US Airways CEO Doug Parker apologizes to staff over
Arizona drunk driving arrest
US Airways chairman
and chief executive Doug Parker has written to the
airline's employees apologizing over an alleged
drunk-driving incident.
The carrier has made
public three letters Parker sent to employees after US
media reports said he had been booked for allegedly
driving under the influence of alcohol.
Parker was arrested on
January 31 on suspicion of drunk driving after he was
pulled over for speeding while on his way home from a
golf tournament in Phoenix. Reports say tests
determined his blood-alcohol level was 10mg/100ml
(0.096%) at the time, above the 0.08%
[8.5mg/100ml] limit in the state of
Arizona.
Freedom of speech
advocates The Smoking Gun claims to have obtained the
incident investigation report from Parker's
arrest.
In his first letter to
employees, Parker (pictured right after his arrest)
wrote: "First and foremost, you need to know how
embarrassed and sorry I am about this. I have let down
all of you and also my family, and that is something I
will have to live with irrespective of the
outcome.
"I know that by virtue
of my position at our airline, all of my actions,
personal and public, have consequences for all of us
and I try very hard to live up to that responsibility.
In this instance, my actions have not reflected well
on US Airways and for that, I apologize. Thanks for
your support and understanding."
Parker later wrote two
other letters to employees and in the last one he
admitted that "while dated, I was regrettably involved
in three other alcohol-related incidents in my
twenties". He said two involved driving under the
influence while the third occurred while he was a
passenger in a friend's car.
"As it relates to my
past, I admit that I was indeed irresponsible at times
in my twenties, he wrote. I got my wake-up
call long ago as I got married, had kids, and assumed
positions of responsibility at work."
Parker went on to say
that the 31 January incident was a mistake, not
a trend, and I believe that events from 15 and 20
years ago do not reflect on the person I am
today".
Feb. 12