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News from ALPA International

December 6, 2011

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In This Issue:

CAL, XJT Pilots Make Children Smile with Pilots for Kids


Continental and ExpressJet pilots visited
Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

Continental and ExpressJet pilots continue a longstanding holiday tradition, sharing their time, money, and hearts to bring cheer and toys to hospitalized children and their families. During the past 17 years, many Continental and ExpressJet pilots have volunteered their time for Pilots for Kids, making visits in cities across the country. Untold numbers have generously donated money to fund the purchase of plush toys that are given to these children during the visits. In addition to today’s event in Houston, additional visits are currently planned for Cleveland, Ohio, and Bridgeport, Conn.

“Pilots for Kids is one of our favorite programs,” says Capt. Jay Pierce, CAL MEC chairman. “There are few opportunities like it. Where else can a short visit or a few dollars make such a profound and direct difference for all involved?”

XJT MEC chairman Capt. Chris Belcastro adds, “Pilots for Kids embodies the spirit of the holidays. We are pleased that we were able to participate again this year in spreading joy to some very special children and their families.”

Visit www.pilotsforkids.org to learn more about this important program.

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CMA Pilots Support Movember
For the second year in a row, ALPA pilots from Calm Air participated in “Movember,” an international charitable event to support men’s health issues in which individuals collect pledges to grow mustaches during the month of November. Dozens of Calm Air pilots—the Mo-Viators, as they called themselves—participated this year, raising more than $3,500.

“Last year, the Calm Air MEC thought it would be fun to start a team,” said Capt. Dan Cowan, Calm Air MEC chairman. “To be honest, our primary motivation was to use this as a team-building and pilot-unifying exercise.”

Cowan added that the airline fully supported the idea and that even Calm Air’s vice president of Operations joined the effort.

A group in Melbourne, Australia, established Movember in 2003 to raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues, focusing particularly on prostate cancer research and treatment. Since then, the movement has grown into a worldwide campaign. Go to www.movember.com for more details.

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A New Look for ALPA.org
The ALPA.org website has been updated in conjunction with recent efforts to standardize the ALPA brand. These design changes take advantage of some of the capabilities offered by newer web browsers.

The updated version of the ALPA website also includes a relocation of several previous members-only menu options. Former links like MY ALPA, Legislation & ALPA PAC, and Preflight are now accessible using the new MORE link below the alpa.org banner.

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Take the Survey
ALPA’s Government Affairs Department and Political Action Committee play vital roles in influencing legislative and regulatory decisions that determine national air transportation policy. Call to Action programs provide ALPA members with a chance to contact their elected public officials and voice their opinions . . . but how familiar are you with these Association efforts?

Please take a moment to complete a six-question survey and tell us what you think about these and other Government Affairs issues. We want to hear from you.

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Stay Connected
Stay connected with your union, your profession, and your industry by reading Air Line Pilot magazine and watching monthly episodes of The FlightDeck.

Read about the action of the ALPA Executive Board on page 28 of the December issue of Air Line Pilot magazine.

On the tenth installment of The FlightDeck, learn how to avoid bedbugs during your next trip.

Remember that both Air Line Pilot and The FlightDeck can also be accessed from the members-only portion of the ALPA website at www.alpa.org.

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Other Industry News
• The Associated Press reports that the fast-growing Asian and Middle Eastern airlines have signed orders recently for hundreds of new airplanes—now they face the problem of finding enough pilots to fly them. Read more.

• The Palm Beach Daily News says it’s time to revisit deregulation after American Airlines’ bankruptcy filing. Read more.

• The Myrtle Beach Sun News indicates that Myrtle Beach International Airport wants flights to Dallas, Minneapolis, and Indianapolis and is willing to give airlines a free ride initially to get them. Read more.

• According to Technology Review, a new nanostructured coating could be used to make paints for stealth aircraft that can’t be seen at night and that are undetectable by radar at any time of day. Read more.

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FastFact

During the eighth meeting of the ALPA Board of Directors, held December 4–7, 1944, the Board called for legislation prohibiting taxation of airline employees by more than one state; completely revised the Association’s Constitution and By-Laws; and reelected David Behncke to a seventh term as ALPA president.

 

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Feedback & E-mail Address Changes
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.

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