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ALPA to U.S. Government: Reject Norwegian Air’s Evasive Scheme
The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) today called
for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to
immediately reject Norwegian Air International’s (NAI)
foreign air carrier permit application because the company
appears to be attempting to evade its national laws and
regulations to compete unfairly against U.S. airlines and
their employees. The call came in an answer that ALPA filed
in response to NAI’s application.
Read the full release. |
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“Securing the Skies” Highlights Aviation Security Achievements, Challenges
Aviation
security stakeholders, Hill staffers, and news media
reporters convened today for “Securing the Skies: Aviation
Security a Dozen Years after 9/11,” a one-day conference
held in Washington, D.C., and jointly sponsored by the ALPA
and Airlines for America (A4A). This
special event
featured keynote presentations and panel discussions
examining ongoing threats to air transportation and what the
industry must do to protect itself from terrorist and other
criminal threats.
“In our post-9/11 world, we can no longer confine our
thinking to stopping criminal acts that take place while an
aircraft is on the ground or in flight,” said ALPA president
Capt. Lee Moak, in his opening comments. “In this new era,
we need our intelligence community to continually devote the
resources required to prevent acts of terrorism.” He noted
that an effective deterrence approach requires cooperation
and that the intelligence community “must collaborate and
communicate, not only with others in government, but also
with industry stakeholders.”
Read the full
article | Watch
video from the event |
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ALPA-PAC Tops $1 Million for 2013
For the first time
since 2008, ALPA-PAC has
raised more than $1
million in a calendar
year. This great
accomplishment shows
ALPA pilots’ dedication
to creating
pilot-partisan change in
Washington. It also
raises the Association’s
prestige on Capitol
Hill.
“During the 2011-2012 cycle,” said ALPA Political
Representative Zack Mooneyham, “the top PACs in the
country gave just over $2 million to federal candidates.
For 2014, we’ll be on that level and will be able to
match some of our biggest opponents dollar for dollar on
political spending. That means a lot in D.C.”
In addition to the monetary goal, ALPA-PAC has also
exceeded its participation goal for the year. Since
January 1, the PAC has added more than 1,200 new
contributors (the best year on that measure since 2002)
and raised participation ALPA-wide to just under 15
percent. Special thanks to all of the ALPA members who
made achieving these goals possible by
contributing to the PAC and
recruiting their colleagues this year.
The descriptions of the Air
Line Pilots Association PAC are not a solicitation to
contribute to the PAC. Only ALPA members, ALPA executives,
and senior administrative and professional staff personnel,
and their immediate family members living in the same
household are eligible to contribute to ALPA-PAC. ALPA-PAC
maintains and enforces a policy of refusing to accept
contributions from any other source. ALPA members may learn
more about ALPA-PAC and about contributing to ALPA-PAC by
entering the members-only portion of this website. |
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Sleep Apnea Update
The FAA held a webinar on December 12, 2013, to brief the
aviation medical examiner (AME) community and the aviation
industry on the status of new guidance material on
obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that is expected to be
distributed mid-January 2014. The specifics of that guidance
are still being developed by the federal flight surgeon and
his staff; however, the FAA appears set to publish guidance
for use by AMEs that will aid them in identifying OSA as an
ongoing condition of medical certificate issuance. OSA has
been a disqualifying condition since 1996, and hundreds of
pilots who suffer from it have received special-issuance
medical certificates. ALPA’s Aeromedical Advisor, Dr. Quay
Snyder, has developed a
primer on the subject of OSA for the benefit of the
membership.
Read the full
article. |
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FDX MEC Hosts Holiday Event at the Memphis Zoo
With
the holiday season in full swing, the FDX MEC’s Family
Awareness Committee hosted a holiday event for FedEx pilots
and their families in Memphis and extended an invitation to
other employees within FedEx, the Federal Aviation
Administration office in Memphis, and the Memphis Tower. On
Sunday, FedEx pilots gathered with their families at the
Memphis Zoo for a private showing of the spectacular “Zoo
Lights” display which features over one million holiday
lights. Children were able to visit with Santa Claus and ice
skate during the event.
“We tried to come up with a holiday-themed event that we
knew our pilots and their families would enjoy. The Memphis
Zoo puts together an excellent holiday light exhibit each
year and we knew our pilots would enjoy this type of event,”
said Family Awareness Committee chairman F/O Pat Meagher.
“As the planning progressed, we thought this would be a
great opportunity to include those individuals we work so
closely with on a routine basis—other employees within
FedEx, FAA staff, and air traffic controllers. This event
was just a small token of our appreciation for the work they
do.”
Capt. Scott Stratton, MEC chairman, commented
specifically on the importance of these types of events.
“The holiday season is a time to celebrate and spend time
with those around you. We think it’s important to take a
break from the day-to-day business and come together with
our pilots, their families, and those with whom we work each
day to enjoy this time of year.” |
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ASA/XJT Completes First Round of Road Shows
On Monday, December 16, the ASA and ExpressJet MECs and the
Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) finished their first round
of road shows to inform the pilot group of the tentative
agreement reached in November. For the last 16 days, the
group has traveled to 10 domiciles, holding two road shows
in each location. They also hosted the first of three
all-pilot calls. Nearly 700 pilots came to the road shows or
listened in to learn about the agreement.
More road shows are scheduled for early January at the
larger domiciles. In addition to the road shows, members of
the MECs and the JNC will be available at the crew rooms.
Voting opened on Tuesday, December 17, at 10 a.m., and will
continue through January 14. For more information about the
tentative agreement, pilots can visit
www.asaxjtjcba.com. |
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HAL Pilots Cheer Sick Kids at Christmastime
Hawaiian Airlines pilots
are spreading Christmas
aloha to sick and needy
children and their
families this holiday
season. As they’ve done
in years past, the HAL
MEC’s Community
Awareness Committee is
sponsoring a series of
events where Hawaiian
pilots and flight
attendants deliver
gifts, serve food, and
spend time with families
via Honolulu’s HUGS
(Help Understanding
Support Group) program,
as well as kids
hospitalized at the
Kapiolani Women and
Children’s Hospital, the
Shriners Children
Hospital of the Pacific,
and Ronald McDonald
House of Hawaii.
“Many of these sick
kids live on outer
islands and are
separated from their
families at
Christmastime because
they’ve come to Honolulu
for treatment,” says HAL
Community Awareness
chairman Capt. Donald
Del Carmen. “It’s an
annual tradition for us
to make sure that every
child gets a present and
a warm greeting from our
Hawaiian Airlines Ohana
[family] so that none of
them are alone on
Christmas Day.” |
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Happy 110th Birthday to Aviation
On this date, December 17, in 1903, in Kill Devil Hills,
N.C., Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first step in what
would become the aviation industry. With Orville at the
controls and battling 27 mph winds, their small plane flew
just 12 seconds, but landed in aviation history as the first
human-controlled, powered, and heavier-than-air flight in
the world. The brothers made three more attempts that day,
the last staying aloft for 59 seconds and going 852 feet.
Shortly after the fourth flight, the Wright Flyer, now
broken by the winds, was packed up and the Wrights returned
home to Dayton, Ohio, but not before sending a telegram to
their father about their success.
As we now travel around the globe with flights lasting
hours and traversing oceans, we owe a debt to a lone biplane
on a windy sand dune on the eastern shore of North
Carolina—110 years ago today. |
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Consider ALPA’s Emergency Relief Fund Your End-of-Year Tax Deduction
To minimize this year’s tax expenses, many financial
advisors encourage their clients to look for end-of-the-year
charitable tax deductions. If you’re looking for a worthy
charity, consider contributing to the ALPA Emergency Relief
Fund, also known as Pilots for Pilots (P4P). Donations are
tax-deductible in the United States.
In the years since its creation, Pilots for Pilots has
provided assistance to numerous ALPA members and their
families affected by hurricanes, wildfires, river flooding,
and other widespread disasters. To learn more about P4P and
to make a contribution, visit
www.alpa.org/relieffund. |
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Travel Alert—Madagascar
The U.S. Department of State has issued a Travel Alert for
U.S. citizens traveling to Madagascar now through February
28, 2014. On December 20, 2013, the country will be holding
legislative and the final round of presidential elections.
It is expected that there may be protests and gatherings
that could potentially turn violent.
For more information,
please read the full travel alert. |
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ALPA
represents nearly 50,000 pilots at 32 airlines in the
United States and Canada.
Visit us online at
www.alpa.org. |
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