, it is disingenuous for ALPA to suggest disruptions to the schedule were caused by pilot shortage; such a blatant disregard for the truth is disrespectful of our employees who worked tirelessly to meet the needs of our customers in what has been an extraordinarily difficult month.
"ALPA further distorts the facts on our recently announced special distribution of $250 million to shareholders, which includes our employee stockholders who will receive $20 million in January, and follows the paydown of an additional $500 million in debt, which strengthens our financial position.
"Perhaps the most important fact, though, missed in coverage of our operations is the extraordinary job by our employees getting our customers safely to their destinations. We are extremely proud of their work, and our commitment to our customers.
Pete McDonald Chief Operating Officer United Airlines
