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News from ALPA International

April 16, 2013

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In This Issue:

Boston Bombings Update
Since the bombings at the Boston Marathon yesterday, the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l has been in close touch with the federal law enforcement and intelligence communities, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, and other aviation industry stakeholders. The consensus among those entities is that there is no known connection between the Boston attack and aviation, and no current specific, credible threat to aviation.

However, because of the ongoing and dynamic nature of the investigation, and due to the circumstances of the attack, the aviation community remains in a heightened state of vigilance and awareness. This has been demonstrated by some air carriers providing additional or reinforced general security guidance to flight and cabin crewmembers and taking special precautions related to layovers in the Boston area.

Attacks such as the one in Boston have been shown to serve as catalysts for copy-cat attacks and provide impetus for others who are motivated to engage in different forms of violence. As such, ALPA reminds its membership to remain vigilant and conscious of your security and that of your families, especially when transiting public places where large crowds of people congregate. Pilots should also keep abreast of security guidance and precautions issued by their companies, and anticipate the possibility of enhanced aviation security measures.

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ALPA Calls for Grounding of Abu Dhabi Preclearance Facility

ALPA issued the following statement opposing the agreement made between the U.S. government and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) to establish a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) preclearance facility in Abu Dhabi.

“It is alarming that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is putting U.S. airlines and American jobs at great risk by moving forward with an agreement to open a CBP preclearance facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Further, the fact that this will be seeded with U.S. taxpayer dollars is unjustified. This agreement must be reconsidered by the administration, and if the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is unwilling, Congress must act to force a reversal of this misguided plan.”

Support the Call to Action.

Read more.

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ALPA Fights for FFDO Funding on Program’s 10th Anniversary
ALPA is fighting an administration proposal to eliminate funding for the Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program, a key layer in aviation security, even as the Association commemorated the program’s success on April 12, its 10th anniversary.

“For the last 10 years, the FFDO program has proven to be a cost-effective tool in protecting our nation’s airliners from potential terrorist attacks and is a strong deterrent against any such attempts. It does so at a tremendous value to the federal government, costing only a few dollars per protected flight,” said ALPA president Capt. Lee Moak. “Thousands of ALPA and other airline pilots have made many personal sacrifices to protect our nation’s airline passengers, crews, and cargo by serving as FFDOs. I commend each of them for their service and commitment. ALPA will lead the fight to ensure this crucial program continues to protect our nation’s airliners.”

Support the Call to Action.

Read more.

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FDX Pilots Sign B-767 LOA
The FedEx Express pilots recently signed a letter of agreement on the introduction of the B-767 aircraft at the carrier. This agreement was approved by the membership with more than 75 percent voter participation and over 87 percent in favor. Meanwhile, FDX ALPA remains in Section 6 bargaining with FedEx Express.

“This LOA encompasses industry-leading provisions that respect seniority without concessions,” stated MEC chairman Capt. Scott Stratton. “While there are some new concepts, this agreement largely applies existing CBA provisions to the unique situation that the combination of B-767/B-757 represents for FedEx Express pilots. Maintaining the integrity of our existing agreement was a central goal,” he added.

Read more.

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Wykoff Reelected IFALPA President
Airline pilots’ associations around the world cast their collective vote for Capt. Don Wykoff (DAL) to remain the president of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations during the final session of the Federation’s 68th annual conference.

“I’m honored, and will work hard to hold your trusted confidence moving forward,” Wykoff told delegates. Wykoff will continue leading the Federation as one of only two organizations granted permanent observer status at the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Air Navigation Commission. To enhance that business relationship, under his tenure, Wykoff played an instrumental role in moving IFALPA’s headquarters to Montreal, the home of international aviation policy decision makers.

Read more.

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How Emirates Gets Cheaper Planes than Delta

Why do Delta and other U.S. airlines pay more than state-owned foreign airlines from wealthy nations for the same Boeing aircraft? Ted Reed’s article in Thestreet.com provides an excellent overview of the “lingering puzzle” of the Export-Import Bank of the United States’ aircraft financing practices.

ALPA led the fight for stricter rules on the Ex-Im Bank last year, and legislation was signed into law that requires the bank to perform an economic analysis to assess the effect of bank financing decisions on U.S. airlines and its workers. However, the bank continues to approve low-cost financing for airlines at the expense of U.S. airlines without conducting such an analysis, and ALPA is now pursuing legal action against the bank.

Read more.

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Pulse of the Industry

The American Airlines network will connect Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Bentonville with Los Angeles International Airport starting August 27 using flights operated by American Eagle . . . SkyWest Inc. reports that traffic in March climbed 6.3 percent from a year ago for SkyWest and ExpressJet combined . . . Spirit Airlines flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, will stage a “send-off” event at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for their negotiating team, which departs to begin contract negotiations with management . . . United Airlines, under the umbrella of its Eco-Skies program, has set a goal to save 85 million gallons of fuel in 2013, roughly worth $275 million. This could lead to a reduction of 828,750 metric tons of CO2.

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Register for Pilot Assistance Forum, May 7–9
This year’s Pilot Assistance Forum is scheduled for May 7-9 in ALPA’s conference center in Herndon, Va. This three-day event will feature presentations from each of the Pilot Assistance Groups: Aeromedical, Canadian Pilot Assistance, Critical Incident Response Program, Human Intervention and Motivation Study, and Professional Standards.

The conference represents an excellent opportunity for new pilot representatives to learn procedures and techniques from more seasoned representatives who will share their experiences and expertise. All pilot assistance representatives are invited to attend the professional standards training event scheduled for Thursday, May 9.

The annual awards banquet is slated for Wednesday night, May 8, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport. This banquet, which is always a forum highlight, will honor the Annual Pilot Assistance Award recipient and feature other activities.

Additional information and online registration is available at http://paforum.alpa.org.

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Check Out Union Plus for Product and Service Discounts
The AFL-CIO created Union Privilege in 1986 to provide union members and their families with valuable consumer benefits. With Union Plus benefits, your union membership “pays” at work and at home.

By using the collective buying power of unions, we are able to offer valuable, discounted products and services exclusively to working families.

Visit www.unionplus.org for more information.

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FastFact
Federal Express began operations on April 17, 1973, with a fleet of 14 Dassault Falcon 20 jets to transport packages overnight from 25 cities through their Memphis hub to locations across the country.

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Most Recent FastRead Issues
April 11, 2013
April 9, 2013
April 4, 2013
April 2, 2013
March 28, 2013

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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.

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Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l
1625 Massachusetts Avenue NW | Washington, DC 20036 | 703-689-2270

ALPA represents more than 50,000 pilots at 34 airlines in the United States and Canada.
Visit us online at www.alpa.org.