Leadership From the Flight Deck
94 Results for Category Advocacy
When it comes to discussing solutions to ensure that North America has the most qualified, highly-trained, professional pilots for our industry’s continued success, ALPA is leading the charge.
While some in industry and media have worked to manufacture claims that a looming pilot shortage is a reason to roll back vital safety provisions and discontinue service on unprofitable routes, ALPA has been fighting back on those assertions and shining a light on the real issue – that a lack of career growth and extremely low first-year salaries at some airlines are causing many to rethink a career as an airline pilot.
Categories: Advocacy
Tags: Pilot Pay Shortage
Published on
February 29, 2016
In case you missed it, last week ALPA released two new fact sheets revealing that a credible analysis of the data contradicts any claim that a pilot shortage is causing airlines to stop serving smaller communities and discredits calls by some airlines to weaken pilot qualification and training rules that make air transportation safer for passengers and air cargo shippers.
“Claims that a pilot shortage is behind any changes in rural community air service are easily dismissed when you look at the facts of what’s actually happening at smaller airports,” said Capt. Paul Ryder, ALPA’s national resource coordinator. “Airlines make decisions about where they fly based on what’s best for their bottom line—namely how many passengers will buy tickets and how much they’re willing to pay”.
ALPA’s fact sheet shows that many factors influence a route’s profitability, but it is primarily based on passenger travel decisions.
Categories: Advocacy
Tags: Pilot Pay Shortage
Published on
February 10, 2016
By ALPA Staff
After the House of Representatives introduced its FAA reauthorization bill last week, ALPA quickly voiced our opposition to several components of the draft legislation, including the failure to properly and appropriately regulate the transportation and packaging of lithium batteries by air.
Tags: Cargo, Lithium Batteries
Published on
February 8, 2016
By Capt. Tim Canoll
The proposed FAA reauthorization bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week falls significantly short for airline passengers and air cargo shippers when it comes to advancing the high standards that make air transportation in the United States so extraordinarily safe.
A key reason for the extraordinary safety of our system is our commitment to providing airline pilots with the highest standards of training and qualification. Today’s first officer qualification and training requirements were prompted by Congress in 2010 following four fatal airline accident investigations that identified the pilots’ lack of training as a factor in the accidents. These regulations weren’t arbitrary, nor were they sudden––the safety-focused rules came out of an industry-wide effort led by representatives of the regional airlines. We are pleased the sponsors of the House FAA reauthorization bill recognize the importance of these regulations and agree that they must remain firmly in place. ALPA will vigorously oppose any attempts to change this regulation via amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill.
Categories: Advocacy, Pilot Partisan
Tags: Cargo, FAA Reauthorization
Published on
January 27, 2016
By Capt. Tim Canoll
Making it safer to fly shipments of lithium batteries that power everything from laptops to mobile phones is a top priority for all ALPA pilots. We aren’t asking to limit or prohibit the individual batteries that passengers carry on board a plane in personal electronic devices; we’re talking about shipments of raw batteries that are transported aboard aircraft as cargo.
Lithium batteries pose a significant safety threat to air transportation because they can self-ignite when damaged, defective, or exposed to a heat source. Recent tests by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) found that as few as eight lithium-ion batteries contained in a pallet shipment can contribute to an explosion on board an aircraft. Unlike a fire on a car or truck, it’s not possible to pull over when you’re flying at 35,000 feet.
Tags: Cargo, Lithium Batteries