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News from ALPA International |
November 15, 2011 |
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Call to Action: ALPA Demands One Fatigue Rule for All Airline Ops |
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Amid
Capitol Hill rumors that
the new fatigue rule may
include an exception for
all-cargo airline
operations, Capt. Lee
Moak, president of the
Air Line Pilots
Association, Int’l, is
urging all ALPA pilots
to make their voices
heard by using the
Association’s
Call to Action
program. “Every ALPA
pilot must stand up and
voice your objection to
anything less than
One Level of Safety
for all pilots,” he
said. Moak wrote to
U.S. President Barack
Obama today, stressing,
“As a pilot, I can
attest to the fact that
fatigue does not
discriminate based on
the color of the
airplane or the type of
operation being flown—we
are all human and
fatigue impacts us all
the same. One segment of
our industry should not
be treated differently
than any other. To do
so, compromises the
safety of the entire
system.”
Specifically, the
ALPA president is
insisting that the White
House release pilot
flight-time/duty-time
rules and rest
requirements, as
originally envisioned by
Congress, the Aviation
Rulemaking Committee,
and the FAA, which
encompass all segments
of the commercial
airline industry.
Click here to tell
President Obama we want
“One Level of Safety for
all airline pilots” and
that we’ve waited long
enough for a practical,
science-based fatigue
rule!
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US Airways Express Pilots Discuss Career Portability |
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Career
portability has long
been an issue within the
pilot profession,
especially at the
regional level. As
flying is transferred
from regional to
regional in the
mainlines’ eternal
pursuit of profits,
pilots are often the
ones left holding the
bags. Those who gain
flying may experience a
short period of growth,
while those who lose
flying often experience
downgrades,
displacements, and/or
furloughs. No longer
willing to be used as
pawns by senior
management teams trying
to undercut one another
for business, ALPA
leaders from the US
Airways Express Pilots
Alliance (USEPA) met
last week in Phoenix to
continue exploring
methods that would
promote career stability
and portability within
the US Airways Express
brand. The group focused
its discussions on
possible transfers of
flying and consolidation
scenarios within the
regional industry,
particularly those that
may involve carriers
within the US Airways
Express system. USEPA is
composed of pilots from
Air Wisconsin, Mesa,
Piedmont, Pinnacle, PSA,
and Trans States.
Read more.
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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 useful apps for your smartphone on page 26 of the
November issue of Air
Line Pilot magazine.
On the tenth installment
of
The
FlightDeck, get
some helpful tips on how
to avoid bedbugs during
your next trip.
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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• Aviation Today announced that Boeing predicts airlines in the Middle
East will need 2,530 airplanes, worth $450 billion, by 2030.
Read more.
• Also per Aviation Today, Spirit Airlines has announced plans to
acquire 75 Airbus A320s.
Read more.
• According to The Hill, the chairman of the Senate’s transportation
committee, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), is “angry” that there has not been a
long-term funding bill for the FAA.
Read more.
• Wired says two U.S. carriers flew flights powered by biofuel
blends last week, but the cost of aviation biofuel remains too high to be a
practical option for all flights.
Read more.
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D.B.
Cooper parachuted from the rear ramp of a skyjacked Northwest B-727 on Nov. 24,
1971, somewhere between Portland, Ore., and Seattle, after collecting $200,000
in ransom. He has never been found.
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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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