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News from ALPA International |
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December 13, 2011 |
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ALPA Opposes U.S. Export-Import Bank Lending Increase |
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 Capt.
Lee Moak, president of
the Air Line Pilots
Association, Int’l,
wrote to members of
Congress, asking them to
oppose a request by the
U.S. Export-Import Bank
to allow its lending
limit to be extended
beyond its current $100
billion limit in a
year-end omnibus bill.
“The bank’s request
should not be considered
until a comprehensive
debate on the merits of
the lending cap and,
even more broadly, on
how the bank operates
with respect to aircraft
financing, can be held
in Congress,” said Moak.
The ALPA president
added, “We believe that
the bank should be
operating with more
transparency, especially
as its financing relates
to aircraft
transactions, which make
up approximately half of
the bank’s lending
capacity.”
This action follows
the Association’s recent
effort to bar the bank
from providing millions
in U.S. taxpayer dollars
to guarantee financing
for Air India to
purchase a large number
of aircraft. On November
29, ALPA was granted
permission to intervene
in a lawsuit brought by
Airlines for America,
which requested a U.S.
District Court to enjoin
the U.S. Export-Import
Bank from making
financial guarantees for
Air India for the
purchase of new
aircraft.
Read more.
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Eissler Appointed ALPA Security Chief |
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 ALPA
president Capt. Lee Moak
on December 2 formally
approved the appointment
of Capt. Fred Eissler (FDX)
as the Association’s new
Aviation Security
chairman. The MD-11
pilot now heads the
security branch of
ALPA’s Air Safety
Organization.“Fred’s
extensive background,
coupled with his
knowledge and
enthusiasm, make him a
solid choice for this
demanding position,”
said Moak. “I look
forward to working with
him to implement our
security priorities and
to keep our operations
secure.”
In addition to his
new role, Eissler is the
FDX MEC Legislative
Affairs Committee
chairman. He’s also
served his pilot group
as chair of the MEC
Negotiating and Hotel
committees as well as
the Schedule Improvement
Group. Eissler flew A-6E
Intruders for the U.S.
Navy and graduated from
the U.S. Naval Academy.
He and his family live
in West Chester, Pa.
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Moak to Speak at NATCA Conference, Pilots Encouraged to Attend |
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ALPA president Capt. Lee
Moak is slated to be one
of the keynote speakers
at the 2012 NATCA
“Communicating for
Safety” conference,
January 30 through
February 1, in Atlanta,
Ga. The conference will
cover a broad range of
topics pertinent to
airline pilots, and ALPA
encourages members to
sign up and attend this
important event.
“Air traffic control
is a vital component of
our air transportation
system and it’s
important that we take
advantage of this kind
of opportunity to share
information and exchange
ideas,” said Moak.
“‘Communicating for
Safety’ provides us
valuable time to talk
with controllers,
outside the cockpit.”
“Communicating for
Safety” is a national,
high-profile summit,
similar in presentation
to ALPA’s Air Safety
Forum and held annually
by the National Air
Traffic Controllers
Association. Senior
officials from both
government and industry
will present speeches,
panel discussions, and
workshops that highlight
aviation safety. Past
agendas have dealt with
issues like fatigue and
human performance, NAS
and the environment,
unmanned aerial systems,
accident investigations,
and more.
For more information
about “Communicating
with Safety” and to
register, visit
www.natcacfs.org.
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FDX Pilots Spread Holiday Cheer |
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 In
the holiday season’s
spirit of giving, FedEx
pilots this month
delivered food baskets
and gifts to various
schools, hospitals, and
day-care centers
throughout different
cities.Through the
Pilots for Kids program,
FedEx pilots helped more
than 30 families in
Memphis celebrate
Christmas at Hope House,
a Memphis day-care
center devoted to
children who have been
affected by or infected
with HIV/AIDS. As part
of this annual
tradition, FedEx pilots
contribute food, gifts,
clothing, and money to
the support of children
and families in need.
Separate groups of
FedEx pilots in
Anchorage, Chicago,
Denver, Indianapolis,
and Los Angeles made
similar visits to
deliver gifts to schools
and hospitals in those
cities during the month
of December.
“These visits provide
our pilots with an
opportunity to reach out
to the communities in
which we live and affect
the lives of children
and families who are
less fortunate,” said
Capt. Scott Stratton,
FedEx MEC chairman.
“These visits remind us
what the true spirit of
the holiday season is.”
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ALPA’s Government
Affairs Department and
Political Action
Committee play vital
roles in influencing
legislative and
regulatory decisions
that determine national
air transportation
policy. Call to Action
programs provide ALPA
members with a chance to
contact their elected
public officials and
voice their opinions . .
. but how familiar are
you with these
Association efforts?
Please take a moment to
complete a
six-question survey
and tell us what you
think about these and
other Government Affairs
issues. We want to hear
from you.
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• Per the Seattle Times, the Boeing 777 has received Federal Aviation
Administration approval for extended operations (ETOPS) flights up to 330
minutes away from the nearest available airport.
Read more.
• The Sacramento Bee reports that American Eagle was selected by the U.S.
Department of Transportation to provide essential air service between Chicago
O’Hare and Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, and also between O’Hare
and Waterloo Regional Airport in Waterloo, Iowa.
Read more.
• According to the Los Angeles Times, Southwest Airlines has ordered 208
new Boeing 737s, valued at nearly $19 billion.
Read more.
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On December 16, 1960, a TWA Constellation collided with a United DC-8 over
Staten Island, N.Y., killing 134 people and once again illustrating the need for
the development of an effective collision avoidance system. Today, traffic
collision avoidance systems are standard issue in most airliners.
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Feedback & E-mail Address Changes |
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| Questions or comments on this FastRead? Give us your feedback at
communications@alpa.org. If you have moved or changed your ISP or e-mail
address, please update your ALPA records. If you don’t, you
will no longer receive the ALPA FastRead and other e-mail bulletins and notices,
and once your postal forwarding order expires, you’ll no longer receive the
magazine and other ALPA mail. You can do it yourself by going to
www.alpa.org and logging
in. Go to “My ALPA” in the menu at the top of the page, and from there, you’ll be
instructed how to make the necessary changes. If you don’t have access to the
members-only section of
www.alpa.org, you can
e-mail your requests by sending them to
membership@alpa.org. Be sure to include your member number or enough other
information so that we can identify you in the membership database, and tell us
what information needs to be updated. Please note that it is not sufficient
just to notify your LEC or MEC of these changes—you should register them with
the ALPA Membership Department in Herndon. Can’t remember your member number
or how to log in? Need information about your ALPA insurance programs? These and
other questions about ALPA services can be answered by contacting
membership@alpa.org. Return to top
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Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l
1625 Massachusetts Avenue NW
| Washington, DC 20036 | 703-689-2270 |
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