View photos from the workshop.

ALPA, A4A Host Flight Time/Duty Time Workshop

No rule or regulation can cover all operational situations, so ALPA and Airlines for America (A4A), the association that represents most of the airlines for which U.S. ALPA members fly, is holding a workshop in Washington, D.C., today and tomorrow to review nearly nine months of experience with FAR Part 117.

More than 140 key stakeholders—ALPA local pilot group leaders, ALPA labor relations attorneys, and representatives of the FAA and U.S. airlines—have been engaged in spirited, collegial discussions of the state of the FAA’s current fatigue rules for passenger airline pilots.

Capt. Don Wykoff (Delta), chairman of the ALPA Flight Time/Duty Time Committee (and president of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations), is serving as moderator of the workshop, subtitled, “Your Part 117 Implementation Questions Answered.” Wykoff was co-chair of the FAA/industry Flight Time/Duty Time Aviation Rulemaking Committee that spent the summer of 2009 drafting recommendations to the FAA that formed the basis of the science-based overhaul of the fatigue rules under which U.S. pilots of passenger airline flights now operate.

ALPA continues to press hard to overturn the “cargo carveout” that irrationally exempted all-cargo pilots from the new rules.

Secondary Barriers: UAL MEC Calls You to Action

On Tuesday’s 11 p.m. newscast, CBS3 in Philadelphia featured an investigative report entitled “I-Team Investigates: Cockpit Danger.” The in-depth investigation into cockpit security featured interviews with secondary barrier advocate Ellen Saracini, widow of United Captain Victor Saracini, who lost his life on 9/11; a former air marshal; and many others.

CBS3 Investigative Reporter Charlotte Huffman, who reported the story, and CBS3 are asking for viewer and expert comments regarding this report and the importance of secondary barriers being required on all commercial aircraft. A comment section on the CBS3 website has been activated, and we ask all ALPA pilots to offer their expert opinions on this important subject. Please click here, scroll down to the Comments section, and let Ms. Huffman and CBS3 know how important secondary barriers are for cockpit and aviation safety. You also can send an e-mail to the CBS Philly I-Team at iteam@cbsphilly.com.

Follow Investigative Reporter Charlotte Huffman @HuffmanCBS3: https://twitter.com/HuffmanCBS3

ALPA Fee-for-Departure Pilots Gather at DENTK for Pilot Open House

Nearly 325 ALPA pilots currently flying for fee-for-departure (FFD) carriers gathered at United Airlines’ Denver Training Center on Wednesday and Thursday to attend the second session of the United MEC-sponsored Fee-for-Departure Pilot Open House. Pilots currently flying for ALPA carriers had the opportunity to sit down one on one with recruiters and personnel from United Airlines to learn what it takes to land a position on a United Airlines flight deck.

Morning and afternoon sessions were held each day to give pilots ample time to sit down with United representatives and discuss their possible future of flying for the airline.

“The United MEC has always advocated for ALPA pilots on the United property,” said United MEC chairman Captain Jay Heppner in an address to the attendees. “We’ve had many observers throughout these sessions from ALPA National and from other airlines. We are hopeful that they, too, will see the real value in these open houses, open to only ALPA pilots, and offer them this opportunity at their airlines as well.

Read more about the Pilot Open House.

First Air, Canadian North Work on Joint Contract

The bonds between Canadian arctic carriers Canadian North and First Air are strengthening, as the two airlines’ pilot groups continue to plan for an anticipated merger. The FAB/CNP Joint Negotiating Committee concluded a three-day meeting in Edmonton this week by comparing the two ALPA groups’ collective agreements and discussing which provisions would make the most sense in a combined operation. These extensive discussions resulted in an almost-complete full language proposal for presentation to management when the parties begin future merger talks.

Owners at First Air and Canadian North announced earlier this year their hopes to merge the two airlines. While the deal is not yet official and has not been approved by the Canadian government, CNP and FAB pilots are working together to ensure the merger goes smoothly and expeditiously if and when it is approved. The two groups hope to finalize the Joint Collective Agreement proposal at their next meeting in November.

XJT Families Enjoy Family Awareness Event in Chicago

More than 25 XJT pilots, spouses, family, and friends enjoyed a competitive evening at the ORD Family Awareness event held September 19 at WhirlyBall in Chicago. As some members of the group socialized and signed up for ALPA-PAC in a private banquet room overlooking the WhirlyBall arena, the Red and Black teams aggressively raced bumper cars across the basketball-like court in an effort to score goals.

The XJT Family Awareness Committee will host its final event of 2014 at Sportrock Indoor Rock Climbing Center in Sterling, Virginia, on October 11. The RSVP window for this event closes October 5. ALPA families will learn how to climb the rocks from experienced instructors and then be able to try out all of the different areas of the facility. Pilot families from all XJT bases are welcome to attend.

ALPA Hosts International CIRP Chairs Meeting

More than 50 ALPA members and other interested parties gathered at the Association’s Herndon Conference Center earlier this week for a three-day annual meeting of pilots who chair their MEC’s Critical Incident Response Programs (CIRP). Attendees came from as far away as Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and South Africa. Pilots from Silver Airlines, American Airlines, and Lufthansa, plus representatives from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, and Stiftung Mayday Foundation participated.

F/O Louise Cullinan (Mesa), ALPA National CIRP chair, and Capt. Bill Cheney (United) and F/O Tony Faul (Hawaiian), ALPA National CIRP vice chairs, led confidential discussions about the important work—mostly done behind the scenes—that these pilots and their international peers do.

CIRP uses pilots and spouses trained as peers to lessen the stress reactions that accidents or incidents may have on pilots, accident investigators, and their families. Pilot and family peer support volunteers are trained in structured defusing and debriefing techniques that help flightcrew members and their families more effectively deal with the normal reactions of individuals to abnormal events in their lives. This time-critical, peer-based support accelerates recovery from those events before harmful stress reactions damage job performance, careers, families, personal life, and health.

ALPA Working to Improve FFDO Program

Representatives of the Air Safety Organization’s Security Group and staff participated this week in a regularly scheduled meeting of the Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) stakeholder working group in Charlotte, NC, to discuss the status of and pending improvements to the FFDO program. The program is to be placed under the oversight of the TSA’s Office of Training and Worker Engagement effective October 1, 2014, and the deputy assistant administrator of that office was on hand to provide his optimistic perspective of its future. The working group reviewed the program’s standard operating procedures and received presentations of interest on FFDO activity statistics.

FAA Needs YOU to Report Wildlife Strikes

ALPA’s Air Safety Organization representatives working on ways to address the hazard of wildlife on and near airports and to improve engine design standards for birdstrike tolerance remind pilots that reporting all wildlife strikes is critical to understanding the scope of that hazard. The FAA’s database of wildlife strikes is a key tool used in that regard. The FAA has an easy-to-use online form that pilots are encouraged to complete and submit anytime they have a wildlife encounter, even if the event is reported to ATC. The report can be filed at http://wildlife.faa.gov (PC users with Internet Explorer 11 will have to add “wildlife.faa.gov” to compatibility settings to see the site) or on mobile devices at http://faa.gov/mobile. The mobile app also has links to other useful FAA resources.

Did you know . . .

On the front page of the ALPA website, there is now an icon that links to known, publically available FAA notices on airspace restrictions in conflict zones. International crews are urged to take advantage of this reference during preflight planning, but should always refer to current NOTAMS and dispatch material for the most up-to-date information. To see the list, click here.

New Pilot-Partisan Advocates Needed—Webinar Tomorrow!

ALPA Government Affairs is conducting District Advocate training with a webinar scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, September 26 at 11:00 a.m. EDT (1500z). ALPA needs volunteers who are interested in promoting the Association’s pilot-partisan agenda and want to serve as pilot-partisan representatives to their local congressional offices. Volunteers should be willing to schedule and conduct in-district advocacy visits with their members of Congress.

The District Advocate webinar lasts an hour, and training 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 issues. A computer with internet access and a phone to dial-in to a toll free number are required.

Interested? Please e-mail Andrew.Rademaker@alpa.org to sign up for the training session. Additional training dates will be offered later this fall. Pilots are also encouraged to participate in the current grassroots Calls to Action program to communicate ALPA’s pilot-partisan agenda directly to your federal legislators.