View this message on the Web.

News from ALPA International

August 21, 2012

Stay Connected

WordPress Facebook Twitter
YouTube Flickr LinkedIn RSS Feeds
The FlightDeck
ALPAApp

The ALPA App

In This Issue:

Alert! Charting Error at Reagan National Airport (KDCA)
Jeppesen has advised all users that the chart for the FRDMM One and TRUPS One RNAV arrivals dated July 20, 2012 (effective July 26, 2012), incorrectly depicts LACKE waypoint as a “Fly Over” for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA). The LACKE waypoint for both procedures should be depicted as a “Fly By.”

Jeppesen further advises that pilots should “exercise caution when using the FRDMM One RNAV and TRUPS One RNAV arrival procedures at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA).”

As always, ALPA recommends that pilots follow pertinent standard operating procedures and comply with other company communications pertaining to this issue.

The corrected charts for the FRDMM One RNAV arrival and TRUPS One RNAV arrival are posted on Jeppesen.com and will be included in the August 31, 2012 revision. Please note that no NOTAM will be published.

Read the Jeppesen Chart Alert. This item is also posted on the Jeppesen website at www.jeppesen.com/company/alerts/aviation-alerts.jsp.

Return to top

FAB Crewmembers Commemorate Flight 6560 Anniversary


View a photo slideshow of the service.

Friends, relatives, and colleagues celebrated the lives of the crew of First Air Flight 6560 yesterday, a year to the day after the First Air Boeing 737 crashed into a hill in the far northern hamlet of Resolute.

The crash on August 20, 2011 took the lives of 12 of the 15 souls on board, including pilots Blair Rutherford and Dave Hare, and flight attendants Ute Merritt and Ann Marie Chassie. The Flight 6560 crew was remembered at a private memorial service in the First Air hangar in Yellowknife, NT, where the lost crewmembers were well-known in northern Canada’s close-knit aviation community.

Speaking at the service, FAB MEC Chairman Devin Lyall and Capt. Rutherford’s widow Tatiana agreed that the common denominator that linked the Flight 6560 crew was happiness—for their families, their colleagues, and their airline.

Read more.

Return to top

PCL Families Show Solidarity in MSP


View a photo slideshow of the Family Awareness event.

More than 200 Pinnacle pilots, spouses, and kids enjoyed a fun evening at the ballpark in Minneapolis last Tuesday to build family unity as the MEC prepared for another round of bankruptcy negotiations.

The event at Target Field was sponsored by the PCL Family Awareness Committee and came on the eve of a meeting with the company where management was expected to unveil its new business plan and demand new pilot concessions under Section 1113 of the bankruptcy code.

Speaking to pilots and families at a downtown hotel before the ballgame, PCL chairman Capt. Tom Wychor said ALPA seeks to protect the group’s four cornerstone contract principles: wages, work rules, scope, and benefits.

Read more.

Return to top

Catch the Latest Aviation News! Read ALPA Daily
The aviation industry is changing faster than ever before. The new “ALPA Daily” feature at www.alpa.org will keep you informed of the latest industry developments and analysis from around the globe. Check it out each day to stay up-to-date on the news that affects pilots and the piloting profession.

ALPA Daily continues to grow in popularity, and members have contacted us asking if this information can be e-mailed to their Macs and PCs. ALPA’s Communications and IT Departments are working toward that end. If you want to receive the electronic version of ALPA Daily, e-mail your name, ALPA number, and preferred e-mail address to communications@alpa.org. We’ll let you know when you can expect “home” delivery.

• Flightglobal reports that U.S. mainline carriers are expected to increase their pilot hiring during the second half of the year, even as some plan capacity cuts. Read more.

• According to Aviationpros.com, a Boeing 727-200F aircraft from FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., will be donated today at the Tulsa International Airport. Read more.

Return to top

What Pilot’s Rights Act of 2012 Means to You
If you’ve been wondering what the Pilot’s Rights Act of 2012 means to you as an airline pilot and ALPA member, we have an answer for you: Not a lot.

The new federal legislation, signed into law by President Obama on August 3, 2012, is more significant for general aviation pilots than for ALPA members, says Jim Johnson, ALPA supervising attorney.

In an FAA enforcement case “relating to denial, amendment, modification, suspension, or revocation of an airman certificate,” the agency’s letter to the accused (the so-called “10-day letter”) now must include the “releasable” portions of the FAA’s evidence against the pilot. Johnson explains that, in most FAA enforcement cases against ALPA members, the union advises the pilot against responding to the letter, as any such response can be used against the defendant, and it is not required.

ALPA attorneys then obtain the relevant evidence via a Freedom of Information Act request. Thus this change, while it will require the FAA to supply the information earlier, won’t matter much to ALPA members represented by ALPA attorneys.

Read more.

Return to top

Safety Data Now Available on Your Smartphone
The ALPA app for iPhone and Android users has been expanded to include selected safety-related information. Existing users of the ALPA app should receive notification on their phones that an upgrade is available.

When installed, the safety icon (a “+” symbol) will appear between the KCM and Jumpseat icons, and will lead you to both an “In Case of Accident/Incident” section (that includes “Orange Card” information and other valuable resources) and ALPA’s International Directory. Users must be logged in to view the data.

The ALPA Mobile app is available for download in iTunes and the Android Market.

Suggestions for improving the content of these areas or the organization of the information are welcome and should be directed to eas@alpa.org.

Return to top

Sequestration Would Undercut FAA’s Capacity to Serve Air Transport
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration would have to slash its operations budget and could not support current levels of passenger and air cargo activity if the process of automatic federal spending cuts known as “sequestration” takes effect in January as scheduled. In turn, reduced passenger and cargo activity would lead to job losses and other economic fallout, according to a study released by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA).

“Sequestration was supposed to be the sword of Damocles hanging over the Congress, forcing them to act [on reducing the federal budget deficit],” said Todd Hauptli, senior executive vice president of the American Association of Airport Executives. “Thus far, they haven’t acted. These cuts will have significant impact on operations within the FAA. Travelers are going to feel this. If this is allowed to go into effect in January, it will manifest itself in longer lines at the airport.”

Hauptli and several association executives spoke at an August 13 luncheon in Washington, D.C., organized by the AIA to discuss the study.

Return to top

What’s the FlightDeck? Watch It and Find Out

Learn how the United and Continental pilots could be close to reaching a deal. Hear how ALPA is helping more than 700 pilots find jobs after two airlines announced closures. Find out the latest Known Crewmember locations. Hear what’s in the Pilot’s Bill of Rights. Plus, watch highlights from ALPA’s 58th Air Safety Forum. All of this and more is covered on the latest episode of The FlightDeck.

Remember that you can sign up for our video podcasts of The FlightDeck via iTunes.

Tell us what you think about this latest edition at flightdeck@alpa.org. We also welcome your suggestions for future stories.

Return to top

AFL-CIO Asks You to Support United Way
Since 1947, the AFL-CIO has taken great pride in its partnership with the United Way. The labor movement and the United Way have a long tradition of working together to help workers, families, and communities in need.

United Way funding makes it possible to provide services people need to get back on their feet. United Way supports more than 200 community services liaisons serving working families in communities around the country.

Please support the 2012 United Way Campaign where you live and work. Together we can help those in real need while we work to rebuild our economy for all.

Return to top

FastFact
ALPA represented Canadian pilots long before the ALPA/CALPA merger of 1997. In August 1940, ALPA signed its first contract with Canadian Colonial Airways. The airline changed its name to Colonial Airlines in 1942 and merged with Eastern Airlines in 1956.

Return to top

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.

Return to top

Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l
1625 Massachusetts Avenue NW | Washington, DC 20036 | 703-689-2270