Connections
U
nitedcelebratedVeteransDay
withaspecialhonorfornearly
100 of its employees who
have served in the armed forces.The
company invitedtheemployeestopar-
ticipate in a ceremonial delivery flight
as a thank you for their service and
sacrifice.The employees tookdelivery
ofthenewestadditiontoUnited’sfleet,
aBoeing737-900ER,andboardedthe
plane for itshonorary first flight from
Boeing Field in Seattle toChicago’s
O’Hare International Airport. In
addition to the passengers on board,
the entire cockpit and inflight crews
on thecommemorative flighthadalso
served in themilitary.
“Most veterans don’t really talk
about what a big deal their service
was in their life, but they deserve to
behonored and respected for it,”says
Chicago-based firstofficer JohnNitz,
who servedas anaircraftmechanic in
theU.S.Air Force. “I am very happy
tobeapartof thisevent,and inmy16
yearswith the company, I have never
been this proud.”
United is continuing its efforts to
build richer employee and customer
relationships through partnerships
with organizations that are com-
mitted to improving the lives of
veterans,active servicemembers,and
their families.Many customers have
expressed a desire to be part of these
opportunities togiveback.Youcando
so by donatingmiles toHeroMiles,
aFisherHouseFoundationprogram
throughwhichUnitedMileagePlus
membersdonatemiles toprovide free
flights to the families of wounded,
injured, and ill servicemembers dur-
ingmedical emergencies.
“Our employees are the key
ingredient to our success, andwe are
honored to have thousands of men
andwomen throughoutour company
who served, or are currently serving,
in the armed forces,”saysMikeEllis,
United’s senior vice president of
Human Resources and a veteran of
the U.S.Marine Corps. “The pride
andprofessionalism theybring to the
job everyday areprofound.
Honoring thosewho
have served
by jul ia wislocka
AHigh-Flying
Salute
Q:
Whatdoesachiefpilotdo?What is
thecareerpathtobecomeachiefpilot?
A:
Achiefpilot isgenerally theman-
ageror leaderof thepilotgroupat an
airlineorpilot base.Unitedhaspilot
bases in Chicago, Denver, Guam,
Houston, Los Angeles, Newark,
San Francisco, andWashington-
Dulles, where our chief pilots act
as liaisons between our pilots and
company management, as well as
the Federal Aviation Administra-
tion (FAA).As the chief pilot inLos
Angeles,Isupport theneedsofabout
1,000Unitedpilotswhoarebasedat
LosAngelesInternationalAirport.
The career path for a chief pilot
can vary, but it usually starts with
being an airline captain and gain-
ingmany years of operational flying
experience.Afterbuildingflighttime,
some captainsmay transition to the
roleof line-checkairman (LCA)and
trainotherUnitedpilots.Leadership
experiences, such as being amilitary
officer, or previous flight operations
management experience are usually
required aswell.The chief pilots at
Unitedtypicallyhaveat least20years
of operational airline experience, as
well asLCAormanagement experi-
ence, before they begin their role
overseeingapilotbase.
Italsohelpstohaveawell-rounded
personalitywithgood interpersonal
skills, since, in addition toworking
withpilots,we coordinatewithvari-
ous employee groups, such as flight
attendants, customer service agents,
andotherairportpersonnel, inorder
toensuresmoothflightoperationsfor
ourpassengers.
You canwrite to United’s chief
pilots by addressing
.
Captain Alberto
Diaz is United’s Los
Angeles chief pilot
Ask the Pilot
with Captain Alberto Diaz
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