But Add It's Nothing Personal

They don't care where he goes... they just don't want him to stay at United Airlines. On Monday pilots at the nation's number two airline repeated their call for CEO Glenn F. Tilton's head, saying the embattled chief (right) has spearheaded United's steep decline in customer service, performance and employee morale.

The Associated Press reports the United chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association has started a new Web site, devoted to listing what the union says are Tilton's many failings since he took over the CEO role in September 2002.

"Under Glenn Tilton’s tenure, United has gone from being the finest airline in the world, with the best route structure and safety record, to a shell of its former self," said Steve Wallach, chairman of the pilots union’s executive committee. "He has had every opportunity to turn this company around, and tap the abilities of its first-class employees, but instead he has run it into the ground."

Pilots cite United's second-worst on-time rate in June, as reported by the Department of Transportation last week. That decline came as most other domestic carriers improved their performance, compared with one year ago.

The pilots also point to a recent United survey, showing a mere 38 percent of the airline's employees take pride in their company... down 15 percentage points from 2006.

Those workers' heated -- and increasingly publicized -- distaste for Tilton's policies is nothing new. The contentious management/employee relationship at United has been fodder for Aero-News headlines for at least three years, often with the airline's pilots leading the charge. Workers have protested at the last two annual shareholder meetings, holding signs stating "We Are United, They Are Pigs" and telling Tilton outright, "You continue to be compensated for failure."

But Wallach hastens to add it's nothing personal. Really.

"This is not a personal attack on Glenn Tilton," the ALPA chief said. "These dismal numbers speak for themselves. They are a reflection of his inability to lead, his incompetence as a manager and his failure in virtually every category that can be measured. We have tried every conceivable way to convince him to invest in, and maximize the good will of, his employees. He has failed miserably."

Pilots at United have been at odds with management for years, over pay cuts pilots agreed to take even as senior executives were rewarded with lucrative bonuses.

United has announced plans to ground its oldest Boeing 737s by the end of the year, and slash capacity to offset the impact of high oil prices. Predictably, pilots are sharply opposed to that plan, noting "shrinking the airline to achieve profitability has been demonstrated to be a failed business practice."

On Monday, Wallach also sent a letter to Acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell, questioning United's maintenance practices. The airline and its pilots have also been locked in a contentious battle over alleged "sick-outs," that United blamed for a number of cancelled flights last month. A hearing before the US District Court in Chicago, seeking a preliminary injunction against such work-actions, is scheduled later this month.

FMI: www.glenntilton.com, www.united.com, www.alpa.org