Dojet,
Yes I have heard about them admitting they were wrong back in the 80's. This is just heresay, so take it with a grain of salt. I've never seen it in print that I can recall.
I had a United jumpseater that rode with me on a somewhat regular basis. I was a regional f/o and he wouldn't even as much as speak to me even though he too was an f/o. He flew Vipers in the military. He complained to my captain about United's, "questionable hiring practices" all the while cutting his eye at me. He was low time and couldn't get looked at until he got the viper time at and his commander was with United or something like that, and he got the nod.
As many times as he rode on my a/c he never spoke to me. Not once. I even joked with my captain after I rolled it on and put it in shallow reverse and held the nose off dissipating speed, basically showing off, that I wanted to say good bye to the folks to see if he would speak to me. He never did. As far as in print, no. I'm just telling you what this pompous whale driver told to me. I don't think they'll admit to it publicly because it'll open another can of worms about
WHY they started doing it in the first place.
When I told you good luck, I meant it. You don't know how many times I've heard this stuff. You walk through an airport and you always feel like a poster child for AA no matter what credentials you have. Those men who folded their arms and turned their backs to me are just faceless men in the abyss of my mind, but I will always remember what they did. I will always remember the guys that went out of their way to make me feel unwelcome but each new person I meet is met with an open mind. For the record, I do not harbor any ill will, but I'll let you be the judge of that.
I know two minorities hired at United. One directly and one indirectly. Leroy Homer (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeRoy_Homer) a former Airforce pilot who paid the ultimate price on 9/11 and the other pilot from a former airline of mine. He was retired military, typed, multi-degreed and one of the finest men I've ever had the privilege of knowing. Anyway, take care of yourself ... and I mean that with no malice or sarcasm.
J
Please forgive any typos.