Was it real?

Or just another ploy by the airline's pilots during the labor dispute? By now, people are questioning every equipment malfunction, discovered maintenance issue and pilots conveniently calling in "sick." Convenient for them that is. Not for the myriad passengers they are frustrating by leaving them stranded or making them irreparably late. This is ridiculous. These guys get no sympathy from me. All they are doing is alienating their customer base so badly that when the negotiations finally come to an end they might have an airline, but they will have no passengers. 

The fact of the matter is that they will have to sooner or later bite the bullet and accept that they will have to go through another painful restructuring (a la DELTA) if they want to survive. We have all had to make sacrifices during these times. Until the economy rebounds this is what the environment is. If you want to stay competitive in these tough times, this is certainly not the way to do it. These guys, with their specialized skill set, high salaries and unrealistic demands need to understand that they are slowly killing the very company that pays them and that if they are not careful, soon there will be no company left to make demands of. Enough already. Get back to work, and while you are at it, how about improving the quality of the product you provide, such as it is. It is not that great to begin with, but with the routes you own, sometimes it is all I can fly to get from point A to point B. Doesn't mean I am happy about it.