We are all aware of the difficulties [Delta Air Lines] faces. You can’t turn on the TV or radio without hearing another chapter in the contentious battle being fought in New York right now between ALPA, representing the pilots’ union, and Delta’s corporate attorneys as war is waged to break the pilots’ work contract with Delta.

As the state of Georgia’s largest employer, Delta plays an important role in the state’s economy, and a considerable role in Fayette County’s economy as local newspapers quote 5 percent of our Fayette County neighbors are employed by that entity.

In my work I hear on a daily basis the concerns voiced by employees of the company, neighbors and friends of employees and other business members about what is happening to a once well-loved and respected place of employment. They voice their fears for and against both sides, but the bottom line that rings out in everyone’s voice is, “What is going on?”

How could a company that was once so beloved by its employees that in similar hard times, the employees gathered together to purchase a jet for the company as a gesture of their commitment to Delta in good times and bad, are now taking sides and blaming one another for the situation which threatens to tear the company apart.

Where is the desire to solve these well-publicized problems, problems that seem to be bigger than anything any one group has caused or will be able to make right.

Whether you believe Delta’s problems are caused by poor management or the pilots’ pay structure, or any of a myriad of other contributing factors, I think we can all agree that nothing this difficult can be solved by simply fixing one or another of those things.

It is only by deciding to work as a united team with the same goal that Delta can once again become the powerhouse company it once was. We are where we are; it really doesn’t matter any more how we came to be there.

We can pontificate and exacerbate one another until the proverbial cows come home, but in the meantime we are only frightening our potential customers into looking elsewhere for their travel plans.

These are customers that have long flown with the company. They look to Delta because of the safe and secure flights Delta provides. Most of them know someone down the street who works for Delta, someone they know and like, trust and feel secure placing their family’s holiday travel plans with.

How do we expect those same people to want to continue to fly with us when we spend our days tearing each other down in the media and blaming everyone but our own selves for the condition the company is in?

The way out of this mess is not on a elevator going down, but instead is on the one going up. We each waste our time fighting to control the other’s actions, instead we need to find our common love of this industry and our desire to be the absolute best airline in the world to regain the standing and respect we once enjoyed and deserved within the airline community.

We cannot agree with one another on how we got here, but we can agree on how to get where we need to go. It is not a simple goal, but it requires less ego, more compassion, a great deal more trust and a return to the work ethics of our former Delta brothers and sisters who showed us the path to economic prosperity.

Think of the people you know who have worked and still work for Delta. They are some of the best and brightest in our country. Even more, they are good people who go out of their way to support the community, work for many charitable foundations and provide a lot to the economy of our city, county and state.

Yes, you may know some of you simply cannot stand, but I’ll bet they are fewer in number than the ones you know who are good, decent human beings who once loved their jobs and were proud to be a part of a company like Delta Air Lines.

God, help us find the way to forgive one another, support one another and bring the airline back to the powerhouse it once was. The road to recovery is not on a divided highway; it’s on that narrow path on which we once walked so single-mindedly together.

Diana Surratt
Peachtree City, Ga.