24 March 2007
FROM: IAH ALPA Local Council 171 Leadership Team
TO: Mr. Larry Kellner, CEO, Continental Airlines
RE: Daily News Update on March 23rd, 2007

Dear Mr. Kellner:
On behalf of the pilots of ALPA Local Council 171-IAH, we would like to express our extreme displeasure with the Daily News Update published on February 23rd, 2007. We would like to remind you that in addition to the SOCC and scheduling employees, the pilots and flight attendants of our airline were also involved in the recovery of our service after the EWR meltdown, a fact that was omitted from the DNU.

We consider this omission of thanks to the pilots and flight attendants indicative of Continental management’s perception of “Working Together”. We want to remind you that the recovery job accomplished by SOCC and scheduling was accomplished on the backs and at the expense of the most productive pilots and flight attendants in the industry. SOCC and scheduling took another bite out of the “goodwill” of the pilots as they abandoned flight crews across the system, provided little or no support to those crew members, and tossed the Collective Bargaining Agreement out the window while conducting their “great” system recovery. Perhaps in the future, you will remember the service of the crew members who actually shouldered the burden of the recovery in the DNU.

Sincerely yours,


ALPA LC171 Officers,
Wayde Beckman, Captain Representative
Mark Bolleter, First Officer Representative
Chris Urquieta, Secretary/Treasurer

Ya, great job on CALs part to provide you guys with hotel rooms. I heard many pilots and fa slept in the crewroom, and when that filled up the rest had to sleep in planes. Its just like Kellner to do that though, oh what a great leader he is. Man I wish Gordo was still around.

"most productive pilot's in the industry". Says who? LOL

No body takes Southwest into account anymore when saying these things. It's because you're so far above the rest of us. We're all just vying for second place.

"We want to remind you that the recovery job accomplished by SOCC and scheduling was accomplished on the backs and at the expense of the most productive pilots and flight attendants in the industry."

Well this statement says it all about crewmembers of other carriers that had to endure hardships.

"We want to remind you that the recovery job accomplished by SOCC and scheduling was accomplished on the backs and at the expense of the most productive pilots and flight attendants in the industry."

Well this statement says it all about crewmembers of other carriers that had to endure hardships.

Depending on which party released this letter to the media, would have, in my mind, dictated if more appropriate language could have been used. Regardless, I didn't read it as a denigration of any other pilot group. I read it as a reasonable boast by a union rep to a company official, reminding him of the sacrifices of his constituents. Nothing more and nothing less. As well, it points out that all that had needed to be done, was to acknowledge these two (pilots and flight attendant) groups' accomplishments within that event.

Just my 2 cents.

You gotta love, Larry "The Head" Kellner hahaha His video is terrible, absolutely terrible...........

While non-revving to work one-day I overheard a passenger say "Who's the guy with the huge head and looks like he has the mumps"?

Guess some sage advice to Mr. Kellner would be to stay the hell away from the onboard video.

Jetjok...well said. With a mature attitude like that you will go no where :-)