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News from ALPA International |
April 4, 2013 |
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ALPA Blasts Abu Dhabi Customs Preclearance Proposal
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An
egregious Administration
proposal to establish a
U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP)
facility at Abu Dhabi
International Airport
must be immediately
dropped, said Capt. Lee
Moak, president of the
Air Line Pilots
Association, Int’l in a
letter to Department of
Homeland Security (DHS)
Secretary Napolitano.
The proposal will
inevitably do two
things: hand a
state-backed foreign
airline a competitive
edge over U.S. airlines
and reallocate CBP
resources at a time of
across-the-board budget
cuts and long delays for
U.S. airlines’
passengers.
“This
misguided administration
proposal adds insult to
injury by using U.S.
taxpayers’ money to give
foreign airlines a
competitive advantage
over U.S. airlines while
at the same time making
it more difficult for
U.S. airlines’
passengers to clear
customs,” continued Moak.
“The Administration
needs to get behind U.S.
airlines and U.S.
workers by immediately
dropping this flawed
proposal.”
Read more.
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ALPA Files Third Joint Lawsuit Against Ex-Im Bank |
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Yesterday,
ALPA filed a lawsuit in
federal court against
the U.S. Export-Import
Bank for approving loan
guarantees to several
foreign airlines while
disregarding the adverse
economic impact the
financing has on U.S.
airlines and their
employees, which it is
legally required to do.
ALPA was joined by Delta
Air Lines and Hawaiian
Airlines as plaintiffs
in the suit.
The lawsuit
challenges the Ex-Im
Bank’s approval of loan
guarantees to Etihad
Airways, Korean Air
Lines, LATAM Airlines
Group, and Lot Polish to
purchase widebody
aircraft that would
allow them to increase
their fleets and gain
access to key
international routes.
The guarantees would put
U.S. airlines at a
competitive
disadvantage, possibly
forcing them to cut
market share, reduce
flights, and trim
American jobs.
Read more.
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ICAO Proposes Changes to Age 60 “Over/Under” Rule |
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Recently,
the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO)
began circulating a
proposal to member
states, including
nations like the United
States and Canada, which
could amend its
pilot-age standards. The
proposal would ONLY
eliminate the current
ICAO licensing standard
regarding two-pilot
aircraft, which
stipulates that if one
pilot is age 60 or over,
the other must be under
60. In other words, it
would eliminate the
so-called “over/under
split” requirement.
In addition, the
proposal would change
the current
recommended practice
of limiting copilots to
age 65 to an ICAO
standard. This current
ICAO upper-age limit—65
years for the Pilot in
Command—is
already a standard and
would not change. So
copilots would also be
limited to Age 65 by ICAO standard.
ICAO standards must
be followed by any state
that does not file a
“difference,” while
recommendations are
simply that, and need
not be followed by
states. ICAO will
collect comments from
member states until
July, and the changes,
if approved, are
expected to take effect
in November 2014.
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Promoting International Runway Safety |
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“All airplane flights
that don’t end in an
accident begin and end
on a runway of some
kind,” note Capt. Robert
Perkins (JAZ) and F/O
Steve Jangelis (DAL) in
an informative article
in the April 2013 issue
of Air Line Pilot
about the Association’s
extensive endeavors to
promote international
runway safety.
Read what these pilot
volunteers of the ALPA
Air Safety Organization
have to say about ALPA’s
involvement with the
FAA’s Runway Safety
Council and Nav Canada’s
Runway Safety and
Incursion Prevention
Panel. See how the
Association is working
with the International
Federation of Air Line
Pilots’ Associations to
promote the use of
runway status light
systems, and find out
about the growing use of
engineered materials
arresting systems, or
EMAS, to address runway
overruns.
Learn more about
ALPA’s efforts,
“Toward Safer Runways,”
in this month’s issue of
Air Line Pilot.
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ALPA Ops Bulletin Addresses Tower Closures |
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Air traffic control
closures and
restrictions to
operating hours
announced by the FAA
will begin going into
effect on April 7. The
changes predominantly
impact airports with low
traffic volume, but some
scheduled operations
flown by ALPA pilots
will also be affected.
Many ALPA pilots
successfully operate
into non-towered
airports every day, but
these new changes may
result in additional
operations in and out of
airports without an
operating control tower.
The ALPA Air Safety
Organization has created
Operations Bulletin
2013-01 to summarize
arrival and departure
considerations, and all
ALPA pilots are
encouraged to review
this bulletin and any
related company and
government publications.
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Global Air Passenger Traffic on the Rise |
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In
a statement released
yesterday, the
International Air
Transport Association (IATA)
announced international
passenger traffic
results for February
“showing that demand
growth is accelerating
on the back of stronger
business confidence,
particularly in emerging
regions.” Demand climbed
3.7 percent, as compared
to February 2012. IATA
notes that since
October, worldwide
passenger demand has
been growing at an
annualized rate of 9
percent.
IATA director general
and CEO Tony Tyler said,
“Airlines are carefully
managing capacity
expansion, which is
keeping the load factor
at a record high. This
is helping the industry
to remain profitable
despite persistently
high oil prices.”
Read the IATA release.
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Former DOT Secretary Raises Perimeter Concerns |
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Former
Bush administration
Transportation Secretary
Norm Mineta recently
wrote an op-ed article
for the Washington
Post emphasizing the
need to strengthen
airport perimeters.
Mineta noted that unlike
terminal security, which
is managed by the TSA,
airport perimeter
security is largely
decentralized. He
pointed out that each of
the country’s 450
commercial airports
manages perimeter
security on its own.
“Perimeters are the weak
link,” said Mineta,
adding, “Our
concentrated focus on
terminal security has
orphaned equally
important needs at the
edge of airports. As
Rep. Bill Keating
(D-Mass.) has observed,
it’s like ‘locking all
the doors on your house
but leaving the windows
open.’”
Read the Mineta article.
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Air
Transat has announced
plans to add B-737s to
its fleet, currently
composed of A310s and
A330s, to operate
medium-haul flights to
destinations in Florida,
Mexico, and the
Caribbean beginning in
2014 . . . Alaska
Airlines today initiates
twice-daily service
between Seattle and Salt
Lake City . . . Canadian
North plans to acquire
four new B-737-300s . .
. Nearly 28,000
employees, including
passenger service
agents, fleet service
workers, and
storekeepers at United
and the former
Continental, represented
by IAM District 141,
have rejected new joint
contract offers and are
requesting mediation
assistance from the NMB.
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Join Us for the ALPA Legislative Summit |
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Registration
is now open for the ALPA
Legislative Summit. This
event will take place
June 5—6 at the Hyatt
Regency Capitol Hill in
Washington, D.C.
Register online at
www.alpa.org/legislativesummit.
The
summit will provide ALPA
pilots an opportunity to
enhance their advocacy
and PAC leadership
skills through hands-on
training. Participants
will gain the tools
needed to become
effective advocates and
to grow participation in
ALPA-PAC and grassroots
programs within their
pilot groups.
Day one
of the summit will
feature legislative
briefings, workshops,
guest speakers, and a
Capitol Hill reception
with members of Congress
and staff. Day two will
culminate with a lobby
day on Capitol Hill
where participants will
apply their training in
meetings with
representatives and
senators on a relevant
pilot partisan
legislative issue.
Please visit at
www.alpa.org/legislativesummit
to register for this
exciting event.
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We
want to see what you
see. Share your pictures
from the line, and give
us some context (i.e.,
let us know what we’re
looking at).
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! Hint:
If you’re aiming
specifically for a cover
shot, portrait
orientation is easier
for us to manage than
landscape.
Send your photos to
Communications@alpa.org.
Thanks.
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Eoghan Macguire of CNN
justifies seven choices
for the most
“entertaining” airports
in the world. From movie
theatres to music stages
to casinos, these
terminals offer
something special for
today’s air traveler.
Read the CNN article
and find out where you
should be bidding your
trips.
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On April 7, 1948, pilot organizations from 16 countries met in London to sign an
agreement to establish the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’
Associations (IFALPA). ALPA signed the document as the representative for U.S.
pilots. The Federation was established to give airline pilots from around the
globe a formal mechanism to interact with the newly formed International Civil
Aviation Organization.
IFALPA’s 68th annual conference begins late next week in Dublin. Look for
coverage in future issues of FastRead and Air Line Pilot, and on
ALPA’s social networking sites.
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Feedback & E-mail Address Changes |
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Questions or comments on this FastRead? Give us your feedback at
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and once your postal forwarding order expires, you’ll no longer receive the
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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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