Captain Brad Bartholomew

Retired Airline Pilot & Concerned Citizen

After 20,000+ flights delivering 2 million passengers safely on the ground. Brad spent 10 years in the United States Air Force as an instructor followed by 30+ years for a major US airline.

Brad joined flying via Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at Duke University. Bartholomew has worked as a Registered Investment Advisor and wrote the Newfoundland Group newsletter for the aviation investment community.

In 2020, he published: Safe Landings – a Flight Plan and Checklist for Building a Renewed America.

From living in Pakistan in his youth to working for a great American company as a pilot and union member, Bartholomew experienced the world from a unique vantage point.

His greatest joy comes from family, friends, neighbors and colleagues.

Passions, Published Material & More

1990 – Herb Kelleher & Colleen Barrett dinner notes.

1997 - 2001 Published: The Newfoundland Group Newsletter. Correctly predicted 29 out of 31 aviation union votes & costed out labor contracts for investment community.

2000 – “Remove U.S. Airlines From Railway Labor Act” – published as Viewpoint in Aviation Week and Space Technology, September 11, 2000.

2002 – “Labor Relations with a Wired Work Force” – article publish in Handbook of Airline Economics – Executive Editor Darryl Jenkins, 2002

2002 – “Believing in the Southwest Model” written & placed in every Southwest Airlines pilot’s box. This personally costed us $3000+ which pissed off my wife.

2002 – Money Magazine naming Southwest Airlines (LUV) the number one stock on NYSE from 1972 to 2002

2003 – “Unions Must Stop Flying into Thunderstorms” Aviation Daily, January 31, 2003

2006 – “Tax-Free Executive Pay” Letter to editor – Wall Street Journal, January 4, 2006

2012 – (my failed whistle blower attempt) I privately wrote Southwest Airlines Board of Director with safety concerns. The BOD investigated my letter and found no reason for meaningful changes.

Later, when I told Southwest I was going to publicly release the letter the Southwest Airlines General Counsel threaten me with legal action and firing. When my wife – she is the smart one - found out what happened, I stopped.

FYI – I suspect the same safety concerns I saw at SWA were also brewing at Boeing. Did this same mindset led SWA & Boeing leadership to build and buy the Boeing 737 Max aircraft (which I flew) without telling the pilots about the MCAS system? …thus killing 100’s. I was certified to fly the Max by watching a couple hours of videos.

From my perspective, this same “maximize shareholder value” mentally - which led to safety short cuts to save pilot training costs - directly led to the slow demise of two of America’s greatest aviation American companies. Two companies I deeply respected and LUVed.

2020 – Published Safe landings book

2023 – created “GroupThink 3.0” video series - YouTube @bradbartholomew5758

2024 – created “America’s Worst Enemy: Our Divided Society” podcast https://rss.com/podcasts/dividedsociety