Release #: Vol. 84, No. 6
August 01, 2015

ALPA’s Flight Plan to Keep America Flying

On July 27, the Air Line Pilots Association, International celebrated its 84th year of safeguarding airline passengers and cargo shippers who depend on air transportation as well as helping airline pilots to advance in all aspects of their careers.

In 1931, “Schedule with Safety,” the union’s motto, encapsulated the very essence of why the Association was an absolute necessity for airline pilots as well as for their passengers and cargo. Today, this principle also captures why ALPA continues to gain value and relevance.

While the age of air transportation heralded what has become a powerful global industry and economic engine for nations around the world, it also opened the way for those wishing to test the limits of both aircraft and human endurance to gain the greatest financial return. Sadly, many times, the results were tragic.

Enter ALPA. Emerging then as the voice of airline pilots, the Association continues to serve as the leading advocate for North America’s airline pilots who day in and day out are responsible for the safety of their passengers, crew, and cargo. Whether the call is to protect the highest standards of safety and security or to maintain a level playing field that ensures North American airlines and their employees have a fair opportunity to compete in the industry they helped to pioneer, ALPA remains the credible, authoritative voice for the industry.

In its latest white paper, Keep America Flying, ALPA submits its “flight plan” to keep U.S. airlines and pilots flying. If implemented, the Association’s reasoned and achievable policy solutions will serve to generate real progress as the union endeavors to maintain safe and fair skies.

The following safety topics are among ALPA’s priorities:

 

NextGen and Air Traffic Organization Reform: Getting It Right

The U.S. Congress should pass, and the president should sign, an FAA reauthorization bill that provides full funding for air traffic operations, including NextGen technologies and procedures and appropriate oversight.

Pilot Supply: Economics 101

The U.S. Congress should rebuff any efforts by aviation stakeholders to undo or roll back safety gains that have been realized for first officer qualifications and training requirements. Furthermore, industry and government must work together to reestablish the airline industry as an attractive career in order to draw and retain a qualified workforce.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS): The Next Frontier

Above all, UAS operation in the U.S. national airspace system (NAS) must not introduce any hazard that would negatively affect the unparalleled safety record of the U.S. airline industry. The U.S. government must not be pressured into rapidly integrating UAS into the NAS and rush a process that must be solely focused on safety.

Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) Program: Adequate Funding Needed

The U.S. Congress needs to reject this administration’s misguided proposals to cut funding for this critical, effective, and highly efficient security program. Adequate FFDO funding is crucial so that initial and recurrent training of pilots can continue unabated.

Secondary Cockpit Barriers: A Necessary Security Layer

The U.S. Congress should enact legislation that would mandate the installation of secondary cockpit barriers on passenger and all-cargo airliners as a necessary layer of security. Bills have been introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate (H.R. 911/S. 911) to require secondary cockpit barriers on airliners.

Science-Based Fatigue Rules: Cargo Operations

The U.S. Congress should mandate science-based flight and duty regulations for all-cargo operations.

Improving Aviation Safety: Safe Air Transport of Lithium Batteries

The U.S. government should classify lithium batteries as hazardous materials in order to provide them with the full range of safety protections required for dangerous goods transported by air.

Over the years, ALPA has, due to necessity, expanded its scope beyond safety to also include industrial and economic issues. No longer confined within geopolitical borders, airline industry stakeholders have the opportunity to move beyond the business templates of yesterday. This prospect raises new possibilities but also serious risk, which is why ALPA and its partners are working to ensure that the U.S. airline industry continues to remain the economic engine that it is today.

The following are among ALPA’s policy priorities designed to ensure that U.S. airlines and their employees have a level playing field on which to compete:

 

Open Skies: Competing on a Level Playing Field

The U.S. government must ensure that its Open Skies agreements give its airlines and their employees a fair opportunity to compete in the international marketplace. First and foremost, this means enforcing the letter and spirit of existing U.S. Open Skies agreements.

Flags of Convenience: Reject These Schemes

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) must formally deny Norwegian Air International’s pending application for a foreign air carrier permit. In doing so, the DOT should make clear that this is a rejection of the concept of flags of convenience in the airline industry.

Foreign Ownership and Cabotage: Maintain Current Restrictions

The U.S. government must maintain its current foreign ownership and control and cabotage restrictions. It must also maintain the case-by-case ability to approve or reject third-country ownership and control of foreign air carriers seeking permission to operate to the U.S.

The U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank: Reform Is Needed

Any Ex-Im Bank authorization should also include meaningful reforms that require the bank to address the harm its actions have on U.S. airline employees. Airline workers deserve the opportunity to compete on a level global playing field.

Health-Care Excise Tax: Repeal the Tax

The U.S. Congress should expeditiously pass legislation to repeal the health-care excise tax. ALPA supports H.R. 2050, the bipartisan Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act.

Fly America: Uphold the Letter and Spirit of the Act

The U.S. government must maintain close adherence to both the letter and spirit of the Fly America Act. The U.S. airline partner in a code share with a foreign airline must never be reduced to “a mere booking agent on behalf of the foreign partner.” ALPA urges all relevant parts of the U.S. government to be mindful of these concerns in the future administration of the Fly America Act.

Going Green: The Airline Industry’s Contributions

The U.S. government must recognize the voluntary contributions of U.S. airlines to reducing carbon emissions. Specifically, the Environmental Protection Agency should maintain its current course of engaging though the U.S. position at the International Civil Aviation Organization regarding aircraft emissions and reject outside pressure to adopt separate rules or standards that apply to only U.S. carriers or operations in U.S. airspace.

As the largest union representing airline pilots, ALPA has been labeled the watchdog of the airline industry. To say that ALPA wears this moniker with pride is an understatement. Advancements in safety alone illustrate the immense positive effect that the Association’s guardianship has had on the industry as a whole. And ALPA’s thoughtful, comprehensive approach to industrial issues has kept U.S. airlines out in front of schemes that threaten the fair marketplace and the viability of the airline industry.

Download ALPA's Comprehensive "Flight Plan"—Keep America Flying: A Flight Plan for Safe and Fair Skies

This article is from the August 2015 issue of Air Line Pilot magazine, the Official Journal of the Air Line Pilots Association, International—a monthly publication for all ALPA members.

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