Should Continental Continue to Host Events for Its Best Fliers?

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  Concerned Continental Pilot

  02/08/09 | Report as spam

  Continental Pilot Union Response to Continental DO IV

  I have spent most of my morning answering emails and phone calls from pilots who, like me, are in disbelief about another corporate showing of excess yesterday. Unfortunately this one occurred here at Continental on Flights 9920 and 9921. While I have no problem with promoting our airline and rewarding our high paying passengers, taking a couple of hundred bloggers on a couple of hour long joy ride around Texas seems excessive by any standard. At this time, with this economy and with the current public attitude toward corporate greed and excess, is this really the type of activity they think will improve our bottom line? Have they not learned anything from other companies? bad press due their excesses with these types of events?
  
  The insensitivity is even greater with 147 pilots on furlough. I hope everyone enjoyed the reported low pass over Hobby. It is very likely that one or more of our furloughed brothers was washing or fueling airplanes directly below in order feed his family. If this is even close to being true, whoever approved this event owes our furloughed brothers and sisters an apology. They also owe every one of us who continues to work under a concessionary contract an apology.
  
  Worse, the concerns I have fielded from our Union pilots are not simply about the expenses of the affair, but also about the apparent lack of concern for cockpit security, for the professionalism of our pilots, our CBA, and the amount of alcohol consumed by passengers. Management should be aware that when they invite internet activists to an event, it does not take long for the pictures to be posted on the various web sites. Imagine my concern when I viewed a picture of a passenger in one of our jumpseats, in flight, wearing the captain?s hat and bragging about how much he had drunk. Further imagine my disgust that your management just inflicted an unpaid suspension on two line pilots for allowing a Flight Attendant to ride in the jumpseat. Hypocrisy is too kind a characterization of the company?s disparate conduct in these two events.
  
  No matter the expense of the event the perceptions of waste and excess far outweigh any possible benefits. I will be making the MEC?s concerns known to management first thing Monday morning. Each of us should encourage management to reconsider these types of events in the future. If not we will certainly do a better job of getting advance notice of time and location. Our SPSC guys would love to attend.
  
  
  
  Captain Jay Pierce
  
  CAL MEC Chairman

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  pilotindave

  02/09/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Should Continental Continue to Host Events for Its Best Fliers?

  If it werent for these fliers you wouldn't have a job to complain about!

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  elizabethrizzo

  02/11/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Should Continental Continue to Host Events for Its Best Fliers?

  Jay Pierce,
  
  This flight you are ranting about was operated under Part 91 and all the activites you complain about were 100 percent legal.
  
  I suggest you spend less time bitching and more time being a pilot...which involves at least a cursory understanding of the F.A.R.s.
  
  Elizabeth Rizzo