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News from ALPA International |
March 21, 2013 |
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House Proposes Increased Airline Taxes, ALPA Opposes
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The House of
Representatives today
voted in favor of a
budget plan proposed by
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI),
which includes an
unwarranted proposal to
double the TSA Security
fee from $2.50 per
segment to $5 in each
direction.
Increasing the TSA
Security Fee harms
passengers, and
airlines, and aviation
workers. This is a
misguided proposal, and
one that has been
rejected in the past by
Congress. The airline
industry is already
subject to some of the
highest taxes in the
country—even beating
the levies imposed on
“sin” industries like
alcohol and tobacco.
Raising the costs on
airlines by doubling the TSA Security Fee would
be devastating on an
industry that is still
trying to recover from
years of losses.
Read more.
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Flying In and Out of London Heathrow? |
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The Air Line Pilots
Association, Int’l,
has been advised that
the Metropolitan Police
at London Heathrow
Airport are randomly
selecting flight
crews—including pilots,
flight attendants, and
deadheading crewmembers
in uniform—for
questioning about
alcohol consumption and
possible testing with a
breathalyzer.
Additionally, police may
be contacted if security
screeners or other
airport employees are
suspicious about
possible crew alcohol
use. This program is
expected to continue for
several weeks. If you are selected for
questioning and/or
alcohol testing, please
comply with the London
Metropolitan Police.
Failure to do so could
result in your removal
from your trip while the
police investigate your
refusal to cooperate.
Although this policy may
seem invasive, remember
that you are subject to
local laws.
If you are detained for
any period of time, we
recommend that you make
a record of what
happened as soon after
the event as possible,
in case you need to
refer back to it. If you
have problems or
questions about a
related event, please
contact your status rep
or assigned labor
relations counsel.
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Fight to Preserve Biofuels Work Continues |
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An informative op-ed by
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Manan
Trivedi appeared in
The Hill
recently regarding the
harmful cuts to biofuel
funding and energy
security. The piece
highlights another
critical reason for ALPA
to support U.S.
Department of Defense
procurement of advanced
biofuels. While ALPA has
been a strong advocate
of the ability of DOD to
procure and refine
advanced biofuels, as
Trivedi notes, not
everyone is of the same
opinion. Even though
DOD procurement of
advanced biofuels enjoys
wide bipartisan support,
ALPA remains vigilant in
fighting back against
short-sighted attempts
to halt the advances
being made in the
advanced biofuel
industry. ALPA, along
with our coalition
partners, was successful
in defeating an
amendment by Sen. Pat
Toomey (R-PA) yesterday,
which would have taken
$60 million away from
the DOD budget for the
procurement of advanced
biofuels. The final vote
was 40-59 with
bipartisan support for
our position supporting
biofuels.
Trivedi is a
spokesperson for
Operation Free, one of
our coalition partners
with whom we work to
ensure that DOD is
allowed to lead us
toward the
commercialization of
advanced biofuels as DOD
has done with many other
technologies.
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FAA Shortens Waiting Period after Heart Procedures |
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The FAA’s Office of
Aerospace Medicine
announced that most
pilots undergoing
cardiac procedures for
coronary artery disease
are now only required to
wait 3 months following
the procedure before
applying for
reinstatement of their
medical certificates.
These procedures include
angioplasties, stent
placement, and arthrectomies. The
exceptions to this
policy that still
require a 6-month wait
are interventions
involving the left main
coronary artery, valve
replacements, and all
bypass grafts.
Additionally, pilots
having pacemaker
generator changes
without lead replacement
will no longer have to
wait 60 days for medical
certification. The FAA
will formalize these
policies shortly.
Pilots who have had
cardiac procedures
included above since
November 2012 should
contact the ALPA
Aeromedical Office at
303-341-4435 for
guidance on how this
policy change may affect
their case.
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Security, Jumpseat Councils Meet, Provide Guidance |
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As noted in Tuesday’s
FastRead, ALPA’s
Security and Jumpseat Councils met in joint
session this week at ALPA’s Conference Center
in Herndon, Va. The
councils discussed their
respective missions and
received program updates
from individual member
airlines. On Wednesday,
the combined group
received informative
briefings from the DHS’
Customs and Border
Protection on the
mission of the National
Targeting Center and
from the TSA regarding
crewmember self-defense
training. An additional
briefing from ALPA’s
Security Group focused
on the latest
information regarding
the Federal Flight Deck
Officer (FFDO) program.
The two councils,
which advise the Air
Safety Organization on
the MECs’ views
regarding security and
jumpseat matters, met
separately on Wednesday
to discuss their issues
and work programs in
more detail. The
Jumpseat Council elected
a new chair, F/O Rich
Odbert (FDX), during its
deliberations. The
leadership of the
Security Group met today
and reviewed the status
of all of its projects
and activities.
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ALPA GA Summit Pushed Back a Day |
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The ALPA Government
Affairs Leadership
Summit will take place
June 5-6, a day later
than previously
announced, at the Hyatt
Regency Capitol Hill in
Washington, D.C.
The summit will provide
pilot reps an
opportunity to enhance
their advocacy and ALPA-PAC
leadership skills
through hands-on
training. Participants
will gain the tools
needed to become
effective advocates and
to grow participation in
PAC and grassroots
programs within their
pilot groups. This is an
excellent opportunity to
enhance your
legislative/political
abilities, no matter
your experience level.
Read more.
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Are You Prepared? Take the Survey |
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As
a pilot, you hope for
the best and plan for
the worst. But are you
adequately prepared
outside the cockpit?
ALPA’s Member Insurance
Department is here to
help you stay current
with your ever-changing
life circumstances;
that’s why we ask for
your participation in a
brief survey about your
preparedness in the
event of a life-changing
disability.
Take the survey.
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Register for Pilot Assistance Forum, May 7–9 |
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This year’s Pilot
Assistance Forum is
scheduled for May 7-9,
in ALPA’s Conference
Center in Herndon, Va.
This three-day event
will feature
presentations from each
of the Pilot Assistance
Groups: Aeromedical,
Canadian Pilot
Assistance, Critical
Incident Response
Program, Human
Intervention and
Motivation Study, and
Professional Standards.
The conference
represents an excellent
opportunity for new
pilot representatives to
learn procedures and
techniques from more
seasoned representatives
who will share their
experiences and
expertise. All Pilot
Assistance
representatives are
invited to attend the
Professional Standards
training event scheduled
for Thursday, May 9.
Read more.
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Social Network Addresses Customer Complaints |
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Airlines
are beginning to resolve passenger complaints using Twitter. Fox News recently
described a scenario in which a passenger, unable to rebook his trip on an
earlier flight, complained to the airline on the social network. Six minutes
later, the passenger received a response confirming the rebooking policy based
on the kind of ticket purchased, but the airline representative offered to
investigate alternatives. A half hour later, the passenger was booked on an
earlier flight and was observed posting positive comments and defending the
airline to his followers. Aviation industry consulting firm SimpliFlying
reports that 213 airlines are currently on Twitter. However, this is a
relatively new phenomenon and the organization notes that 24 of the airlines
produce 80 percent of the content. Twitter won’t solve all of these kinds of
problems, but it does give us a glimpse as to how our industry is evolving to
improve customer service.
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The Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the branch of the Smithsonian National Air and
Space Museum on the grounds of Washington Dulles International Airport, will
present “Women in Aviation and Space” this Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Bring the whole family to learn about the incredible contributions of women in
aviation, science, and aerospace. Enjoy hands-on activities, guest speakers, a
theatrical presentation, book signings, and Flights of Fancy Story Time for
younger visitors. Admission is free but parking at the museum is $15.
Get
directions to the Center. Return to top
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Most Recent FastRead Issues |
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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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