View photos from the summit.

Legislative Summit Sends Pilots to the Hill

The 2nd annual ALPA Government Affairs Legislative Summit kicked off today, highlighting the make-or-break influence federal policy has on the U.S. airline industry’s ability to compete and survive in the global aviation market. “For us to win, we have to be diplomatically aggressive,” said ALPA President Lee Moak during his opening remarks, emphasizing the importance of taking the pilot message directly to lawmakers. Moak noted that U.S. airlines and their employees are under siege from state-owned and state-sponsored foreign carriers, and others who manipulate current U.S. aviation policy to their advantage.

In fact, ALPA’s summit is also a training ground for pilot volunteers who will visit their members of Congress on Capitol Hill tomorrow. The pilots will lobby U.S. representatives for the Safe Skies Act to revise FAR 117 to include cargo operations under the same fatigue standards as those of passenger airlines, the Saracini Aviation Safety Act to mandate secondary cockpit barriers, and ongoing efforts to prohibit a “flag-of-convenience” business model (Norwegian Air International) to undermine labor standards and avoid regulatory scrutiny.

Read more about the Legislative Summit.

Watch Moak Unveil ALPA’s Policy Solutions Tomorrow

At 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, May 29, Capt. Moak will speak before journalists in Washington, D.C., during ALPA’s Legislative Summit. The news media briefing, which will be available to stream online, will discuss ALPA’s new white paper, Leveling the Playing Field 3.0: Survival Mode, which clarifies why and how U.S. government leaders must act now to make certain U.S. airlines do business in a fair marketplace.

Tune in to the webcast at alpa.org.

Delta Ratifies LOA with FAR 117-Related Modifications

On May 22, 2014, the Delta MEC unanimously ratified Letter of Agreement (LOA) #14-01—Modifications Related to FAR 117. This LOA modifies the PWA to better align Delta pilots’ work rules with the terms and nomenclature used by the new FAR and to make improvements to the PWA.

This negotiation was the culmination of seven months of work by the Negotiating Committee that consisted of over 30 meetings with the company and updates provided to and direction received from the MEC at five regular and two special meetings, all while supported by a large number of other members of the Delta MEC committee structure.

In all, this LOA is the fruit of hard bargaining, containing solid improvements to the pilot working agreement and reflecting the pilot group’s continued proactive engagement with management on a wide range of issues.

Cross-Border Cooperation—Air Wisconsin and Jazz Hold Joint MEC Meeting in Montreal

Showing that they have more commonalities than differences, the Air Wisconsin and Jazz MECs are meeting jointly this week in Montreal to discuss the issues facing fee-for-departure (FFD) carriers in the United States and Canada. The two groups have cooperated before, with MEC officers from each invited to the other’s MEC meetings; however, this is the first meeting to involve all members of both MECs. Joint discussions will focus on the state of the FFD industry and negotiating strategies. The groups will also meet separately to address property-specific issues. As Air Wisconsin and Jazz continue to build ties and relationships, plans are in the works for additional joint meetings in the future.

From left: Mark Lockwood, David Holtzman, Ben Grant, Colin Gallagher, Matt Chadwick, Richard Swindell, Thorne Saylor, Jeff Pruett, Maggie Eickhoff, Reed Donoghue, and Jody Bettenburg..

Air Wisconsin MEC Elects Officers, Visits ICAO

During the regular Air Wisconsin (ARW) MEC meeting this week in Montreal, Capt. Chris Suhs was elected to serve as the next ARW MEC chairman beginning August 25. Also elected to serve two-year terms were Capt. Jeff Pruett, MEC vice chairman, and Capt. Jared Armstrong, MEC secretary-treasurer.

The ARW MEC is conducting their business at the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) offices and today visited the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and received a briefing from Mike Jackson, IFALPA rep to ICAO.

The ARW MEC is in Montreal for a historic joint meeting of the ARW MEC and the Jazz MEC in a demonstration of cross-border communication, cooperation, mutual support, and unity.

Major Revision of Arrivals and Departures for Houston Metroplex Airports

Effective tomorrow, May 29, 2014, the Houston Metroplex, which includes Houston Intercontinental (IAH) and Hobby (HOU), will implement 61 new procedures that provide airport-specific arrival and departure procedures while decreasing fuel usage through more direct flight paths.

Read more about the new procedures at IAH and HOU.

FAA Recategorizes Wake Turbulence Separations

Effective June 1, 2014, the FAA is expanding its Wake Turbulence Recategorization (RECAT) program throughout the national airspace system. The FAA has been conducting RECAT operations for the past year at Memphis, Louisville, and Miami. RECAT is the culmination of decades of wake research of which ALPA has been, and continues to be, an active participant. Under RECAT, the new classifications are expected to maintain the current levels of safety while increasing airport capacity and reducing both arrival and departure delays.

Read more on RECAT.

KCM Welcomes CVG

Yesterday, the Known Crewmember (KCM) program welcomed Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) as its 48th member. KCM is a risk-based security screening program that enables TSA security officers to positively verify the identity and employment status of crewmembers.

KCM facilities are dedicated security screening lanes for use by prescreened airline personnel that allow passengers in separate lines to move through TSA checkpoints with less delay. Testing of risk-based screening for flight crews began in 2008 and was approved by the TSA for expansion in 2009. As a result of ALPA’s successful partnerships with A4A and the TSA, KCM has evolved into a robust nationwide program, having screened over 17 million transits to date. Learn more at www.knowncrewmember.org and on the ALPA smartphone app’s “KCM” tab.

Got 30 seconds? Check out this video

Coming soon to your mailbox: the June issue of Air Line Pilot. Take a time-out to watch this quick video to see what’s covered in the latest issue of ALPA’s signature magazine. You might even learn who will save our skies.