APA News Digest

June 9, 2023

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In This Edition ...

Get Caught Up on APA Governance Projects

The APA Board of Directors has scheduled a Governance & Reform Caucus for Aug. 22-24. One of the goals for the caucus will be crafting resolutions that would be considered during the Board’s regularly scheduled fall meeting.

In advance of the caucus, the Board directed APA’s staff to create a “Governance Projects” folder on the Board Meeting Information webpage. Any member in good standing can visit that folder to review:

  • The APA-ALPA Merger Exploratory Committee’s written reports to the Board
  • The APA-ALPA Merger Exploratory Committee’s PowerPoint presentations
  • Videos of the APA-ALPA Merger Exploratory Committee’s discussions with the Board on June 1
  • A 2018 report from the Contemporary Airline Benchmark Analysis Ad Hoc Committee
  • A series of 2014 reports from the Governance Project
  • A 2001 report from the ALPA Exploratory Committee

How to Request a Day Room

This is a new message from the APA Hotel Committee.

When you are scheduled for a five-hour sit, you are contractually entitled to a day room. If this sit was on your schedule more than 24 hours prior to block-in, the room should already have been assigned and viewable in CCI. However, if the five-hour sit is a result of sequence disruption – or breaks that were not originally built into the sequence and occur within 24 hours – the room will not be automatically assigned. If you would like to secure a day room under these circumstances, call Crew Tracking to request room authorization. If it is a valid request, the tracker will approve the room through an internal system that will flag the Hotel-Limo Desk to book a room. The Hotel-Limo Desk will then update the booking information in CCI.

For more information, see the QRH – Quick Reference Hotels document, which should answer 99 percent of all hotel and transportation questions while providing helpful solutions. Suggestion: Download this QRH document to your AA iPad for easy access in the future.

Premium Pay for Reassignments

This is the latest in a series of Q&As from the APA Contract Compliance Committee.

Q: I have experienced a Misconnect, Illegality, or Cancellation (MIC) on my sequence. I am a Lineholder, and Crew Tracking is returning me to base on what was originally a day off. Am I entitled to Premium for working on my scheduled day off?

A: If your sequence contains Replacement Flying that complies with JCBA Section 4.C.2.c.(2) – returning you to base on the first available flight(s), either direct or connecting – you would not be entitled to additional Premium. However, if you were not returned on the first available flight(s), then you would qualify for Reassignment Premium (RA PREM). This RA PREM is based on the actual time flown or the scheduled deadhead time that resides outside the original Sequence Footprint (Section 15.N.3.).

  • RO = first available flight(s), outside of the original Replacement Flying Window (RFW)
  • AF = not the first available flight(s), outside of the original Replacement Flying Window (RFW)

If you find the incorrect coding applied to the legs contained within your sequence, a call to Crew Tracking at the conclusion of the sequence should correct the situation. It may prove useful to have the alternative routing readily available when you make the call to Crew Tracking. Once the AF is applied, ensure that the RA PREM is added by PayComp; a Direct Connect reminder may be necessary. The RA PREM should be annotated on your schedule three to four days after the Direct Connect is submitted.

Section 4.C.2.c.(2)
c. Replacement Flying – Flying that is assigned / awarded by the Company to a pilot whose sequence, or portion thereof, has cancelled.
(1) Replacement Flying Window – (i) The Sequence Footprint plus four (4) hours, or the end of the calendar day, whichever is later, or (ii) the Sequence Footprint, plus thirty (30) hours for Trans Oceanic sequences, including to/from Hawaii, U.S. to South of the Equator.
(2) The Replacement Flying Window may be extended beyond C.2.c.(1) above if the pilot flies or is deadheaded on the first available flight(s) to base. The "first available flight(s) to base" is the flight(s) that arrives at the base the earliest. The flight(s) may be direct or indirect.

Section 4.C.3.a.(6)
(6) Premium pay provisions shall apply for any reassignment during replacement flying that result in a pilot flying beyond the Sequence Footprint (of the originally cancelled sequence).

Section 15.N.3.
3. In addition to 2. above, when a pilot is reassigned to flying that resides outside of the originally scheduled sequence footprint that pilot shall also receive a premium of:
a. pay, no credit, at a rate of one-half (50 percent) times the pilot's hourly base pay rate for that time flown outside of the footprint of the pilot's regularly scheduled sequence footprint.
b. Any additional flight time pay and credit associated with paragraphs E., F. or G that was generated as a result of the reassignment outside the original sequence footprint does not qualify for the premium described in a. above.

Eye Health and Laser Strikes

This is a new message from the APA Aeromedical Committee.

Lasers are pointed at thousands of aircraft each year, and each one can temporarily incapacitate pilots. Nearly 9,500 laser strikes were reported to the FAA in 2022; in the first quarter of 2023, more than 2,500 incidents were reported.

Click here for a list of helpful resources that can provide a thorough understanding of the effects of laser strikes.

Bill Prioritizes Passenger Safety in Evacuations

This is a new message from the APA Government Affairs Committee.

Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) recently reintroduced the Emergency Vacating of Aircraft Cabin (EVAC) Act, a piece of legislation that APA supports. This bill would ensure the FAA does more to prioritize passenger safety by appropriately considering carry-on baggage, people with disabilities, seniors, and children in its emergency evacuation standards.

The FAA’s current standards require that passengers – regardless of age or ability – be able to evacuate aircraft within 90 seconds, but recent simulation tests failed to adequately take into account whether a flight is full or mostly empty, has passengers with mobility issues, or many other real-life conditions that Americans deal with every time they fly. An identical companion bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.).

“As professional pilots, safety will always be our highest priority, and we strongly support the common-sense recommendation that the FAA reevaluate transport-category aircraft evacuation standards,” APA President CA Ed Sicher said in a press release issued by Sen. Duckworth’s office. “The realities of commercial air travel today – including widely differing passenger ages and physical abilities, language barriers, seat pods blocking access across aisles, and ever-shrinking seat size and pitch – all come into play when an evacuation becomes necessary. We applaud Senator Duckworth, Senator Baldwin, and Representative Cohen for taking the lead on this critical safety issue.”

Join Us for YOUnion 101 on June 14

This is a repeated message from the APA Compass Project.

APA Vice President CA Chris Torres and the Compass Project’s Member Engagement Team will host a “YOUnion 101” meeting via Zoom at 1100 Central on Wednesday, June 14. This meeting focuses on all aspects of APA membership. While it is geared toward our newest pilots, all are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Click here to register.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

The APA Compass Project is an industry-leading pilot mentoring and support program. Compass offers one-on-one support from experienced line-pilot sponsors, as well as tutorial videos and an extensive database of stage-based documents covering a number of helpful topics that are beneficial to all pilots. Click here for more information.

Bidding Alert – Join Us at Oshkosh

This is a new message from the APA Family Awareness Committee.

APA will be at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh for seven days next month: July 24-30. Many of your elected officials and national committees will be in attendance. Come gain insight and perspectives directly from those making it happen. And be sure to bring your family, as there will be plenty of snacks during our nightly happy hours.

Fini Flight Offers In-Flight Restart for Retiring Pilots

This is a repeated message from the APA Family Awareness Committee.

CA Jim Acree’s family attended his Fini Flight party at DFW on May 27. See more photos on our Facebook page.

Fini Flight meets our pilots returning home from one of their last sequences at American Airlines before retiring. We gather at the arrival gate with our feature display, a custom cake, and music upon request. We guarantee photographic memories of the event, with Fini Flight “data recorder” volunteers capturing aircraft arrival, cockpit smiles, crew, and family.

Our signature ceremony wraps retiring families in first-class blankets of reassurance that the day, rather than an engine failure, is an in-flight restart. Our message is that your only true “farewell” is to Crew Scheduling. Your APA family wishes you well, but hopes you’ll stick around a while! Bring your whole family to a retirement dinner. Keep your Wingman magnet up in case you or your family needs help. Keep watching for Family Awareness emails in case you can attend another event.

In just five months, Fini Flight has grown from a pilot project in ORD to up and running in BOS, DCA, DFW, LGA, MIA, PHX, SAN, and SNA. CLT, LAX, ONT, and PHL are coming next. Still, we cannot yet accommodate all requested Fini Flight events because we do not have enough volunteers.

Help us send off our retiring pilots with more than a pack of Biscoff-brand cookies. Fini Flight volunteers set up a display, cut cake, take pictures, and visit with the retiring pilot’s family. Events typically last around 30 minutes. Pilots, retirees, Grey Eagles members, and family members are helping us.

Do you have a friend retiring soon? Have you been asked to be the FO on a Fini Flight? Let us help you! Contact Fini Flight.

Sign up here or email us at finiflight@alliedpilots.org.

Pigs of the Week

APA commends American Airlines’ hardworking aircraft maintenance technicians for their outstanding work. We believe they are the best in the business. When repetitive problems do arise, they’re often due to managerial decisions that fail to properly prioritize tasks and to management’s decision to outsource a significant portion of the airline’s maintenance to offshore, third-party repair stations.

  • Since February, the left engine thrust reverser on B737 aircraft 3FN has been written up 11 times, and its PSEU (Proximity Switch Electronics Unit) has been written up seven times. The aircraft has been out of service 11 times combined for these issues, and it most recently returned to service on June 6.
  • Since February, B787 aircraft 8AJ has been written up 22 times for R1 door air leak/noise and and has been out of service four times. This was most recently signed off on June 4.
  • In the last month, the aft lavatory smoke detector on A319 aircraft 840 has been written up 11 times and has been out of service five times. It most recently returned to service on June 7.

APA Welcomes New Pilots

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

Click the image for a closer look.

The APA Membership Committee welcomed the following pilots during a casual dinner on June 6: Bradley Aldous, Colin Apt, Dario Bastardo Chirinos, Mackenzie Bauman, Kurt Bohlken, Katrina Boshears, Sean Caldwell, Alejandro Carbo Sopo, Matthew Case, Arnaud Crouzet, Robert Curtis, Caleb De Sha, Edward Duff, Ryan Dunn, Christopher Eves, David Fickle, Alexander Fulton, John Garrido, Jason Gonzalez, Rolando Guerra, Joshuah Hanson, Nathan Henshey, Scott Hirtzinger, Christopher Lavelle II, Justin Lee, Jonathan Long, Lourival Lopes Ferreira Neto, Nicholas Mattingly, Stephen Mindek, Alexander Moore, Hai Nguyen, Andres Nieto, Jeffery Nketiah, John Novales, Maxwell Oliver, Clement Quinones, Christopher Reicks, Daniel Richardson, Gustavo Rueda Carreno, Hernan Salazar, Brandon Schmidt, Michael Schubert, Phillip Shea, Royi Sher, Matthew Shula, Jonathan Skelton, Joshua Smith, Ntungwe Sobe, Caroline Spotts, Caleb Strahm, Lauren Sutherland, Tushar Thakkar, John Travis Vaughan, Austin Worth, Ramsey Yassin, and Salah Edien Yususuf Husin Abdallah.

APA Welcomes Captains’ Leadership Class

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

Click the image for a closer look.

On June 7, the APA Membership Committee hosted a casual dinner for the following pilots who were in Fort Worth for American Airlines’ Professionalism, Leadership, and Mentoring class: Kevin Abel, Ej Abood, Stephen Antolik, Charles Bault, Joshua Bossard, Jeffrey Calchera, Brian Chase, Bernadette Cooney, Carlos Delaguardia, Willis Emery, John Eveges III, Thomas Gabik, Matthew Glade, Brad Guthrie, Christina Hadley, Micah Hannigan, Scott Higginbotham, Christopher Horton, Chad Hotkowski, Michael Inman, Peter Kaliniak, Mark Liljequist, John Lockard II, Gary Lynch, Jason Miller, Chris Miyasato, Michael Nall, Daniel O’Neil, Michael Obryan, Jason Pettis, Ryan Reed, William Smith, John Snead Jr., Kenneth Wells, Melvin White Jr., and Roger Yeshnik.

Congratulations to Newly Upgraded Captains

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

We would like to recognize and congratulate these pilots who upgraded to captain last month. They are listed by their post-upgrade base and equipment.

CLT 737: Jason Miller

DCA 737: Thomas Arkwright

DCA 320: Ryan Dorris, John Eveges III, Justin Greenway, Cassandra Johnson, Christopher Mickey, and Bryan Swenson

DFW 320: Chris Miyasato and Robert Nowinski

LGA 777: Todd Wissing

LGA 737: Jearohan Cordice, Aaron Crossland, Max Forschler, Tracy Gary, Alex Golembiewski, Matthew MacCarthy, Steven Shields, Frederick Strathearn, and Jacob Tucker

LGA 320: Michael Bermensolo, Victor Bird, Gregory Carroll, Jonathan Fowler, Christopher Horton, Christopher Jarvis, Nick Maywand, Alexander Richards, and Christopher Schwamberger

MIA 777: Brus Messinger

MIA 737: Neal Baylor, Jeremy Benavidez, Brian Chase, Randall Gamer, Santiago Giraldo, Anthony Glazek, Christopher Kent, Collin Lachapelle, Sean Leffner, Wroten McQuirter, Mitchel Platt, Scott Prahl, Marshall Pulliam, Ryan Reed, Neal Smith, Anthony Staley, and William Zink

MIA 320: Charles Bault, Joshua Bossard, John Dwyer, Will Emery, Christina Hadley, Jeffrey Hicks, Peter Kaliniak, Mac McGilvray, and Thomas Wheeler

ORD 787: Jeff Doran, Daniel Galvez, and Thomas Kittler

PHL 320: Benjamin Baker, Trey Burnham, Christian Garber, Joseph Greentree, Brad Guthrie, Aubrey Harris, Tim Hegedus, Bryant Jasperson, Edward Jefarsky, William Leahy, Erik Lofgren, Benjamin Lyndaker, Michael Lysko, Eugene MacDonald, and Daniel StClair

PHX 320: Thomas Gabik

Domicile Events

CA Mike Miller, FO Nick Silva, FO Jason Gustin, CA Jon Sherrell, CA Steve Pacheco, CA Andrea Hoover, FO Melissa Monahan, and FO Ryan Mauldin

More than 600 pilots and guests gathered at Globe Life Field on Wednesday to watch the Texas Rangers play the St. Louis Cardinals. See more photos on our Instagram account.

Get more details about these upcoming events at AlliedPilots.org/Calendar:

  • BOS: Boston Red Sox game on June 28
  • DCA: Concourse Conversations on June 15; West Virginia Brunch on June 16; Domicile Meeting on July 14; Baltimore Orioles game on July 17
  • LAX: Domicile Meeting on June 21
  • PHL: Philadelphia Phillies game on June 20; Domicile Meeting on June 23; Retirement Dinner on June 23
  • PHX: Concourse Conversations on July 20; Arizona Diamondbacks game on July 24

Domicile Elections

PHL and PHX pilots will elect a Chair and a Vice Chair to represent each domicile on the APA Board of Directors for a two-year term starting on Nov. 1.

The electronic submission for nomination process is now open, and it will close at 0001 Central on June 30. Pilots whose names have been submitted have until 0001 Central on July 7 to complete the Willingness to Serve and Conflict of Interest forms. The results of the electronic submissions will be certified at 1000 Central on July 7.

If you have any questions regarding the nomination process, please call the APA Elections Department at 817-302-2175.

Week in Review

The following messages were sent since last week’s News Digest was published.

Are You Willing to Serve?

Each of these national committees or subcommittees has the indicated number of vacancies:

  • Aeromedical Committee (1)
    • Critical Incident Response Program (1)
    • Disabled Pilot Awareness Subcommittee (3)
    • Human Intervention Motivation Study Subcommittee (3)
    • Pilot Occupational Health Subcommittee (2)
    • Project Wingman Subcommittee (4)
  • Captain’s Authority Committee (4)
  • Communications Committee (0)
    • National Communications Network (6)
  • Compass Project (6)
  • Grey Eagles Liaison Committee (1)
  • Hotel Committee (2)
  • Jumpseat/Non-Rev Committee (1)
  • Professional Standards Committee (1)
  • Retirement & Benefits Committee (2)
  • Safety Committee (0)
    • Air Traffic and Procedures Subcommittee (3)
    • Environmental Sustainability in Aviation Subcommittee (2)
  • Scheduling Committee (8)
  • Training Committee (4)
    • Checkmate (2 on 777 and 1 on 320)
  • Uniform (1 female)

If you would like to serve on one or more of these committees, visit the National Committee Volunteer Portal.

Professional Standards FAQs

How does management or an employee submit an issue to Professional Standards?
Committee volunteers are identified for each domicile on AlliedPilots.org and on each domicile’s APA bulletin board. Management is furnished contact information for every domicile and national deputy, and they may approach a committee volunteer with an issue. Emails, text messages, and detailed phone messages are to be avoided, as the information is not confidential and may not be protected. Telephone contact and face-to-face meetings are encouraged, as confidentiality is paramount to the success of the program. You can reach your domicile Professional Standards committee via our phone tree: 817-402-2181.

To read all of the FAQs, click here.

Professional Standards’ 24/7 hotline: 817-402-2181

If You’re 50, Join The Grey Eagles

Are you a pilot for American Airlines, at least age 50, active or retired? Please join The Grey Eagles for food, fun, and fellowship. We offer cruises, conventions, monthly luncheons, retirement dinners, professional mentoring, and assistance to surviving spouses – all for a one-time lifetime fee.

Pilot Job Fairs and Future Pilot Seminars

Future & Active Pilot Advisors’ next Pilot Job Fairs and Future Pilot Seminars are scheduled for June 17 at DEN followed by July 15 at ORD. Click here for more information.

Industry News

For more about what’s happening in the industry, be sure to visit the Industry News page on AlliedPilots.org.

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