Doug Parker’s Post

As of last week, our three inaugural Breaking Down Barriers student pilots have passed their Private Pilot written exam. The FAA requires multiple written exams on the path to a commercial pilot, and the Private Pilot written has the lowest success rate of them all. But each of these student pilots passed on their first attempt! These three high-potential individuals are going to become commercial pilots one day. And just three months ago, they had no idea such a career was a possibility. We just helped eliminate some barriers in their way. They are doing the hard work. And proving who they are. It’s a privilege to watch. There are hundreds more to follow, and the result will be transformed lives and enhanced communities. Drew, Dante and Shakeel are leading the way. Congratulations, you three. Your hard work is paying off. We are all so proud of you.

We lost a great American this week — Reverend James Lawson passed away. I had the honor of traveling to Selma in March 2015 with Congressman John Lewis. On that trip, Congressman Lewis talked about Reverend Lawson’s contributions to the Civil Rights movement at a level on par with Dr. Martin Luther King. Embarrassed that I didn’t know as much about Reverend Lawson as it seemed I should, I did some research. I learned how Dr. Lawson led the nonviolent resistance movement in America and taught it to others in the Civil Rights Movement such as Congressman Lewis and Diane Nash. I also learned that work had gotten him expelled from my beloved Vanderbilt University University in 1960. True to form, though, Dr. Lawson forgave Vanderbilt and returned as a Distinguished Professor in 2006. My wife Gwen and I were so moved by the story that we established the Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. Scholarship at Vanderbilt in 2018 for underrepresented minority students who demonstrate a commitment to civil rights and social justice. Those students are continuing Reverend Lawson’s legacy and his teachings of compassion and unity. What an amazing example he has left for all of us.

This past weekend I was in Dubai to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award from Aviation Week Network and Air Transport World. Over the past couple of years, I’ve gotten more of this type of recognition than I deserve. But I know the recognition is for our team, so it is an honor to represent them. Thank you to ATW and Karen Walker for acknowledging our work. It was a wonderful night and I was honored to be there to accept on behalf of all of the hard-working people of America West, US Airways, and American.

Today we celebrated the next two recipients of scholarships from Breaking Down Barriers! Meet Reet Kaur and Brittney Verdell. Reet and Brittney are both hard-working high-potential women that are now going to become commercial airline pilots. Neither of them had any notion that was even a remote possibility until a few months ago when they attended a BDB info session. Now they start pilot training in June. They, of course, have to now do the hard work it takes to make it through training, just like every other commercial pilot. All we have done is break down a couple of barriers that were keeping them from this heading down this path — awareness of the opportunity and the financial resources to pursue it. With those barriers removed, Reet and Brittney are more than ready for the challenge and we know they will succeed. Importantly, both are also committed to using their success to be leaders in their communities and examples for others to follow. Their work to transform their own lives will serve to transform their communities over time. Congratulations, Reet and Brittney! We are so proud of you and can’t wait to watch you fly and lead the way for others.

I recently had the honor of joining my friend Marty Nesbitt and the impressive Tammera L. Holmes on a panel in Chicago at the Aviation Week Network MRO Americas conference. Lee Ann Shay led us in a conversation titled Breaking Down Barriers Now — about how to make the aviation industry even stronger by breaking down the barriers that exist to a more diverse workforce. Marty and Tammera talked about the barriers they had to overcome to get where they are — and how fortunate they had to be to do so. I spoke about the work we are doing at our non-profit, Breaking Down Barriers. And we all talked about the strength of diverse teams and the need to remove barriers to ensure we have the best of the best in our business. It was a great discussion in front of an engaged crowd of aviation professionals. Thank you Lee Ann Shay and Aviation Week for inviting us to have this important conversation. Let’s all keep working on breaking down barriers for the benefit of our industry and our country.

Here we go!! I’d like you to meet three hard-working high-potential young adults who are the first recipients of full flight training scholarships from Breaking Down Barriers: - Shakeel Pearson - Drew Williams - Dante Stearns Shakeel, Drew and Dante started their training with an orientation session yesterday. We have helped break down some barriers that existed for each of them, but the hard work is now up to them. We are confident they are up to the task. And, importantly, they are each dedicated to being examples and leaders for others in their community. Congratulations you three. I am so proud of you. And I am excited about the difference you will make in the future. There are hundreds more to come behind you, but you will always be the first class of BDB. We can’t wait to watch you soar.

Last week I had the pleasure of talking to my friends B. Ben Baldanza and Scott McCartney on their Airlines Confidential Podcast We talked about a serious aviation safety concern of mine — the discrepancy in TSA security at some scheduled airlines versus all others. Upstart “scheduled charter” airlines for some reason have much lighter passenger screening — no federal agents doing positive ID checks; no body scanners; no restrictions on liquids, etc. This is a national disaster waiting to happen. We like to say “9/11: Never Forget” yet we seem to have forgotten all of the work we did as a nation and an industry to ensure an event like 9/11 can never happen again. The terrorists have not forgotten and they still exist. And they target lapses we make in aviation security such as this. U.S. Department of Transportation and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have been aware of this unintended security risk for long enough. They are studying the problem but have yet to act. The solution is simple: either institute consistent, comprehensive TSA scheduled-airline security wherever these scheduled carriers operate or have them operate from terminals where such security is already in place. As one DC insider recently said to me, “TSA IS going to do the right thing here…the only question is whether they do it before or after a horrific incident.” Let’s all hope it is the former. We’re better than this. Please listen to the podcast for more. Thanks to Ben and Scott for having me as a guest.

Earlier this month Gwen and I had the honor of chairing the Dallas UNCF Mayor’s Ball. UNCF is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. It was great to see so many people eager to support the cause — we set a new record for fundraising at the event! The evening was particularly special because UNCF honored our friends Richie Butler and Neisha Strambler-Butler. Richie and Neisha are extraordinary community leaders that deserve to be recognized and celebrated. Congratulations you two! Thank you to UNCF Dallas and all of those who organized and participated in a wonderful event for a great cause.