Release #05.056
December 21, 2005

Piloting Profession Proves Its Worth Again in Boston

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The following statement was issued by Capt. Duane Woerth, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l., after the safe landing of Midwest Airlines Flight 210 at Boston's Logan Airport on Tuesday evening.

"ALPA congratulates the Midwest Airlines pilots for bringing Flight 210 to a safe landing. A pilot myself, I am sure that they're saying that they were just 'doing their job.' But the truth is that the skill, training and professionalism that the pilots exhibited over Boston Logan turned an in-flight emergency into a flawless, routine landing.

"Many people are using words to salute the Midwest flight crew's actions. They deserve these accolades and we add ours to them. But words are not enough. It is well past time for our nation's government and industry leaders to put words into action and recognize a profession that contributes so much to their industry and to the citizens and economy of this country.

"Congress must fully investigate the Department of Transportation's recent back-door proposal that would undermine our profession by allowing foreign interests greater control over airlines' business decisions. It must also pass final legislation to protect airline employees' hard-earned pensions. It is time for bankruptcy court judges to recognize airline employees as stakeholders who must be fully engaged in charting a future course for the carriers to which they have given billions in concessions. While Midwest has recently chosen to work with its pilots' leadership by negotiating settlements to a few contractual disputes, many airline managements are not respecting the agreements they have signed with labor. As always, pilots and other airline employees are ready to work with them to forge a viable future for our nation's airlines--but they must step up.

"The Midwest Airlines pilots, and the thousands of other airline pilots who transport millions of passengers and tons of cargo safely every day, bear witness to a profession marked by extraordinary expertise, skill and judgment. Today, the collective membership of ALPA calls on the administration, Congress, and airline managements to rise to the same standards and act now to honor all airline pilots and the industry of which they are part."

ALPA represents 63,000 airline pilots at 40 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. Its website is at www.alpa.org.

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ALPA CONTACTS: John Mazor, Linda Shotwell, (703) 481-4440, media@alpa.org.