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 Last Chance to RSVP—Capt Moak Leads Open Forum for ALPA Pilots in LAX on Thursday
This Thursday, September 26, the Delta MEC is hosting an
event
for all ALPA pilots in the Los Angeles, Calif., area. Capt.
Lee Moak, ALPA president, and Michael Robbins, ALPA director
of Government Affairs, will lead an open forum on the state
of our profession and policy challenges facing the aviation
industry. Food and beverages will be served following the
event.
For more information and to RSVP,
click here. |
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ALPA President Talks NextGen at Airlines for America “Airlines 101”
This afternoon, ALPA President Capt. Lee Moak praised the
“tremendous benefits” of NextGen technology, despite
furlough setbacks and the effects of sequestration. The
comments came as Capt. Moak took part in a speaker panel of
aviation industry experts at the Airlines for America (A4A)
“Airlines 101” conference. The panel also featured Rick
Dalton, Southwest Airlines Director of Air Space and Flow
Management, and Josh Marks, masFlight Chief Executive
Officer, and was held at the National Press Club in
Washington, D.C.
Capt. Moak made a point to praise the U.S. domestic
airline industry for contributing to the safest airline
system in the world. Speaking on steps that the U.S.
industry can take to move forward, Capt. Moak stated, “The
investment in NextGen is critical, investments are needed in
all parts of air transportation infrastructure—airports,
aircraft, air traffic control. We need to remain very aware
that the full benefit of NextGen is not focused only on
aircraft and air traffic control improvements, but also
includes improving surface operations at airports.” |
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ALPA first vice president Capt. Sean Cassidy |
Observations from the NextGen Flight Deck
ALPA offered the pilot’s perspective at the NextGen
Institute’s annual public meeting, presented Friday in the
atrium at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s
Washington, D.C., headquarters. This year’s event, titled “NextGen
- Successes and Challenges: Building a Path to the Future,”
featured government and aviation industry presentations,
including firsthand observations about the use of NextGen
technologies from ALPA first vice president Capt. Sean
Cassidy.
“Successful implementation is a combination of
technology, airline enthusiasm, pilot training, controller
training, and a stakeholder environment,” said Cassidy, who
described flying into Juneau International Airport, with its
challenging terrain, and how he directly benefited from this
new technology. The Alaska Airlines captain highlighted the
success of applications such as RNAV approaches into
locations like Denver International Airport and how they
reduce flight distances and traffic congestion. “NextGen
must be NowGen,” said Cassidy, observing that much of the
technology has been available since 1996 and stressing the
need to move forward despite the government’s current
emphasis on budget cuts and sequestration.
Read the full
story. |
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Abu Dhabi Airport Prepares for Preclearance Opening
 This
photo comes from Abu Dhabi International Airport. As is
clearly shown, the airport continues to prepare for the
opening of a new Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
preclearance site. The U.S. administration is forging ahead
with this site, in spite of congressional action to block
it.
If allowed to open, the preclearance facility would be a
taxpayer funded giveaway to Etihad airlines, offering the
airline a competitive advantage over U.S. carriers by
granting them a convenience unavailable to domestic
airlines. This threatens the jobs of aviation workers, and
the diversion of taxpayer dollars to assist wealthy foreign
airlines cannot be justified, especially in a budget
environment in which U.S. airports have been understaffed
for years, causing our passengers to wait in long customs
line.
To learn more and tell Congress to continue to oppose
this site, visit
http://www.alpa.org/portals/alpa/drawthelinehere.
For more information about issues that affect you, follow
the Pilot Partisan blog. |
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FAA Announces Carriers Can Petition to Implement Part 117 Early
 The
FAA announced today that individual Part 121 air carriers
can petition for an exemption to implement Part 117 early if
the carrier follows specific guidelines. The implementation,
or phased implementation, cannot occur prior Dec. 1, 2013,
and must be completed by Jan. 4, 2014. If a carrier chooses
a phased implementation by individual pilot, once a pilot is
transitioned to Part 117, that pilot cannot revert back to
the Part 121 rules. Lastly, any pilot who begins a duty day
prior to Jan. 4, 2014, will be allowed to complete that duty
day in effect at the time that the duty day commenced.
However, the pilot must comply with the rest requirement of
both Part 117 and Part 121. Once the duty day is completed,
the pilot must be scheduled under Part 117.
Read the FAA Notice. |
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FedEx MEC Thanks Congressmen for Ensuring United Flight 93 Is Not Forgotten
On Sept. 11, 2013, ceremonies were held across the nation to
pay tribute to the fallen heroes of that tragic day in 2001.
From a farm field in Pennsylvania to a memorial garden
outside Washington, D.C., family members, colleagues, and
fellow Americans took time to acknowledge the sacrifice
those heroes gave.
One such event that should have occurred was the placing
of a wreath in front of the plaque honoring the passengers
and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 within the Capitol
rotunda in D.C. South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson
noticed that no such wreath had been placed, and he reached
out to his colleague, Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise,
to correct this error. Congressman Scalise and the
Republican Study Committee (RSC) made it a priority to order
and arrange for a wreath for the passengers and crew of
United 93. The Architect of the Capitol and Speaker of the
House then made it official and committed that this would
not happen again, promising that a similar wreath will be
laid there each year.
Read the full release. |
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Flying In/Out of LAX? Read This Safety Advisory
The FAA has issued a bulletin emphasizing that there is a
turn required very soon after takeoff on LOOP6, LAXX6, and
SEBBY7 departures from the south runway complex at LAX. The
turn is based on a crossing radial rather than a named fix,
so the FMS will not automatically identify the need to turn.
The FAA reports that pilots from all airlines and all fleets
are missing the turn, and they have initiated certificate
action on several pilots.
It is imperative that pilots be aware of the turn in a
very high-workload phase of flight. ALPA is in discussions
with the FAA, attempting to define an improved departure
procedure. Pending that resolution, pilots are urged to
maintain vigilance for the location of the required turn.
For more information, read the FAA’s LAX Departure Advisory. |
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One More Fall District Advocates Training Date!
 ALPA is seeking volunteers who are interested in promoting
ALPA’s legislative agenda and who want to serve as pilot
partisan representatives to their local congressional
office. You may have missed our August District Advocate
webinars, but there’s one more chance to catch a training
session on Friday, September 27, at 1200 EST.
During training, volunteers will be instructed on how to
serve as effective local advocates through visits with their
members of Congress and participation in other grassroots
activities. (Check out the spread on the
District Advocates program in the May issue of Air
Line Pilot.) This training is completed via webinar,
lasts about one hour, and provides an overview of ALPA’s
grassroots program, current legislative issues, and how to
set up and conduct a congressional visit. If interested,
please contact
Carly.Hepola@alpa.org to register. |
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“Securing the Skies” Conference in Washington, D.C.
On Oct. 17, 2013, ALPA and Airlines for America will sponsor
a one-day conference that will highlight numerous
significant aviation security improvements made since 9/11
and explore current challenges to the industry. The
conference will take place at the Mayflower Hotel in
Washington, D.C. For registration, meeting agenda, and additional
information, visit
secureskiesconference.alpa.org. |
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Runway Resurfacing Project at Honolulu International Airport (HNL)
The resurfacing project on Runway 8R at Honolulu
International Airport (HNL), commonly referred to as the
“Reef” runway, is underway, with work scheduled to be
completed on December 18. This project will be conducted in
three phases with follow-on work.
You can read more detailed information about the
HNL Runway Resurfacing Project and also view a revised
HNL Runway Diagram during the resurfacing phases. Crews
should be aware of any takeoff/landing performance impacts
and the potential for delays during construction. |
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We Want Your Photos We
want to see what you
see. Share your pictures
from the line, and give
us some context (i.e.,
let us know what we’re
looking at).
Air Line Pilot
encourages you to submit
your high-quality prints
from a developer or
high-resolution digital
images. Your photos
could be featured in a
future magazine!
Send your photos to
Communications@alpa.org.
Thanks.
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Add Your Voice to the Pilot Partisan Blog
 ALPA’s Government Affairs Department advocates on your
behalf on pilot partisan issues of importance to our careers
and our industry. ALPA’s Pilot Partisan blog
keeps members updated in real time on the latest happenings
in Washington, D.C., and Ottawa, and how these events impact
our careers and industry. Beginning this month, we want to
invite pilots from the line to share their thoughts on
legislative and industry news by contributing to Pilot
Partisan as guest bloggers. Guest blog posts might highlight
an interesting news story, offer a response or critique to
an op-ed, or provide your particular insight as a pilot on
recent legislative or political news.
Read more about
posting guidelines and how to get started. |
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ALPA
represents more than 50,000 pilots at 33 airlines in the
United States and Canada.
Visit us online at
www.alpa.org. |
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| FEEDBACK & EMAIL 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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