• CNBC REPORTER DAVID FABER APOLOGIZES TO FLIGHT ATTENDANTS
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CNBC REPORTER DAVID FABER APOLOGIZES TO FLIGHT ATTENDANTS

On this morning's edition of CNBC's "Squawk on the Street", reporter/anchor David Faber publicly apologized to US Airways Flight Attendants for remarks he made during a story on last Friday's broadcast regarding the implementation of US Airways' a la carte beverage scheme.

Mr. Faber was overwhelmed with emails over the weekend from Flight Attendants and apologized sincerely to all those he said he had unintentionally offended.

Joining Mr. Faber on today's broadcast were myself and US Airways CEO Doug Parker. The discussion centered on the airlines a la carte programs and whether taking it into the cabin was going too far. I commented that the Union had two concerns with regard to the sale of items onboard the aircraft. The first is that with other airlines we have seen these types of programs lead to commission based compensation packages. The Union has no interest in trading hourly rates for commission.

The second concern the Union has regards the provisioning of inventory onboard the aircraft. I mentioned the concern that the airline will begin down sizing the quantities boarded because the demand will be low and fuel savings will result if weight is removed. The question still remains what is going to happen when we run out of beverages and can't sell to a passenger who wants one or provide a complimentary beverage to a passenger who has a medical condition. An airplane is a very unique environment and is not a train that stops every fifty miles or a bus that can pull over at a roadside diner. Imagine a 2 hour taxi delay in PHL during which free beverages are provided. Do you think the airplane is going to return to the gate for more Cokes? Not likely.

In Mr. Parker's segment he freely admitted that although the program is "only four days old, the Company had noticed that most passengers simply weren't buying and that is fine with us." He continued saying, "it costs $2 to carry a can around and we would be better off not doing it."

Except of course, for the exceptions I mentioned above. I have seen very little positive improvements to the cabins of our aircraft, the location of emergency equipment on the A320 fleet, the inventory counts for Buy on Board or the transatlantic envoy and coach service. Therefore, I do not trust the management's ability to "predict" how much product will be needed on each flight.

On an additional note, we have heard that procuring change continues to be a problem. So far the Company has not agreed to any type of change fund. Might I suggest the Company stencil the following next to the "Heritage" logo:

"This machine only accepts exact change"

Below are the links to this mornings' interviews by David Faber. Mr. Faber seemed very genuine in his apology and I believe we can stop writing him now. I appreciate the fact that so many of you did, as once again the strength and resiliency of this membership makes me very proud to be in a leadership role.

David Faber and Mike Flores:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=813593432


David Faber and Doug Parker:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=813595838

Thank you,

Mike Flores, President
The US Airways Master Executive Council
AFA-CWA

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