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News from ALPA International |
November 10, 2011 |
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Alaska Pilots Fly Biofuel-Powered Flights |
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On Wednesday, two Alaska
Airlines flights
launched what will be a
three-week program to
operate commercial
flights using biofuel.
The Alaska Airlines B-737
and a Horizon Q400
departed within minutes
of one another, bound
from Seattle to
Washington, D.C., and
Portland, Ore.,
respectively, using a
blend of biofuel made
from used cooking oil
and traditional jet
fuel. Over the next few
weeks, the Alaska Air
Group will fly a total
of 75 flights powered by
biofuel.
Biofuels, which are made
using renewable
resources, reduce fossil
fuel consumption,
increase efficiency, and
cut greenhouse gas
emissions while
maintaining high safety
standards, all of which
are important for the
future of aviation.
“Hopefully what happened
this week will
demonstrate that there
is a real interest and
demand for biofuel,”
said F/O Paul Stuart,
Alaska MEC chairman of
the Air Line Pilots
Association, Int’l.
“Alaska Airlines has a
proud history of
innovation and
pioneering new
technologies. It is
exciting, but not
surprising to me, that
we are at the forefront
of a technology that
will not only reduce our
industry’s carbon
footprint, but will make
aviation more
sustainable into the
future.”
Read more.
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Pilots: Canadian SMS Proven Aviation Safety Tool |
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ALPA issued a statement
today noting that Safety
Management Systems (SMS)
continue to be a
valuable tool to enhance
safety in aviation and
other transportation
industries in Canada.
“SMS programs ensure
continuing safety by
combining the
appropriate levels of
incentive for front-line
employee reporting,
internal auditing and
regulatory oversight,”
said Capt. Dan Adamus,
president of ALPA’s
Canada Board. “Canada is
a world leader in
adopting SMS programs in
its marine, rail, and
aviation industries, and
ALPA is proud to be part
of that effort.”
“ALPA has
collaborated with
Transport Canada, the
Transportation Safety
Board of Canada, and our
government and industry
partners internationally
to explore the most
modern, effective ways
of doing business,” said
Capt. Lee Moak, ALPA’s
president. “We will
continue these
partnerships at every
opportunity to do all we
can to move aviation
safety programs
forward.”
Read more.
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ALPA Reps Gather for R&I Seminar |
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Thirty-two pilot reps
from 16 ALPA pilot
groups joined ALPA staff
members in the union’s
Herndon (Virginia)
Conference Center
yesterday and today for
the two-day ALPA
Retirement and Insurance
(R&I) Seminar. The
seminar trains and
updates ALPA pilot MEC
R&I Committee members.
Capt. Kevin Powell,
Delta MEC R&I chairman,
a veteran of past
seminars, exclaimed,
“This is the best R&I
seminar I’ve ever
attended.”
One measure of the
seminar’s relevance:
Yesterday, noted
financial journalist and
author William D. Cohan,
talking about the effect
of capital markets on
retirement investments,
dished about a couple of
recycled Wall Street
insiders who, despite
having failed previously
with investors’ money,
are back at it again.
Today, they were the
subject of a Wall Street
Journal article.
Read more.
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On
November 11, we remember
the brave men and women
who have defended, and
those who continue to
defend, the United
States and Canada as
members of the armed
forces. Veterans Day and
Remembrance Day were
both established to mark
the official end of
World War I,
optimistically
characterized as the
“the war to end all
wars.” The fighting
formally ceased “at the
11th hour of the 11th
day of the 11th month”
in 1918, with the
signing of the armistice
between the warring
nations.
These
important holidays are
currently celebrated to
recognize and honor
those, living and dead,
who have served in
peacetime and during
war, to protect our
great countries and the
freedoms we enjoy. Many
ALPA members are
currently on military
leave, deployed at
locations around the
globe.
Whether you have the
day off or are flying
the line, please take a
moment to remember the
sacrifices these brave
individuals make for
their countries, and, if
you are or were a member
of the U.S. or Canadian
military, thanks from
your Association and a
grateful nation.
Incidentally,
today—November 10—is the
236th anniversary of the
founding of the U.S.
Marine Corps. Since the
Continental Congress
created two battalions
of marines 236 years
ago, these warriors have
served our nation during
many of its most
defining moments. ALPA’s
president and many of
the Association’s other
members serve, or have
served, in this
important branch of the
U.S. military, and we
just want to say, “Happy
Birthday!”
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Take the Known Crewmember Survey |
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Have you gone through
airport security using
the Known Crewmember (KCM)
access points? Tell us
about it! Please go to
www.alpa.org/survey
to provide us with
comments about your KCM
experience.
The Known Crewmember
program, which is
jointly sponsored by
ALPA and the Air
Transport Association,
is now operational at
ORD, MIA, SEA, PHX, MSP,
IAD, and BOS. The system
is working well at each
location, clearing more
than 2,400 pilots, who
fly for 28 participant
airlines, each day.
Since the program
began on Aug. 9, pilots
have used KCM entry
points more than 109,000
times. The
Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) is
analyzing performance
metrics associated with
this program and will
render a decision about
nationwide expansion no
later than January 2012.
For ongoing KCM updates,
please visit
www.knowncrewmember.org.
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What Are Your Kids Doing Next Summer? |
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The
International Youth
Exchange’s 2012 Airline
Youth Exchange Program
is now accepting
applications. IYE
matches youth ages 14 to
19 with a correspondent
of similar age from an
airline family abroad.
The youths spend two
weeks together in your
home and two weeks in
the home of the match
family. While
overseas, your son or
daughter has the
opportunity to learn
about another culture
from someone his or her
own age. Living with a
family abroad for two
weeks is an
extraordinary way to
experience another
country.
Exchanges are
available to Germany,
Spain, France, Italy,
and
Switzerland.
For additional
information, please go
to
www.intlyouth.org,
or contact Camille
Wheeler, IYE program
coordinator, at
cwheeler@intlyouth.org.
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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 winter ops
and dealing with
aircraft icing on page
22 of the
November issue of Air
Line Pilot magazine.
On the tenth installment
of
The
FlightDeck,
learn more about ALPA’s
position on the Next
Generation Air
Transportation System,
or NextGen.
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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• The Washington Post reports that the FAA is investigating an incident
on Nov. 4 in which a green laser was pointed at six regional jets near New
York’s LaGuardia Airport.
Read more.
• According to Bloomberg’s Businessweek, Boeing Co.’s B-777, its most
profitable jet, may bring in record orders this year as airlines seek more
fuel-efficient long-haul planes.
Read more.
• MarketWatch says the world’s airlines have scheduled 4 percent more
capacity on 2.5 percent more flights in November 2011, marking six straight
months of growth compared to the same period last year.
Read more.
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On Nov. 29, 1947, the ALPA Credit Union was chartered as a nonprofit
organization. ALPA President Behncke became the first depositor when the credit
union opened for business in February 1948. To learn more about today’s ALPA
Federal Credit Union, go to www.alpafcu.org.
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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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