Release #: 18.06
February 23, 2018
ALPA Steps Up Fight to Defend U.S. Airline Workers Against Norwegian Air Int’l
Oral Arguments in the U.S. Court of Appeals Latest ALPA Action to Restore Fair Competition
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Capt. Tim Canoll, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), issued the following statement today regarding the union’s oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in ALPA’s appeal of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s decision to grant Norwegian Air International a foreign air carrier permit.
“Today, the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) took another important step in opposing a flag-of-convenience business model that hands a foreign airline an unfair economic advantage in competing against U.S. companies and their workers.
“In court, ALPA argued that the Department of Transportation acted arbitrarily and capriciously by not applying to Norwegian Air International’s permit application the labor standards clause in the U.S.–EU Air Transport Agreement. In addition, for the first time in 50 years, the DOT did not make a public-interest finding in support of granting a permit. A public-interest finding would examine how the permit would affect U.S. airline workers. Also, the DOT did not address ALPA’s request for conditions to be placed on the permit.
“In addition to ALPA’s legal case, our union continues to build on the already strong support in Congress for ensuring U.S. workers have a fair opportunity to compete in the marketplace. We are calling for legislation to block atypical business models like Norwegian Air International’s from proliferating on the transatlantic. The result will defend American jobs and help ensure that U.S. airlines and their workers do not face a competition unfairly stacked against them in the global marketplace.”
Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents over 60,000 pilots at 34 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Visit the ALPA website at alpa.org or follow us on Twitter @WeAreALPA.
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CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703-481-4440 or Media@alpa.org