APA News Digest

Nov. 1, 2024

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In This Edition ...

Board of Directors Adds Five New Members

As of this morning, the APA Board of Directors includes five new members:

  • CLT Chair CA Heather Boulanger, 48, was hired in September of 2017. She flies the A320.
  • CLT Vice Chair FO Hickory Ham, 32, was hired in June of 2022. He flies the 737.
  • LGA Chair CA Mark Lokey, 54, was hired in June of 1996. He flies the 737.
  • MIA Chair CA Jay Wilhelm, 52, was hired in February of 2005. He flies the A320.
  • MIA Vice Chair FO Jamie Funderburk, 51, was hired in June of 2016. He flies the 737.

Additionally, LGA Vice Chair CA James Scanlan, 61, was re-elected this week. He was hired in October of 1999 and flies the 737.

These six Domicile Officers are the first to be elected to three-year terms, as dictated by R2024-12 Rev 1, “BOD Term Length and Limits,” and R2024-47, “Election Category Modifications.” Their terms will end on Oct. 31, 2027.

The next domicile elections will be for the BOS, LAX, and ORD positions. As term lengths transition from two to three years, the pilots who win those elections will serve 42-month terms – from May 1, 2025, through Oct. 31, 2028.

Collaboration is Key

APA President FO Nick Silva sent the following message to all members on Thursday.

One of my top priorities as your APA President is to reestablish effective collaboration with our peers.

To that end, I recently attended two external pilot union events. First, I participated in last week’s SWAPA-hosted International Conference of Pilot Unions in Dallas as a panelist, with several other APA officials also serving as panelists. The panel discussions addressed negotiating strategy, pilot mental health, the influx of large numbers of new-hire pilots and early-time Captains, and other timely topics.

Then, earlier this week APA Vice President CA Chris Torres and I attended the ALPA Board of Directors Meeting in Chicago. We met with ALPA President CA Jason Ambrosi (pictured below), General Manager David Krieger, the Master Executive Council leadership from Delta, United, JetBlue, Air Canada, and American Airlines’ wholly owned regional airlines, as well as other ALPA officials.

Both events proved highly productive, providing opportunities for renewed information exchange, networking, and relationship building, and I am grateful for the hospitality that SWAPA and ALPA extended to us.

No matter which carrier we fly for and regardless of which union represents us, we all share the same goal as professional pilots — we want to enjoy full, rewarding careers. Cross-union collaboration is a vital element in accomplishing that goal. By learning all we can from one another and providing mutual support, we can bolster our respective efforts in foundational areas such as safety, scheduling, and collective bargaining.

In the coming months, you have my commitment that we will continue reaching out to our professional pilot counterparts across the industry. Collectively, our profession is a small, select community, and it is essential that we work together to the maximum extent possible.

In Unity,

FO Nick Silva
APA President

Positive Rate Episode 33: Girls in Aviation Day

In the latest episode of our “Positive Rate” podcast, Communications Committee Deputy Chair FO Melissa Monahan talks with ORD-based FO Barbara Gordon about Girls in Aviation Day, which provides an opportunity for girls to learn about aviation careers in a fun, interactive way.

American Airlines will host a Girls in Aviation Day at ORD from 0800 to 0530 on Saturday, Nov. 2. The event will include a tour of the airport environment aboard a 737 – complete with a water cannon salute and de-icing – as well as flight deck tours, cabin tours, and walk-arounds hosted by pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics. Girls in Aviation Day events are designed “to inspire the next generation,” FO Gordon said. For more information about future events, contact MIA-based CA Christine Rupert.

Each episode of “Positive Rate” features various APA leaders and the subject-matter experts working on the membership’s behalf. The podcast is available through popular streaming services, including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can search for “Positive Rate” or “Allied Pilots Association” on your platform of choice to subscribe and download. Your first opportunity to listen will be via AlliedPilots.org/Podcasts.

We welcome your feedback on this format. If you have a question or comment, please send it to Communications Director Gregg Overman via goverman@alliedpilots.org.

Attention, Supplemental Medical Plan Participants

Effective Jan. 1, 2025, Luminaire Health will be the new claims processor for medical, custodial care benefit, orthodontia, and dental claims for the Supplemental Medical Plan (SMP).

WebTPA will no longer serve as third-party administrator for the Plan; WebTPA will process any claim with a date of service before Jan. 1. Any claim with a date of service on or after Jan. 1 will be processed by Luminaire Health. All plan participants will receive new medical and dental ID cards.

Cigna Network and PHCS Networks (the provider and facility networks) are not changing, and the Pharmacy Benefit Manager BeneCard is not changing. NGS will process all eligibility and contributions for the SMP.

We will provide additional information soon.

New Hotels for November

This is a new message from the APA Hotel Committee.

  • PVD: Omni Providence will be replacing our incumbent hotel for long layovers.
  • PSP: Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel will be replacing our incumbent property for both long and short layovers. It is four blocks from the center of downtown Palm Springs.
  • XNA: Motto by Hilton is a new property for long layovers.

For more information, check out the QRH – Quick Reference Hotels document. This resource answers 99 percent of all hotel, transportation, and layover questions while providing helpful solutions. Suggestion: Download this QRH document to your AA iPad for easy access in the future.

Flight Deck Luggage Storage

This is a new message from the APA Jumpseat/Non-Rev Committee.

The Captain has final authority on whether any item is allowed to be carried on the flight deck. The following guidance applies to AA/AE and OAL jumpseaters.

CBA Section 19.C.3

The luggage for the one or two pilots issued a Flight Deck Jumpseat boarding pass (1W, 2W) shall be secured:

  1. In the flight deck, or
  2. If the jumpseat occupant’s crew luggage cannot be accommodated in the flight deck, Jumpseat occupants will be allowed to use available cabin overhead bins for storage of crew luggage.
  3. If the jumpseat occupant’s crew luggage cannot be accommodated in either above:
  1. For American Airlines Pilots, the pilot may check such pilot’s crew baggage (Gate Valet or similar) for retrieval on the jet bridge at destination. If a Pilot’s baggage is lost, the Pilot shall be subject to the Company’s policy regarding lost luggage applicable to revenue passengers.
  2. For off-line Jumpseat occupants, luggage shall be gate checked for pick up in baggage claim at the destination.

Those final two options are to be used only after all other options are exhausted, which means the Captain must first be given the opportunity to determine whether the luggage can be accommodated on the flight deck or in the cabin. Also, these contractual provisions apply regardless of whether the pilot is in uniform or business casual attire. (Reference WebRef: D6 Jumpseat Attire and Baggage).

Please, Captains, be proactive and engage the gate agents before boarding. Brief them on how you want pilots’ baggage accommodated. Be clear and professional with this guidance. During boarding, pay attention to the G*/PALL, and note any FDJ or D6 travelers.

If you encounter any issues, please let us know via a Jumpseat/Deadhead/Non-Rev Debrief.

Analysts’ Latest on 3Q24 Results

This is a new message from the APA Investor Relations Committee.

Soon after American Airlines management published third-quarter financial results, Wall Street analysts released their respective notes to investors. The analysts cover American’s recovery of the annual $1.5 billion loss in corporate revenue, competitive network details, a new credit card deal currently being negotiated, as well as the competitive product landscape.

We have provided select excerpts from the analysts’ notes to investors.

Meanwhile, Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth published these fourth-quarter and full-year predictions for American, Delta, and United:

Bringing APA to the Membership

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

Attention, ATL and AUS commuters: The APA Family Awareness Committee has scheduled events in your cities on Nov. 3 and Nov. 12, respectively. The ATL event will be at Atlanta Golf & Social, and the AUS event will be at Easy Tiger. Please RSVP via AlliedPilots.org/Calendar.

Join Us for YOUnion 301 on Nov. 13

This is a repeated message from the APA Compass Project Committee.

The Compass Project and APA Vice President CA Chris Torres will host a “YOUnion 301” meeting via Zoom at 1100 Central on Nov. 13. This “Captains’ Development Seminar” is intended to help new captains and soon-to-be captains understand their authorities, APA support, and safety trends within our airline.

If you register now, you will receive reminder emails in advance of the meeting.

Click here to register for the Nov. 13 meeting.

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.

  • A321 aircraft 950, which used to belong to Alaska Airlines, entered AA revenue service on May 6. Since then, it has been written up for a Class 2 air bleed message 18 times, been on MEL nine times, and been out of service six times. It was most recently signed off on Oct. 28. (As we documented last month, another A321 previously flown by Alaska has a similar recurring problem.)

APA Welcomes Leadership Class

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

a group of pilots in a lobby

Click the image for a closer look.

On Oct. 30, 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: George Allie, Kevin Brake, Teodoro Collazo Jr., Patrick Dexter, Brent Dye, German Giachino, Kyle Hupfer, Marshal Orchard, Michael Rogers, and Skyler Villers.

Future Alliances Should be “Metal Neutral”

During JetBlue’s earnings call this week, an analyst asked President Marty St. George how quickly new partnerships could be implemented.

“It’s certainly something that we’re looking at,” he said. “It certainly could be with American. It could be another carrier.”

APA spokesman CA Dennis Tajer told Forbes that the association would be more open to a new Northeast Alliance between American and JetBlue if it would break up “the Delta and United duopoly in New York.” He said APA’s original coolness to the NEA was based on concerns that the partnership was not “metal neutral,” but rather provided more flying to JetBlue pilots than to American pilots.

“If American gets feed traffic, we want to make sure that American pilots also get some of that feed flying,” CA Tajer said.

APA Attends Summit on Battery Safety

CA Gavin Tade, the APA Safety Committee’s Deputy Chair overseeing the Safety Operations Subcommittee, and CA Harvey Meek, Chair of the APA Government Affairs Committee, recently attended the TRIP Summit at DFW Airport. The Thermal Runaway Incident Program (TRIP) is a voluntary reporting program focused on better understanding lithium-ion battery incidents and related safety issues within both passenger and cargo aviation operations. The goal of the summit was to facilitate information exchange amongst major airlines and cargo carriers to reduce the risk of a lithium-ion battery incident causing an aviation accident.

APA Medical Minute – Premature Ventricular Contractions

In the latest edition of the APA Medical Minute, APA Medical Advisor Kathy Parr discusses premature ventricular contractions.

You can watch previous Medical Minute videos on APA’s YouTube channel.

Digital Bulletin Board Added at BOS

Two APA employees – Senior Web Administrator Drew Boterf and Service Desk Engineer Robert Hugghins – flew to BOS this week to install a digital bulletin board. They have placed similar screens at JFK, LGA, LAX, and ORD to enhance APA’s methods of conveying national and domicile messages to the membership. They are pictured with CA Lawrence Cutler, the former LGA Domicile Chair who is transferring to BOS, and BOS Domicile Vice Chair CA Gemma Meehan.

Domicile Events

a group of pilots in a lobby

Click the image for a closer look.

These pilots were among the honorees at the LGA Retirement Party on Oct. 26. You can see more photos on APA’s Facebook page.

Visit AlliedPilots.org/Calendar to RSVP for any of these upcoming domicile events:

Week in Review

Here are some recent messages you may have missed.

Are You Willing to Serve?

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

  • Aeromedical Committee (0)
    • Critical Incident Response Program Subcommittee (1)
    • Disabled Pilot Awareness Subcommittee (3)
    • Human Intervention Motivation Study Subcommittee (1)
    • Pilot Occupational Health Subcommittee (2)
    • Project Wingman Subcommittee (2)
  • Captain’s Authority Committee (2)
  • Communications Committee (0)
    • National Communications Network (2)
  • Economic and Financial Analysis Committee (1)
  • Grey Eagles Liaison Committee (2)
  • Information Technology Steering Committee (1)
  • Professional Standards Committee (1)
  • Training Committee (4)
    • Checkmate (1 on 777)

If you would like to serve on one or more of these committees, visit the Member Engagement Portal.

Professional Standards FAQs

What issues are not appropriate for Professional Standards?
Professional Standards will not normally address CBA disagreements, substance/alcohol abuse, and any immediate threat to safety of flight. The program is not designed to address issues related to security violations; legal, medical, or criminal issues; or gross negligence. Professional Standards is not able to address issues arising from “The Line” forums, nor should PS volunteers post to “The Line” forums. However, if you are in doubt about which APA committee is best suited to handle your needs, all Professional Standards volunteers are familiar with the vast network of support offered at APA and through the company. Call Your Union First!

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 Fair and Future Pilot Seminar are scheduled for Nov. 22 at PHX. 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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