|
View this message on the Web. |
 |
|
News from ALPA International |
|
March 19, 2013 |
|
|
New Qualification Requirements for U.S. Pilots
|
|
|
|
 In
2010, the U.S. Congress
passed a bill titled the
“Airline Safety and
Federal Administration
Extension Act of 2010”
requiring first officers
in FAR Part 121
operations to hold an
airline transport pilot
(ATP) certificate. This
bill, which was signed
into law as Public Law
111-216, may also have
the effect of requiring
all U.S. airline pilots
to hold a first-class
medical and to be at
least 23 years old. A
degree of uncertainty
surrounds this issue for
the entire industry,
because the FAA is
expected to publish new
regulations that expand
upon and clarify the law
before it goes into
effect.
The law gave the
airlines three years to
comply with this new
provision, so it will
take effect on August 2,
2013. Accordingly,
unless the FAA modifies
the regulations
regarding the
requirements of the ATP,
pilots not holding an
ATP by that deadline may
not be permitted to fly
for a carrier in Part
121 operations.
Read more.
Return to top
|
|
|
ALPA Security, Jumpseat Reps Share Information |
|
 The
Security and Jumpseat
councils of the Air Line
Pilots Association,
Int’l met in joint
session today at the
Association’s Herndon,
Va., Conference Center
to revisit their
respective missions,
discuss program updates,
and hear reports from
individual member
airlines. Moderating
this event were Capt.
Fred Eissler (FDX),
ALPA’s Aviation Security
chairman, and F/O James
Berzon (CAL), Jumpseat
Council acting chairman.
ALPA president Capt.
Lee Moak addressed the
40-plus pilot
representatives in
attendance this morning,
discussing the
Association’s recent
achievements as well as
its latest challenges.
Moak emphasized the
importance of continuing
to pursue a risk-based
approach to aviation
security, and the
importance of developing
relationships in
Washington and Ottawa
because of the
overwhelming influence
these cities’ decision
makers have on the
industry.
Read more.
Return to top |
|
|
ALPA Welcomes Labor Secretary Nomination |
|
 ALPA
president Capt.
Lee Moak
welcomes President
Obama’s nomination of
Tom Perez to lead the
U.S. Department of
Labor.
“American workers
need a leader at the
highest level of
government who will
effectively advocate on
their behalf when it
comes to issues of
safety, fair wages, and
competing on a level
playing field. The
Association is hopeful
that Mr. Perez’s
experience and track
record as a champion of
worker rights in this
country will assist him
in growing strong labor
opportunities for
Americans in the
aviation industry and
beyond. We look forward
to partnering with him
in the near future to
elevate the issues that
affect pilots most.”
Return to top |
|
|
ALPA Pilots Learn House T&I Committee Chair’s Priorities |
|
 On Friday, March 15,
ALPA pilots and staff
were on hand as U.S.
House Committee on
Transportation and
Infrastructure Chairman
Bill Shuster (R-Pa.)
addressed the Aero Club
of Washington, D.C.
Shuster gave his view
on the federal role in
ensuring the U.S.
aviation system remains
the best in the world,
and discussed the
committee’s agenda for
the coming months. He
touched on several
priority concerns for
ALPA, including the U.S.
government’s subjecting
the airline industry to
so-called “sin” taxes,
and the need to
recognize the intense
competition that U.S.
airlines face from
heavily state-backed
foreign airlines. Among
other issues, Shuster
also talked about the
integration of unmanned
aerial systems in the
national airspace
system, the American-US
Airways merger, and the
mandatory,
across-the-board federal
spending cuts.
Read more.
Return to top
|
|
|
|
 Transat’s
chief executive says
he’s focused on
returning his operation
to profitability this
year but is concerned
about the long-term
impact on its key
European business from
competition by Air
Canada’s new low-cost
carrier . . . The
College of Alameda’s
Aviation Maintenance
Technology program is
scheduled to receive a
donation of a Boeing 727
from the FedEx
Corporation . . . About
75 of Delta’s 1,400
pilots based at
Minneapolis-St. Paul
International Airport
will be transferred to
Detroit, Atlanta, and
other locations . . .
United Airlines has
launched its first
aircraft equipped with
flat-bed seats in a
revamped premium cabin,
all-new interiors,
personal on-demand
entertainment, Wi-Fi
connectivity, in-seat
power, and USB ports on
its transcontinental
premium service . . .
Southwest Airlines and
AirTran Airways have
finished connecting
their networks.
Customers can now
purchase itineraries to
the airlines’ combined
97 destinations in one
transaction . . . CanJet
Airlines appears to be
once again gearing up
for scheduled service.
The airline has been
granted several licenses
that would allow it to
provide scheduled
service between Canada
and the 27 European
member states, Antigua
and Barbuda, Costa Rica,
and Barbados.
Return to top
|
|
|
ALPA and NATCA, Working Together |
|
 Watch
a special video to see
how pilots and air
traffic controllers are
working together to keep
our skies safe. A joint
project between ALPA,
FAA, and National Air
Traffic Controllers
Association, the video
was introduced at the
NATCA Communicating for
Safety Conference held
earlier this month.
Watch the video.
Return to top
|
|
|
Are You Prepared? Take the Survey |
|
 As
a pilot, you hope for
the best and plan for
the worst. But are you
adequately prepared
outside the cockpit?
ALPA’s Member Insurance
Department is here to
help you stay current
with your ever-changing
life circumstances;
that’s why we ask for
your participation in a
brief survey about your
preparedness in the
event of a life-changing
disability.
Take the survey.
Return to top |
|
|
|
|
The FAA has delayed
issuing an announcement regarding
air traffic control
tower closures until
Friday. A statement was
expected to come
yesterday.
Federal sequestration
has cut roughly $600
million from the FAA
budget and nearly 200
towers at smaller
airports around the
country could be shut
down.
Return to top
|
|
|
Human Trafficking in Our Transportation System |
|
 Every
day around the world,
women, children, and men
become victims of human
trafficking and are
exploited for domestic
work, sweatshop labor,
or sex. Too often, those
exploited arrive at
their destination
through our vast
transportation system.
It’s estimated that 27
million people fall prey
to modern-day slave
traders. And if you
think this is not a
problem in the United
States, you would be
wrong. The United
Nations tells us that
human trafficking is a
$32 billion-per-year
industry, with half of
those profits made in
industrialized nations.
And in fact, a UNICEF
brief explains that the
United States is “a
source and transit point
for trafficking and is
considered one of the
major destinations for
trafficking victims.”
That’s why the
Transportation Trades
Department, AFL-CIO (TTD)
is joining the effort to
better educate
transportation workers
about the horrors of
human trafficking.
Transportation workers
are uniquely positioned
to help combat this
global scourge on
humanity. The TTD
Executive Committee,
made up of leaders of 33
unions with members in
the transportation
sector, has endorsed the
Transportation Leaders
Against Human
Trafficking initiative
led by the Department of
Transportation (DOT) in
partnership with the
Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), praising
Secretary of
Transportation Ray
LaHood for his
leadership on this
difficult issue.
Read more.
Return to top
|
|
|
Have You Checked “ALPA Daily” Today? |
|
|
The aviation industry is changing faster than ever before. The
“ALPA Daily”
feature at www.alpa.org will keep you informed
of the latest industry developments and analysis from around the globe.
ALPA members can sign up to receive ALPA Daily in their e-mail.
Visit
this link.
Return to top
|
|
|
|
|
A Boeing 767 flew 5,499 miles nonstop from Lisbon, Portugal to Boeing Field,
Wash., on March 16, 1983, setting what was then a new distance record for
twin-engine airliners. 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 |
|
