ALPA

Leadership From the Flight Deck

By Capt. Tim Canoll

Even safer skies for airline passengers and air cargo shippers. That’s what the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization passed by the U.S. Senate (H.R. 636) means for air transportation in this country. While ALPA will continue to press Congress to do more to combat safety risks, such as inadequately regulated lithium battery shipments and fatigue among pilots who fly cargo, this Senate reauthorization is encouraging.

Categories: Safety


By Capt. Tim Canoll

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) tentatively approved Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) application to fly to and from the United States. With this decision, NAI gains an enormous unfair competitive advantage over U.S. and European airlines, which are required to do business under a different set of social laws.

NAI is incorporated in Ireland because of its favorable tax and regulatory laws. However, the record in this case shows that NAI intended and may still intend to use flight crews that will be hired on Singapore employment contracts with compensation substantially below that of Norwegian’s Norway-based employees. This “flag-of-convenience” business practice is similar to that employed in the shipping industry, where companies routinely shop for weaker laws and regulations. As a result of this practice, tens of thousands of U.S. maritime industry jobs have been lost.

As a result of NAI’s scheme, the airline gains an enormous competitive advantage over U.S. airlines, which must operate under one set of U.S. laws and regulations. This is a direct affront to fair competition in the global aviation marketplace.

Categories: Advocacy, International


By ALPA Staff

Aviation representatives from around the world gathered in Las Vegas on April 11–12 for the CAPA Americas Aviation Summit to discuss a myriad of issues affecting the global landscape. Much discussion focused on how the United States can maximize international growth, particularly in Latin America and Asia—areas that are ripe for vast expansion. ALPA was also invited to share our members’ views by participating in panel discussions on current aviation hot topics. 

In a robust discussion on timely international matters, ALPA executive administrator Capt. Rick Dominguez detailed the Association’s concerns surrounding atypical business models, such as flag-of-convenience schemes that threaten North American pilots’ jobs and their airlines’ ability to compete fairly in the global marketplace. The panel also discussed the advantages and pitfalls that would result if airline foreign ownership rules were relaxed. 

Categories: Industry, Events


By ALPA Staff

Despite mounting evidence pointing to the hazards associated with the bulk shipment of lithium batteries, the United States still has work to do to ensure that they can be safely shipped on both passenger and all-cargo aircraft. Currently, the Senate is taking action on a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill, and ALPA has worked tirelessly to ensure that this important legislation contains strong provisions on the safe transport of lithium batteries. 

The international community recently agreed to new standards to improve lithium battery safety, and the International Civil Aviation Organization’s updated standards went into effect last week on April 1, 2016. These include a temporary ban on the shipment of lithium-ion batteries on passenger airliners until adequate safety regulations are in place, a ban on shipping lithium batteries with more than a 30 percent charge, and a prohibition on shipments of batteries packaged together undeclared as hazardous goods, a loophole known as “Section II overpack,” which has long been misused to get around required regulations to transport dangerous goods. ALPA has been advocating that the United States pursue full harmonization with all of those standards. 

Categories: Safety


By ALPA Staff

As the popularity of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) increases, so does the number of sightings of these devices in the national airspace system (NAS) by airline pilots. Recently, the FAA issued updated numbers of UAS sighting reports, and the initial findings indicate that more and more UAS are being operated well beyond the restrictions and safe guidelines established by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

According to the FAA, between August 2015 and January 31, 2016, there were over 580 reported UAS sightings from pilots, air traffic controllers, and citizens throughout the United States. With more than 406,000 devices registered since December, it’s more important than ever that those operating UAS understand and follow the rules. 

Categories: Safety


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