Angry United Airlines pilot tells passengers he will not fly plane

United Airlines canceled a flight after the pilot announced to passengers that he was too upset to fly.

Witnessess said they saw the pilot in a heated cell phone conversation at the gate before he boarded the United flight.

United Airlines spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said in an e-mailed statement that the flight was canceled according to company procedures designed to ensure flight crews are prepared to fly. The airline re-accommodated its customers on other flights and will give them "goodwill gestures," which may include miles and travel certificates, she said.
Urbanski declined to identify the pilot or provide details of the incident, but she did not dispute the passenger&#39s account.
"We will conduct a full investigation of the events leading up to the cancellation and take appropriate, necessary action," she wrote in the e-mail.
David Kelly, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents United pilots, said the union won&#39t comment on the incident.
The Federal Aviation Administration says it&#39s up to the airlines to determine when and how pilots can walk away from the cockpit if they feel unfit to fly. "But we&#39d expect that if the pilots aren&#39t fit to fly, they would not fly," said FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette.
Witnessess said they saw the pilot in a heated cellphone conversation at the gate before he boarded, and overheard the pilot saying that "he was going to complain to the union."
After the passengers were seated, the pilot made his announcement.
"Some of you may have witnessed an incident I was involved in at the gate. I&#39m not going to go into the details, but it was an interpersonal confrontation that upset me significantly to the point where I&#39m not focused enough to fly you to Denver. I feel like I may not be calmed and focused enough to fly to Denver for another hour," witnessess said.
The passengers reacted to the pilot&#39s announcement with a collective groan. "I&#39m going to give him credit for standing in front of people and saying that," Jacobson added. "Still it was a very unusual situation."
Passengers were allowed to get off the plane until it was ready to leave, and most people did so after the announcement.

New Emirates airline, flydubai, set for June take off

flydabai came into being last year and is owned by the govt. of Dubai, it is a low cost airline and will begin operations in a couple of months time with flights to Beirut and Amman from it’s Dubai HQ.

The airline has some serious plans to become a major player in the Middle East low cost sector. This is borne out by the deal that was struck with Boeing at last years Fanfare Air Show when flydubai signed up for fifty Boeing 737-800 NG jets. Initial services will be operated by four leased B737-800’s.

flydubai’s own statement says the budget airline is all about removing the complexity from travel wherever possible. By keeping things simple, flydubai reduces its operating costs and that means lower fares for you. And lower fares bring people together.

As with all LCC’s passengers pay a low basic air fare and everything else has to be paid for. Passengers are, however, entitled to take up to 10kgs of hand luggage into the cabin.
CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith commented "as a true low cost airline, we have looked very hard at ways to make our operations more efficient. If we find a cost that can be eliminated, we will with the savings passed onto our customers,he said.

Sounds a bit like a Ryanair of the Mid East, lets hope their decisions are more popular than some of the Irish harpists’.
flydubai are launching in very trying times and we sincerely hope the the market they are after materialises and they make a success of this bold new venture.