WASHINGTON, D.C. – Captain Denny Dolan testified in Washington, D.C., today before the neutral panel deciding Delta’s 1113 motion to reject the Delta pilots’ contract. Dolan currently serves as First Vice President of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). The Delta pilots are members of and represented by ALPA.

Captain Dolan has almost 40 years of military and commercial aviation experience. After serving in the U.S. Marines from 1967 until 1976, including two tours in Vietnam, flying over 330 combat missions, he transitioned to a career in commercial aviation that spanned 30 years. Dolan currently chairs the ALPA Security Task Force formed two days after 9/11 as an immediate measure to address aviation security issues stemming from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Much of Captain Dolan’s testimony today provided insight into the training, education level, and experience necessary to become a pilot at a major international network carrier, like Delta Air Lines. Captain Dolan emphasized the necessary decision making skills acquired by major airline pilots through years of experience under pressure. These skills, Dolan stated, “allow pilots to quickly assess and weigh risks and then to make difficult, tough decisions in any situation.”

“The skills pilots hone under the stress of combat, or even as a result of the hundreds of decisions that they make during the course of a normal commercial flight, are skills that these pilots use in virtually every facet of their lives,” added Captain Dolan.

The Delta pilots are now being forced to use those same decision making skills to defend a 65-year-old contractual relationship with their company, while Delta executives seek to destroy it. Captain Dolan noted, “the Delta pilots have vast experience and training in pressure packed situations requiring decisive action.”

While the Delta pilots continue to seek a consensual agreement, Captain Lee Moak, Chairman of the Delta pilots union, said today in Washington, “Make no mistake, the Delta pilots will use the same unemotional, rational, business-like process to make the difficult decisions that lie ahead… whether to ratify an agreement or go on strike. Our pilots make these types of decisions every day in the cockpit. This is what allows them to fly millions of Delta passengers safely to their destinations everyday around the globe.”

Founded in 1931, the Air Line Pilots Association ( ALPA) represents 62,000 pilots at 39 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. ALPA represents approximately 6,000 active Delta Air Lines pilots and 500 furloughed Delta pilots. Visit the ALPA website at http://www.alpa.org and the Delta pilots’ website at http://www.deltapilots.org/.

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CONTACT: Kelly Collins, 770-330-4145 cell phone, 404-763-4925 office