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 New Reason DOT Must Deny Norwegian Air’s Scheme
In the latest indication that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) must immediately deny Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) foreign air carrier permit application, a recent filing by the company at the DOT appears to confirm that it is attempting to evade Norway’s national laws and regulations to gain an unfair economic advantage over U.S. airlines.
On Tuesday, ALPA submitted a reply to NAI’s filing. ALPA asserted that NAI’s proposed operation is contrary to U.S. aviation statutes and to the intent of the U.S.-EU Air Transport Agreement. “The U.S.-EU air services agreement was not intended to allow companies to cheat the system to gain an unfair economic edge,” said
ALPA President Capt. Lee Moak. “The U.S. government must unequivocally reject the NAI application, and the Irish government should not allow itself to be complicit in NAI’s scheme.”
Read more about the NAI foreign air carrier permit application.
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U.S. Flights Belong to U.S. Airlines, Period
Earlier this week, Christopher Elliot asked a question that
created a lot of buzz:
Should foreign airlines be allowed to fly domestic routes? In response to his comments, ALPA asks a counter question: Will allowing foreign airlines to fly U.S. routes have a negative impact on American travelers, American taxpayers, American companies, and American workers? The simple answer: It absolutely will have a negative impact. Read on.
U.S. airlines provide a vital service to our nation, economy, and a huge range of benefits to airline passengers and air cargo shippers. Any notion of allowing foreign airlines to fly U.S. domestic routes is flatly absurd.
The safest in the world, U.S. airlines employ innovative safety and security practices that are founded on U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Homeland Security regulations and backed by those agencies’ professional safety and security workforces. Airlines in many regions of the world do not benefit from, nor do they operate to, these same standards of safety and security.
Read more
from ALPA's Blog: Leadership from the Cockpit.
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 ALPA Opposes New Fees on Airline Travel in Omnibus
Members of the U.S. Senate are currently considering a new fee on airline passengers as part of an omnibus appropriations bill, which would fund federal agencies through the remainder of FY2014. This proposal would increase the immigration user fee on international flights from $7 to $9. This misguided proposal to raise the cost of air travel comes just weeks after Congress passed a $1 billion fare hike on all airline passengers by doubling the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) passenger security fee and is in addition to the billions in taxes and fees that the U.S. government already unfairly imposes on U.S. airlines and their passengers, suppressing demand and slowing growth.
ALPA strongly opposes this fee hike and urges Congress to stop using U.S. airlines and passengers as a bottomless piggy bank. Instead, Congress needs to advance pro-aviation policies that level the playing field—for example, using the omnibus to block taxpayer funding for a planned preclearance facility in Abu Dhabi (UAE), which benefits Etihad Airlines at the expense of U.S. aviation workers.
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ALPA Part 117 Calculator Update
ALPA has learned of an issue with the Augmented and Augmented Reserve sections of the ALPA Part 117 app, in which an incorrect solution is being generated when setting a report time between 1300-1659 for a three-pilot crew and a rest class of two. This issue exists in both latest iOS and Android versions. It has been corrected and should be available to the appropriate market places within a week.
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New Flight and Duty Rules Not for All Pilots
Yesterday, the FDX MEC issued a statement reiterating their dismay that cargo pilots were excluded from the new FAR Part 117 flight-/duty-time regulations, despite ALPA’s consistent cries that there should be one level of safety for all pilots.
Read the full release here.
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 ALPA Engages with NTSB
ALPA Engineering and Air Safety Department staff and members of the Association’s Air Safety Organization attended an NTSB “Listening Session” geared toward NTSB-FAA interaction following an aircraft accident. Other stakeholders in the discussion included airlines, manufacturers, trade associations, and both the Accident Investigation and Flight Standards branches of the FAA. Topics included reviews of NTSB and FAA regulatory requirements, potential for duplication of effort, stakeholder confusion, and related communications issues.
ALPA representatives made it clear that the issues of using social media and the level of detail communicated in the aftermath of an accident are still concerns that must be resolved. The NTSB is developing policy and procedures regarding the release of information after an accident and the use of social media. The NTSB committed to continue this type of stakeholder involvement and include these topics, along with others, as the discussion continues.
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 TSA Administrator Hosts Follow-Up Meeting on LAX Shooting
ALPA participated in a meeting led yesterday by TSA Administrator John Pistole who continued his dialogue with government and industry stakeholders regarding plans by the agency to counter the threat of “active shooters” at commercial airports. This action follows on the heels of an attack by a lone gunman on Nov. 1, 2013, at Los Angeles International Airport, which left one TSA security officer dead and others seriously wounded.
Administrator Pistole met with the government/industry group a few weeks after the shooting and did so again yesterday to provide an update on the agency’s findings and potential actions to thwart future attacks. TSA is in the process of developing a proposal for potential improvements to be reviewed by the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, on which ALPA is represented.
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 New District Advocacy Web Training Dates
The first district advocacy web training classes of 2014 have been scheduled! We are looking for volunteers who are interested in promoting ALPA’s legislative agenda and want to serve as pilot partisan representatives to their local congressional offices.
Volunteers should be willing to schedule and lead in-district advocacy visits with their members of congress. The webinar lasts approximately one hour and will train participants to become effective district advocates. Topics include the structure of ALPA’s grassroots program, how to set up and conduct local congressional visits, and a briefing on current pilot partisan legislative issues.
Interested? E-mail Carly.Rhyne@alpa.org to sign up for one of the following sessions:
- Wednesday, February 5 @ 1500 EST
- Friday, February 7 @ 1200 EST
- Wednesday, February 12 @ 1500 EST
- Friday, February 14 @ 1200 EST
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Attention Former Flying Tigers
The 40-year anniversary reunion of the Flying Tigers Line Pilots Association (FTLPA) will be held at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel
on May 8, 2014, in Seattle. Following the weekend reunion, the group is taking a cruise to Alaska, where a smaller event will be held in Anchorage on May 19.
These events celebrate the creation of the Flying Tigers Line Retired Pilots Association in 1974, which later dropped the “R” and invites all former Flying Tiger employees to join as members.
For information about the event and the group, contact FTLPA President John Dickson at
www.flyingtigerline.org or 208-699-5909.
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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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