You’re a Vietnam veteran, a dentist, an airline pilot and now a union leader. How did your career take you in so many different directions?
A: I was in pre-med at the University of Arizona with a 3.3 grade-point average, and I wasn’t sure I could get into medical school. Growing up in San Diego, I was around a lot of military, so I decided I would try to be a pilot.
After six years flying C-141s in the Air Force (a strategic airlift plane used to fly supplies in and out), I went to work for Continental Airlines. That career took a turn in 1982 when a guy called Frank Lorenzo bought Continental. I couldn’t have my livelihood depend on somebody like him, so I applied to dental school.
I was furloughed in January 1983, and there was a subsequent strike. I didn’t really know whether I would be flying again or doing dentistry. As it turned out, I was able to do both for 15 years.
The strike was over in October of ’85, and I was recalled to Continental in October of ’86. Since that time, I’ve been flying. I was based in Denver and Los Angeles, but since they closed the Denver domicile I’ve been flying out of Houston.
Recently I was elected chairman of the Continental pilots union.
Many employees in the airline industry have tremendous pressure on them because it’s not like you can just shift from one airline to another. If you go to another airline, you start at the bottom seniority-wise. I have to admit that going to dental school has taken the pressure off me personally. I always knew that I could make a living and support my family.
Now I just do dentistry when I go on church missions. So far we’ve just extracted teeth in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.
Q: What routes do you usually fly?
A: Mostly international to Honolulu, Guam, and Narita and Nagoya, Japan. Or I fly south to São Paolo and Rio de Janeiro, or I fly to Amsterdam.
Q: How often do you fly?
A: Up until I took this chairman’s job, I flew at least once or twice a month. But now I’ll probably be flying more like once a quarter.
Q: Are there many Continental pilots who still live in Colorado?
A: Yes, there are close to 1,000 flight attendants, gate agents and pilots still in the Colorado area. And many, many more than that if you include the retired. Continental had a large presence in Colorado for a long time.
Q: What are the biggest challenges for airline pilots?
A: The biggest is fatigue. When you have a JetBlue come into the marketplace or just a lot of low-cost carriers, these carriers are flying for less money for longer hours. Now our pilots are flying for longer hours, too, so we’re seeing fatigue.
Q: What are your thoughts about the rule that requires commercial pilots to retire at 60?
A: (The pilots union) did some polling two years ago. It was like 42 percent in favor of changing it. In the meantime, we’ve had two more pensions fail.
My personal belief is that it should be changed. There’s no medical data that proves having it at 60 is any better than having it at 65. It’s a civil rights issue and an age-related issue. As long as his health is such, a pilot ought to be able to sit in that cockpit past age 60.
Q: Do you think there have been good changes in the airline industry?
A: I’m trying to think of one. I would say that the equipment we fly is tremendous, so the airplanes are very dependable.
Edited for space and clarity from an interview by staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi.
