View this message on the Web. |
|
News from ALPA International |
January 24, 2012 |
|
Short-Term Extension Necessary for Final FAA Reauthorization |
|
|
The
U.S. House of
Representatives today
passed a short-term
extension of the Federal
Aviation Administration
reauthorization,
ensuring that funding
for the agency will
continue beyond January
31, when the previous
FAA extension expires.
The U.S. Senate is
expected to pass a
short-term extension
later this week. The
extension bill, which
funds FAA programs
through February 17,
2012, does not contain
new policy. The
short-term
reauthorization simply
maintains the status quo
and provides additional
time for lawmakers from
the Senate and House to
go to conference with
the goal of working out
the final details of a
long-term FAA
reauthorization.
Late last week,
lawmakers reached a key
deal regarding National
Mediation Board
procedures—an issue that
had for years blocked
progress on full
reauthorization. While
ALPA would rather that
the National Mediation
Board provisions had not
been included in the
safety bill, the
agreement between Sen.
Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and
speaker Sen. John
Boehner (R-Ohio) was a
necessary compromise to
break the long-standing
stalemate and allow
Congress to move ahead.
This week, leaders,
pilot volunteers, and
staff from the Air Line
Pilots Association,
Int’l, continue to keep
up the pressure for a
final, full
reauthorization of the
FAA, which will help set
the future direction of
U.S. aviation safety
policy, support vital
research, modernize the
air transportation
infrastructure and air
traffic control system,
and position the U.S.
airline industry to
aggressively compete in
the international
aviation arena.
Return to top
|
|
ALPA Pilots Working for One Level of Safety, Cargo Inclusion in FAR 117 |
|
More
than a dozen pilots from
a number of ALPA pilot
groups have been in
Washington, D.C.,
working with ALPA
Government Affairs staff
aggressively lobbying
members of Congress in
support of “One Level of
Safety” for cargo and
passenger pilots. In
just two weeks, ALPA
pilots met face-to-face
with more than 50
congressional offices on
this important issue,
advocating for
legislation to include
cargo operations in the
new FAR 117 pilot
fatigue rule.
ALPA pilots are also
hand-delivering a letter
from Capt. Moak urging
Congress to complete
work on the FAA
reauthorization bill.
ALPA’s work to include
cargo operations on the
new pilot fatigue rule
will be ongoing, with
pilots regularly
visiting Capitol Hill to
advocate for One Level
of Safety.
Return to top
|
|
ALPA Attends U.S. State of the Union Address Moak Urges President Obama to Level the Playing Field for U.S. Airlines |
|
ALPA president Capt. Lee Moak has been invited to
be a guest at tonight’s
State of the Union
address. Going into the
annual speech, Moak
urged President Obama to
focus on international
competition in air
transportation and how
best to position the
United States, and
specifically the
workforce of U.S.
airlines, to compete to
win in the global
marketplace.
Said Moak, “Tonight,
airline pilots want to
hear from our president
how the government is
going to help American
business, such as our
domestic airlines,
compete in the
international
marketplace. We need our
government to level the
playing field for
domestic airlines and
their
workforces—including
ALPA members—so we can
fight successfully
against foreign
competitors. U.S. and
Canadian pilots are the
best in the world and we
must operate in the
safest and most
efficient air
transportation system
possible. The business,
tax, and regulatory
environment for our
airlines and their
employees, however, must
be viewed in the context
of the global industry
and, as a nation, we can
and must do better.”
Moak is the guest of
Rep. Dan Lipinski
(D-Ill.), a member of
the House Transportation
& Infrastructure
Aviation Subcommittee,
and will be seated in
the House gallery for
the president’s speech.
Return to top
|
|
|
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 the
decisions made at ALPA’s
latest Executive Board
meeting on page 28 of the
December issue of Air
Line Pilot magazine.
On the 11th
installment
of
The
FlightDeck,
learn about the most
pressing issues facing
ALPA’s Canada Board.
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.
Return to top
|
|
|
• According to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, US Airways is considering a
potential merger with American Airlines.
Read more.
• The Los Angeles Times predicts onboard Wi-Fi will generate $1.5 billion
for airlines by the year 2015.
Read more.
• Bloomberg reports that Airbus sees its $1 million Ohio investment as a big
step in its U.S. expansion.
Read more.
Return to top
|
|
|
On January 31, 1987, discount airline pioneer People Express flew its last
flights before merging into Continental Airlines.
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 |
|