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September 26, 2013

In This Issue:

ALPA Pilots Meet to Hear About Challenges, Threats to Profession
EU ETS Takes Center Stage at ICAO
Officers Appointed at AERF Annual Meeting
“Securing the Skies” Conference in Washington, D.C.
Add Your Voice to the Pilot Partisan Blog
News on the Net

 

ALPA Pilots Meet to Hear About Challenges, Threats to Profession

ALPA pilots assembled in Los Angeles today to personally meet with ALPA president Capt. Lee Moak and Director of Government Affairs Michael Robbins to review collective bargaining and merger efforts, and to discuss what Moak called “the fight of our generation” to protect the aviation industry and pilot jobs in the United States.

The ALPA president systematically laid out the threats posed by foreign ownership, U.S. government support for foreign carriers through the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the Abu Dhabi preclearance facility. U.S. carriers currently compete with foreign airlines, which receive preferential financing from the Export-Import Bank to purchase aircraft. U.S.-based airlines are not able to obtain the same preferential financing, placing them at an operational disadvantage.

Read the full story.

EU ETS Takes Center Stage at ICAO

ICAO negotiators from around the world began the 38th ICAO Assembly in Montreal on Tuesday, September 24. Negotiations on a global scale about the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and a global approach to emissions reductions are taking center stage. Addressing the issue of aviation emissions has been a decades-long process, and it appears that negotiators may be close to reaching an agreement on the first phase of a multiyear process to reduce aviation emissions. ALPA continues to monitor these negotiations and provide input when appropriate.

ALPA and industry representatives have played a leading role in pushing back against the unilateral imposition of the EU ETS on the entire flight segment to or from the EU. If this job-killing tax were to proceed as originally intended, our industry would face an unworkable patchwork of emissions-reductions systems. As part of its effort to stop the EU ETS, ALPA and U.S. airlines reached out to Senators Thune (R-S.D.) and McCaskill (D-Mo.) for assistance. The senators introduced the bipartisan EU ETS Prohibition Act on our behalf, which President Obama signed into law in December 2012. Our successful effort to promote this legislation is a large part of the reason ICAO is addressing aviation emissions in a more favorable manner. This issue will remain a top priority for ALPA as ICAO attempts to reach a compromise.

Officers Appointed at AERF Annual Meeting

The directors of the ALPA Emergency Relief Fund held their annual meeting this morning to appoint new officers and to conduct the business of the fund. First Officer Mark Segaloff (CAL) was appointed president. First Officer Chris Gromek (UAL) will continue to serve as the fund’s treasurer, and Capt. Mark Stanley (PSA) was appointed the new AERF secretary. These assignments are effective immediately.

Former AERF president Capt. Ed Lowry (XJT) resigned from the fund late this summer, and the current directors expressed their gratitude for his many years of outstanding service.

AERF provides for the immediate needs of ALPA members and their families who fall victim to widespread disasters. To learn more about the fund, make a donation, or request a grant, visit www.alpa.org/relieffund.

“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.

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.

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.

News on the Net

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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