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News from ALPA International |
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October 23, 2012 |
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Why November 6 Should Matter to You |
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 As
Election Day approaches,
lawmakers face a slew of
issues that directly
affect the airline pilot
profession. Topics like
flight time/duty time,
oil speculation, the
Federal Flight Deck
Officer program,
health-care taxation,
and other pertinent
concerns are on the
legislative agenda, and
decisions about these
issues will directly
affect our members.The
October 2012 issue of
Air Line Pilot
magazine explores these
issues, examines the
rules for absentee
voting, and talks about
how ALPA-PAC is making a
difference in advancing
the pilot-partisan
agenda. Read why the
decisions you make this
Election Day—this
November 6—are so
important.
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Pinnacle 1113 Hearing Concludes, Judicial Decision Pending |
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Pinnacle pilots, MEC officers and representatives, and volunteers
stand united outside the United States Bankruptcy Court
for the Southern District of New York.
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Pinnacle’s Section
1113 hearing ended
Friday, October 19, with
both sides presenting
their closing arguments.
Prior to the
statements, Judge Robert
Gerber provided the
parties with an outline
of concerns he expected
the parties to address.
At the start, Judge
Gerber pointed to the
liquidity issues
Pinnacle currently faces
as a critical concern in
this case while
questioning how
responsive the various
proposals that have been
made are to both the
short-term crisis and
long-term health of
Pinnacle.
Along those lines, he
sought more information
about Delta’s role in
reducing Pinnacle’s
utilization (a key
factor in the current
crisis), how that could
occur in the future, and
the impact of
“commoditization” of
regional flying. He also
expressed concern about
Pinnacle’s proposed
terms initiating a “race
to the bottom” in the
regional industry and
that the next carrier in
bankruptcy would be
forced to set a new,
even lower floor.
Read more.
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Canada Board Leaders Elected |
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Pictured
left to
right: Capt.
Georges
Dawood;
Capt. Dan
Adamus; and
Capt.
Bradley
Small.
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Capt. Dan Adamus
(Jazz) was reelected to
serve a fourth term as
Canada Board president
for the Air Line Pilots
Association, Int’l,
during ALPA’s Board of
Directors meeting,
October 15-18. Capt.
Bradley Small (Air
Transat) was reelected
vice president, and
Capt. Georges Dawood
(Jazz) was reelected
secretary-treasurer. The
new terms for the three
Canada Board officers
begin on January 1,
2013.
Adamus is responsible
for planning,
coordinating, and
administering the
Board’s activities and
initiatives that further
ALPA’s strategic goals.
As Canada Board
president, he also
serves as ALPA executive
vice president, Group C,
and member of the
Association’s Executive
Council. As Canada Board
vice president, Capt.
Small also serves as
IFALPA director for ALPA
Canada.
As the leading
advocate for Canadian
professional pilots, the
Canada Board’s top
strategic priorities
include:
• advocating ALPA’s
pilot partisan agenda to
the Canadian government
and other institutions;
• advancing the goal of
updating
flight-/duty-time
regulations for Canadian
pilots; and
• promoting aviation
safety and security.
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FAA Revises Wake Separation Standards at MEM |
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Based on a lengthy
review and detailed
safety analysis of which
ALPA was an active
participant, the FAA is
implementing new
standards for wake
turbulence separation.
The first implementation
site begins at MEM at
6:00 a.m. CDT (1100Z),
on November 1, 2012.
Details are outlined in
the FAA’s
Safety Alert for
Operators (SAFO) 12007,
titled “Recategorization
(RECAT) of FAA Wake
Turbulence Categories at
Memphis International
Airport (MEM).”
The new separation
criteria established
through RECAT is the
culmination of decades
of wake turbulence
research with the goal
of enhancing air traffic
capacity while
maintaining current
safety levels. MEM is
the first site for
permanent RECAT
implementation. The FAA
plans to expand RECAT to
other airports in
2013-2014.
Read more.
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Va. Man Sentenced after Laser Shining |
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The IFALPA Daily News
today reported that on
Friday, Robert Bruce was
fined $4,000 and
sentenced to 18 months
in prison after
interfering with a
flight crew by using a
handheld laser pointer.
On July 31, the Norfolk
resident pleaded guilty to
repeatedly harassing
U.S. Navy pilots in
flight near the Naval
Station Ocean at
Virginia Beach, as they
flew near his home
between December 2011
and June 2012. Bruce
claimed he was upset
about the noise of the
aircraft. Last June,
the Naval Criminal
Investigation Service
arrested Bruce after he
was spotted directing a
laser at pilots. Once
his 18-month sentence is
complete, Bruce will
also serve three years
of supervised release.
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ALPA Pitches In to Help First Air 6560 Families |
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 Our
ALPA family came through
in a big way at the
Board of Directors
meeting last week for
the crewmembers at First
Air. The FAB MEC created
a
“FABulous Flying”
calendar featuring
pictures of its
operations in the North.
The goal of the calendar
is to raise money for
the children of the crew
lost in the August 2011
crash of First Air
Flight 6560 in Resolute.
In a moving speech
FAB MEC Chairman Devin
Lyall gave to the entire
Board on Tuesday, he
explained that the 6560
crew left behind seven
children, some as young
as six weeks old. Lyall
was particularly close
to the three children of
F/O Dave Hare, who was
one of Lyall’s closest
friends.
Lyall’s speech
generated a huge
response from the
hundreds of ALPA pilot
leaders at the BOD
meeting. Pilots from all
nine of ALPA’s Canadian
pilot groups pitched in
to sell raffle tickets
for the First Air fund.
In just two days, the
FAB MEC raised more than
$5,700 for the 6560
children’s fund, through
raffle ticket sales and
cash contributions from
the Canada Board, ALPA
National officers, and
the FedEx and Alaska
MECs.
Thanks to this
outpouring of
generosity, the 6560
fund is already a huge
success, with more
donations to come now
that the calendar
project is underway. The
2013 “FABulous Flying”
calendar is available
for $20 CDN/$18.62 USD
by contacting
Devin.Lyall@alpa.org
or going to
http://tinyurl.com/FABcalendar.
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Airline Safety Shouldn’t Wait for Tragedy |
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We shouldn’t have to
wait for a tragic
accident to adopt new
policies that we know
will improve the safety
of commercial aviation
for all users. At ALPA,
aviation safety has
always been at the core
of our mission—and
ALPA’s leadership
throughout the years has
led to the adoption of
everything from air
traffic control centers
to collision avoidance
systems to reinforced
cockpit doors and other
antiterrorism measures.
Today, one of the
most important
unresolved safety issues
remains the exclusion of
cargo pilots from new
science-based pilot
fatigue rules adopted by
the FAA late last year.
The FAA has acknowledged
that cargo pilots were
excluded from the rule
only because an economic
analysis placed a lower
dollar figure on the
lives of a cargo pilot
crew than the amount of
money it would cost a
cargo shipping company
to ensure the safest
possible operations.
However, that analysis
ignores the fact that
cargo pilots share the
same airports and
airspace as passenger
planes—and a cargo
accident due to fatigue
would threaten all
passenger flights and
communities in its
flight path.
Read more.
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Advanced Biofuels Promote National/Job Security |
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ALPA, A4A, biofuels
producers and
organizations, farmers,
and national security
organizations have sent
a letter to leadership
of both parties in both
chambers of Congress
expressing our support
for the procurement of
advanced biofuels by the
U.S. military.
Military leaders have
identified their
reliance on fossil fuels
as a national security
threat. ALPA and the
airlines have identified
the volatile and high
cost of fuel as an
impediment to a strong
aviation industry. As
with many other
cutting-edge
technologies such as jet
engines, the purchasing
power of the U.S.
military paved the way
for civilian use of
these technologies.
There are some in
Congress who are putting
politics ahead of
national security and
our job security and the
National Defense
Authorization Act of
2012 (NDAA), which funds
the Department of
Defense (DOD), has been
stalled.
Opponents of military
procurement of advanced
biofuels included
language in the NDAA
that would prohibit the
DOD from procuring
advanced biofuels. The
strong support expressed
in this letter by a
broad range of
industries and
organizations sends a
clear message to
congressional leaders
that the time for
political games with our
security must end. ALPA
will continue to work
with our coalition
partners to support the
military and our
industry.
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AERF Previews Public Service Announcement |
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 At
last week’s ALPA Board
of Directors meeting,
ALPA vice
president–administration/secretary
Capt. Bill Couette
introduced an ALPA
Emergency Relief Fund
public service
announcement, created to
promote the use of the
program and to further
encourage ALPA members
to contribute generously
to this ALPA resource.
The
two-minute video
examines how AERF helped
one member pilot and his
family and why
maintaining the fund is
so important.
AERF provides for the
immediate needs of ALPA
pilots and their
families who fall victim
to natural disasters and
other large-scale
catastrophes. AERF is
funded from
contributions by ALPA
members and staff, and
is one of the many
tangible benefits of
belonging to the
Association.
To learn more about
AERF and find out how
you can help, visit
http://www.alpa.org/ReliefFund.
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What’s Happening in Your Industry? Read “ALPA Daily” |
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 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 members can sign up to receive ALPA Daily in their e-mail:
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Visit
this link.
• Log in with your ALPA member number and password.
• Select “E-mail Distribution Lists.”
• Check the box for “ALPA Daily.”
• Submit your request.
According to AviationPros.com, a four-person panel created by Congress this
year is studying a raft of ideas that involve everything from requiring more
complete pricing information on travel booking websites to clearer definitions
of airline terms such as “mechanical delay.”
Read more.
Newsday reports the Transportation Security Administration is removing
full body scanners from New York's airports and moving them to less busy
airports.
Read more.
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 We
want to see what you
see. Share your photos
from the line.Air Line Pilot
encourages you to submit
your high-quality prints
from a developer or
high-resolution digital
images. Your photos
could be featured in a
future magazine!
Send your photos to
Communications@alpa.org.
Thanks.
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On October 23, 1929, Universal Aviation Corporation initiated its first
transcontinental service between New York and Los Angeles. The operation
included an overnight stop in Kansas City, where the passengers transferred to a
Western Air Express flight the next day for the final leg of the journey. The
trip cost nearly $300 and took approximately 36 hours (including the Kansas City
stop) to complete. Return to top
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Feedback & E-mail Address Changes |
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| 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
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Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l
1625 Massachusetts Avenue NW
| Washington, DC 20036 | 703-689-2270 |
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