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News from ALPA International |
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March 28, 2013 |
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ALPA Brings U.S. Business Pilots’ Vision for Future of Aviation
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 Capt.
Lee Moak, president of
the Air Line Pilots
Association, Int’l,
voiced airline pilots’
views on the need to
create a level playing
field on which U.S.
airlines can compete in
the global marketplace
during a panel titled
“Future Trends in
Aviation” at the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce’s
12th Annual Aviation
Summit held today in
Washington, D.C. ALPA
national officers,
pilots, and staff were
on hand for the one-day
program, which featured
airline CEOs and
additional panels on
topics including
unmanned aerial systems,
manufacturing, and
aviation and climate
change. Watch for more
coverage of ALPA’s
participation.
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PSA Pilots Achieve Much-Needed Improvements in New Contract |
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ALPA’s
PSA pilots have
ratified the tentative
agreement reached with
the management of PSA
Airlines, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of US Airways
Group, Inc. With nearly
80 percent of eligible
pilots casting their
ballots on Wednesday, 78
percent voted in favor
of the new collective
bargaining agreement.
The five-year contract
includes quality-of-life
gains, pay increases,
and opportunities for
PSA pilots to progress
to US Airways mainline,
while maintaining
important current
benefits such as health
insurance and
retirement.
Read more.
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New U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council Aviation Report Released |
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 The
United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.)
has been running an
aggressive PR campaign
in the United States to
win support for its
state-sponsored
airlines. A
new report by the
U.S.-U.A.E. Business
Council goes as far
as to exalt the benefits
to U.S. workers from the
commercial aviation
partnership between the
United States and the
U.A.E.
However, the report
fails to mention that
Emirates’ and Etihad’s
expansion poses a direct
threat to U.S. pilot and
aviation jobs. While the
report heralds the value
of this aviation
“partnership,” only 2 of
the 13 daily U.S.–U.A.E.
nonstop flights are
operated by U.S.
airlines, and no U.S.
airline flies into or
out of Abu Dhabi.
Furthermore, the U.A.E.
airlines do not need to
adhere to labor
relations rules
comparable to those that
govern our domestic
carriers, and they
operate at a competitive
cost advantage thanks to
the U.A.E.’s favorable
tax and regulatory
structure.
Read more.
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New Concerns about Cockpit Access Trigger Security Bulletin |
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In response to an
attempt last week by an
unauthorized individual
to gain access to the
flight deck jumpseat on
US Airways Flight 1935
from Philadelphia to
West Palm Beach, ALPA
has issued Security
Alert Bulletin 2013-02.
Because of the ongoing
FBI criminal
investigation, we are
not at liberty to
discuss some of the
details of the event.
However, the news
media has reported that
the individual involved
was a ticketed passenger
from Paris to West Palm
Beach, Florida, with a
stop and flight change
in Philadelphia. The
individual was dressed
in a white shirt with
pilot epaulets, leather
bomber jacket, and had
non-authentic Air France
pilot credentials. In
Philadelphia, the
individual boarded the
aircraft during the
passenger boarding
process using his
ticket. Once on board,
he approached the
cockpit and introduced
himself to the flight
deck crew. At some
point, the flight deck
crew told the individual
to leave and take his
assigned seat in the
passenger cabin. Once in
the passenger cabin, the
individual became
disruptive with a flight
attendant regarding the
stowage of carry-on
luggage. At that point,
the individual was
removed from the flight.
Read more.
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 An
Air Transat flight from
Vancouver to London made
an emergency landing in
Nunavut Tuesday night to
deplane an intoxicated
and unruly passenger . .
. AJET Holdings LLC,
which purchased Ryan
International Airlines
in bankruptcy court,
plans to rebrand it as
Astrajet . . . Aer
Lingus will codeshare on
United’s nonstop service
between Dublin and
Washington Dulles, and
on seasonal, nonstop
service between Shannon
and Chicago O’Hare.
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ALPA Disability Plans Open Enrollment—Now Boarding! |
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Pilots are more likely
to suffer a loss of
medical certification
than death during their
working years. That’s
why ALPA offers
voluntary, member-paid
income replacement
programs designed to
provide income in the
event that you are
unable to work or
exercise the privileges
of your FAA medical
certificate. We
encourage all of our
members to conduct a
regular review of their
income replacement
needs, including a
review of policy terms,
conditions, exclusions,
and limitations, and
this open enrollment
offers a great
opportunity to review
your plans and add
coverage as necessary.
As part of the open
enrollment, now through
May 15, eligible members
can enroll in a monthly
loss of license plan (up
to $1,200) and/or a
short-term disability
plan (50 percent of
salary up to $1,000 per
week) on a guarantee
issue basis.
Read more.
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Tax Season Approaches, U.S. AERF Donations Are Deductible |
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 As
April 15 approaches,
remember that ALPA
Emergency Relief Fund (AERF)
donations are
tax-deductible in the
United States.
AERF is a member
resource intended to
provide for the
immediate needs of
all ALPA
pilots and their
families who fall victim
to widespread disasters.
Funded from
contributions by ALPA
members and staff, AERF
is one of the many
tangible benefits of
belonging to the
Association.
Read an article in
the
April 2013 issue of
Air Line Pilot
magazine about how
AERF met the needs of
dozens of ALPA pilots
detrimentally affected
by last October’s
Hurricane Sandy. To
learn more about the
fund, make a donation,
or request a grant,
visit
www.alpa.org/relieffund.
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Win a Family Vacation to Disney World |
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 Union
members can already save
on Disney Park tickets,
but right now you could
also win a Disney dream
vacation for four! It is
easy to enter for your
chance to win—simply
register using the link
below for Union Plus
program e-mails and
mobile alerts.
The vacation package
includes four Disney
World 4-Day Park Hopper
with Water Park tickets
(two adult and two child
tickets) valued at
$1,250, airfare for
four, four nights’ stay
at a hotel, and a car
rental for five days.
Register to win by May
15, 2013.
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On March 31, 1931, Knute Rockne, considered one of college football’s greatest
coaches, died in the crash of a Transcontinental Air Transport F-10A in Kansas.
The accident prompted the aeronautics branch of the U.S. Commerce Department to
pull the aircraft from commercial service. This was the first such grounding in
U.S. history. Return to top
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Most Recent FastRead Issues |
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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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