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Capt. Sean Cassidy speaks at a rally on
Capitol Hill to end the government shutdown. |
ALPA Calls for End to Government Shutdown
Speaking to attendees of a rally on Capitol Hill today, ALPA
first vice president Capt. Sean Cassidy called on lawmakers
to end the government shutdown immediately. The rally,
organized by the National Air Traffic Controllers
Association (NATCA) included many of the organization’s
leaders, alongside representatives from across the aviation
community.
“We need to end the shutdown and bring everyone back to
work immediately,” said Capt. Cassidy. “Congress must make
certain that the U.S. airline industry continues to fuel our
nation’s economy, provide jobs for tens of thousands of
hardworking Americans, and deliver the service that
passengers and cargo shippers expect and deserve from the
U.S. air transportation system.”
Read the full story.
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Collaboration Is Key among Associations of Star Alliance Pilots
The
Associations of Star Alliance Pilots (ASAP) today concluded
their semiannual Executive Board meeting in the Washington,
D.C., area. The Star Alliance is an airline marketing
consortium currently consisting of 28 member carriers. ASAP
consists of the leadership of the pilot unions and
associations at those carriers, which collectively represent
approximately 50,000 pilots. Twenty-six delegates were in
attendance at the conference.
Of the meeting, United Airlines Capt. Ron Abel, ASAP’s
Executive Board chairman, noted that “the value of our
collective discussion—especially with regard to assessing
changes sweeping the airline industry—can’t be overstated.
We must continue to apply our experience and resources to
anticipate and deal with the challenges that we face as a
profession.”
In addition to substantial discussion and presentations
concerning labor relations and bargaining related to
mergers, seniority list integration, and health and
retirement benefit negotiations, other issues discussed by
the delegates during working sessions were the overall
economic state of the industry worldwide and industrial
developments that likely will impact pilots.
Read the full release. |
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Capt. Peter
Black
addresses
the audience
at the
International
Winter
Operations
Conference. |
Capt. Black Takes PCRO Message to Winter Ops Conference
Capt. Peter Black (First Air), chairman of the ALPA
President’s Committee for Remote Operations (PCRO), conveyed
the PCRO agenda to a broader audience yesterday as a speaker
at the 3rd International Winter Operations Conference, a
two-day event hosted by the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA)
in Vancouver, B.C. In particular, Capt. Black emphasized the
need for improvements in navigation, infrastructure, and
communications in remote operations.
More than 150 stakeholders attended the conference,
including pilots and management representatives from Air
Inuit, Alaska, American, Bearskin, Cathay Pacific, EVA Air,
First Air, Japan Airlines, Porter, Ryanair, and WestJet.
Airframe manufacturers Airbus, Boeing, Cessna, and Embraer
participated, as did airport operations managers from Denver
and Vancouver. Pilot group attendees included ACPA, ALPA,
APA, SWAPA, and Vereinigung Cockpit, the German airline
pilots’ association.
Read the full story. |
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(l-r) Incoming officers Capt. Michael Yoder, vice chairman; Capt. Jonathan Allen, chairman; and F/O Nathan Hillard, secretary-treasurer |
Endeavor MEC Elects Officers, Recognizes Pilots
The Endeavor Air (formerly Pinnacle Airlines) MEC elected
officers, bestowed Outstanding Airmanship awards, and
conducted other business at its meeting this week in
Herndon, Va. The new slate of officers—Chairman Jonathan
Allen, Vice Chairman Michael Yoder, and Secretary-Treasurer
Nathan Hillard—have begun their terms, which run until
October 1, 2015.
The MEC honored Capt. Brent Kosowski and F/O Daron
Bridwell with Outstanding Airmanship awards for preventing a
runway incursion tragedy during a takeoff roll on December
23, 2012 at DTW. Outstanding Airmanship awards were also
designated for Capt. Joshua Malloy and F/O Gregory Shepherd
for their actions on Colgan Flight 4915, when they landed a
Q400 at IAH with a nose wheel that would not extend. They
successfully landed the aircraft with no loss of life, and
were complimented by the NTSB for their professionalism. |
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ExpressJet Families Gather at Wrigley Field
ExpressJet pilots were a part of baseball history in the
making when they came out for the final Family Awareness
event of the year in Chicago last month. While watching the
Chicago Cubs take on the Pittsburgh Pirates from Skybox on
Sheffield, which is just inside the right field foul pole at
Wrigley Field, pilots and their spouses/significant others
had an opportunity to speak directly with the MEC officers
and Negotiating Committee about the status of the merger,
joint negotiations, and other issues. They also saw the
Pirates beat the Cubs 2-1 and clinch a National League Wild
Card after a 21-year absence from the postseason. The
Pirates’ storybook season may be over after a Game 5 loss
last night to the St. Louis Cardinals, but the new chapter
at ExpressJet is still being written as negotiations for a
joint contract continue. Through a robust communications
program that includes Family Awareness, Pilot-to-Pilot and
more, the MEC is working to provide information and
strengthen the bonds of unity among the pilot group. |
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We Want Your Photos
We
want to see what you
see. Share your pictures
from the line, and give
us some context (i.e.,
let us know what we’re
looking at).
Air Line Pilot
encourages you to submit
your high-quality prints
from a developer or
high-resolution digital
images. Your photos
could be featured in a
future magazine!
Send your photos to
Communications@alpa.org.
Thanks.
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Final Fall District Advocates Training Dates
ALPA
is seeking volunteers who are interested in promoting ALPA’s
legislative agenda and who want to serve as pilot partisan
representatives to their local congressional office. Final
training slots for the year have just been scheduled!
During the training, volunteers will receive instruction
on how to serve as effective local advocates through visits
with their members of Congress and participation in other
grassroots activities. (Check out the spread on the
District Advocates program in the May issue of Air
Line Pilot.) This training is done via webinar, lasts
about one hour, and provides an overview of ALPA’s
grassroots program, current legislative issues, and how to
set up and conduct a congressional visit.
Read more about upcoming training dates and times. |
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Major Changes in O’Hare Operations Coming Soon!
Beginning October 17, 2013,
operations at O’Hare will change
from a layout started in the 1960s and expanded upon for
decades to East-West operations. The result is a major
change for both pilots and controllers in how O’Hare will
conduct operations. Be alert for possible confusion until
everyone becomes familiar with the new operations. As
always, if there is any doubt as to control instructions
that you are given, query the controller.
Read the full story. |
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ALPA
represents nearly 50,000 pilots at 32 airlines in the
United States and Canada.
Visit us online at
www.alpa.org. |
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