imagePilots Protest Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's Support for Outsourcing Jobs
March 4, 2014 - Last week, ALPA's national campaign to oppose the Norwegian Air Int'l (NAI) scheme went local. More than 80 Orlando-based pilots signed a petition opposing the Orlando mayor's enthusiastic support for NAI—as evidenced by Dyer's letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) encouraging approval of NAI's application to provide low-cost scheduled service in the United States and entry into the Orlando market. On Friday, February 28, pilots hand-delivered the petition to Mayor Dyer at City Hall, attracting significant attention from the Orlando media. ALPA also launched a moving billboard that was deployed to Orlando's City Hall and airport to underscore the point that Mayor Dyer has fallen for NAI's dubious scheme and demanding he reassess his position.
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Known Crewmember Program Adds Two More Airports
Austin, Tex., and Jacksonville, Fla., both launch new risk-based security screening
March 4, 2014 - The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) today announced the expansion of the Known Crewmember (KCM) program to include Jacksonville International Airport (JAX); Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) joined the program on Friday, February 28. KCM is a risk-based security screening program that enables Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security officers to positively verify the identity and employment status of crewmembers.
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GAO Report on Pilot Availability Confirms that It’s All About the Money
February 28, 2014 - The Air Line Pilots Association Int’l (ALPA) today responded to the GAO report (GAO-14-232) “Aviation Workforce—Current and Future Availability of Airline Pilots” in a special issue analysis paper. The GAO report supports the points ALPA has made for several years concerning whether there is, or will be, a genuine shortage of airline pilots. To put it very simply, currently there is no shortage of qualified pilots. There is, however, a shortage of qualified pilots willing to fly for substandard wages and inadequate benefits. The recent increases in experience required to enter the airline pilot profession, which were crafted with input from industry, labor and government, were made to ensure that the United States airline industry remains the safest in the world.
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Read ALPA's issue analysis paper here.
NMB Says JetBlue Election On
February 27, 2014 - The National Mediation Board (NMB) certified a representation election yesterday among JetBlue pilots, and today the Board sent the election notice and the voting period for March 25–April 22.
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ALPA: Pilot Shortage is All About the Money
February 27, 2014 - The Air Line Pilots Association Int’l (ALPA) today said that a pilot shortage will only exist if U.S. airlines fail to provide qualified pilots with career potential, adequate livable wages, and benefits. Although some within the airline industry blame the new pilot qualifications and training rules instituted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for a pilot shortage, the airline industry actually helped craft those rules and supported their passage.

“There is a shortage of pay and benefits for pilots in the regional airline industry, not a shortage of pilots who are capable and certified to fly the airlines’ equipment,” said Capt. Lee Moak, president of ALPA. “Congress, labor and the industry need to work together to create an airline industry that can offer jobs that are attractive to those who are interested in a career as an airline pilot.”
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ALPA Urges House Homeland Security Committee to Exercise More Oversight and Approval of Future Preclearance Facilities Overseas
Potential 2nd site in Dubai would further tilt an unlevel playing field for U.S. carriers and their workers
February 26, 2014 - Today, the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), in a letter to House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) and Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), urged the committee to explore security issues surrounding the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) preclearance facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport. The letter, which was sent in advance of today's hearing on future priorities and challenges at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), also questions recent reports of a preclearance facility planned for Dubai International Airport.
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imageALPA Pilots Press DOT Secretary for Level Playing Field
February 25, 2014 - ALPA pilots stood front and center with a call for the U.S. government to level the playing field for U.S. airlines as U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx addressed the Aero Club of Washington at a luncheon today. Capt. Moak was invited to join the secretary at the head table.
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Latest FAA Interpretations of Part 117
February 25, 2014 - The FAA has just issued another Part 117 legal interpretation dealing with diversions (de Cubas Interpretation). When a need for a diversion arises after takeoff, that diversion does not count as an additional flight segment and there is no change to the number of flight segments used to determine the applicable FDP limit using Table B or C to Part 117. However, a planned fuel stop that is known prior to takeoff would not be treated as a diversion and would count as an additional flight segment and require a new FDP calculation.
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American Eagle Pilot Leaders Reject Negotiated Agreement
February 12, 2014 - The American Eagle Master Executive Council (MEC), represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, voted today to reject a recently negotiated agreement that would have provided contract concessions in return for American Airlines Group (AAG) refleeting American Eagle Airlines with new Embraer 175 regional jets.
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Mesa Air Group Pilots Denounce Local Television Station for Misrepresenting Mesa Pilots in News Story
February 7, 2014 - Today, Mesa Air Group pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), condemned a news story aired by Phoenix-based Fox affiliate KSAZ News 10 on February 6. The sensationalized story cited a number of inaccuracies, including one that asserts that no pilots were laid off during Mesa’s 2010 Chapter 11 bankruptcy and that a Mesa Airlines captain can earn $100,000, while proclaiming that “starting pay is modest.”
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FedEx MEC Highlights First-Quarter Meeting Initiatives
February 4, 2014 - The FDX Master Executive Council (MEC) met last week in Memphis for its first quarterly meeting. While the MEC dealt with a few issues, the current round of collective bargaining was the main focus. The FDX pilots have been in formal Section 6 bargaining since this time last year, after a two-year period of “interim discussions.” The interim discussions were an innovative way for both the pilots and management to work through some portions of the contract so that, once formal bargaining commenced, it would take less time to consummate a formal amended contract. Both the Delta and Alaska pilot groups have successfully used this method of bargaining with their recent contracts.
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JetBlue Airways Pilots Seek Union Representation by the Air Line Pilots Association, International
February 3, 2014 - JetBlue Airways pilots today filed authorization cards with the National Mediation Board (NMB) to hold an election for representation by the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA). The NMB will verify the cards and schedule a representation vote to elect ALPA in the next few weeks.
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FDX MEC Hosts Unity Event
January 30, 2014 - As the FedEx Express pilots near the one-year anniversary of entering Section 6 negotiations with management, unity among the crew force has never been more significant. On Tuesday, the FDX MEC’s Strategic Preparedness and Strike Committee (SPSC) hosted a Pilot Unity Building (PUB) event in Memphis at Buffalo Wild Wings.
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FDX MEC: Known Crewmember Implementation Becomes a Reality at Memphis International Airport
January 10, 2014 - Today, Known Crewmember (KCM) became active at the Memphis International Airport. KCM is an important TSA risk-based security program that allows an alternate method of expedited screening for crewmembers using a real-time database connection to verify employment and background. This frees TSA lanes, giving paying customers better access and shorter wait times while undergoing TSA-mandated screening and freeing up limited TSA assets for the proper screening of travelers. KCM builds upon the fact that airline crewmembers undergo rigorous background screening and the trust placed upon them as aviation professionals.
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New Flight and Duty Rules Not for All Pilots
January 8, 2014 - On January 4, 2014, the new science-based flight-time/duty-time (FTDT) regulation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) went into effect for those air carriers operating under Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 117. This regulation recognizes the universal factors that lead to fatigue in most individuals and emplaces safeguards in regulatory language to help offset these factors so flightcrew members can mitigate fatigue. While this new regulation was years in development and intended for all air carriers operating under FAR121, not all were given access to this new set of science-based regulations.
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