“Summer of Air Travel Mayhem”

This week, Axios weighed in on the prospect of “an absolute nightmare” for travelers this summer, noting that “airlines, aviation officials and the TSA are all telegraphing an alarming message for travelers.” The article cautioned travelers to “prepare for delays and cancellations, and have a Plan B – and maybe C and D – ready.”

NBC’s Today show aired a similar report this week that opened with this guidance for passengers: “Don’t expect an open middle seat. It’s shaping up to be another season of crowded airports and packed planes.”

These media reports reinforce the “Another Summer of Uncertainty?” message that APA President CA Ed Sicher sent to all members on Wednesday. He wrote:

“Will this be another summer of uncertainty for American Airlines? We hope not, because otherwise our passengers, pilots, fellow employees, and families will be the ones paying the price. I can’t imagine the airline’s investors being happy at the prospect of turbulence, either. It’s just bad business.

“Unfortunately, unless management commits to addressing our quality-of-life concerns and successfully concluding these negotiations, it looks more and more like the answer to that question is yes.”

DOT Secretary Reiterates Support for 1,500-Hour Rule

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg confirmed that the White House is “going to keep holding the line on safety,” opposing any change to the 1,500-hour rule. Some lawmakers, led by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.), advocated for changing the rule requiring commercial pilots to have a minimum of 1,500 hours during a FAA reauthorization hearing on Wednesday.

Politico reported that Buttigieg said, “These requirements are there to keep Americans safe. Many of the requirements we have were a response to crashes that happened in the past, and while we’re always interested in new policy ideas, we’re not going to do anything that compromises safety.”

APA has been an outspoken advocate of maintaining the 1,500-hour rule, along with other stakeholders, including family members of those killed in the 2009 Colgan Air accident.

Get Educated on the Railway Labor Act

In an effort to educate our members, APA has prepared a series of documents about the Railway Labor Act and the National Mediation Board.

These RLA education documents are posted on the webpages of the Communications Committee and the Strike and Tactical Operations Planning Committee. They are also on the Negotiating Committee’s website.

Get Educated on Your Contract

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

Q: I’m looking for contract information. Where should I start?

A: There are numerous documents available on the Contract Resources webpage, which can be accessed via “Contract QRH (Contract Resources)” on the Quick Links menu on AlliedPilots.org (Mobile Links on the APA Mobile app). These resources include:

For Lineholders, the Sequence Protection Flow Charts will be useful when navigating Recovery Obligation and Sequence Protection. These five pages should aid you during any Misconnect, Illegality, or Cancellation (MIC).

Section 15 (Hours of Service and Work Rules) of the JCBA contains many of the work rules that are important for all pilots. Attachment 3 – also known as the Current Process for Filling of Open Time (FOOT) – supplements Section 15.L and the portions of the process that have not been implemented.

And for Reserve pilots, the Reserve User Guide is an invaluable resource for all things Reserve.

If you need to clarify a contractual issue, Contract Administration (800-323-1470, Option 3) is staffed by full-time administrators from 0700 to 1900 Central, seven days a week. The admins are an excellent second stop in your quest for knowledge. Working closely with the admins, our committee strives for quick turnaround on communications via email (Contract-Compliance@alliedpilots.org). If an emergency contractual dispute arises when the admins are off duty, the Contract Compliance Committee is available by calling the same number (800-323-1470, Option 3). The committee’s five members will work to resolve those issues requiring immediate assistance.

Have more questions? Sign up for our Contract Compliance Town Hall on April 26. Click here for the details.

United Pilots to Picket Nationwide on May 12

This is a new message from the APA Strike and Tactical Operations Planning Committee.

United pilots will conduct informational picketing at these airports on May 12:

  • CLE
  • DCA
  • DEN
  • EWR
  • IAH
  • LAS
  • LAX
  • MCO
  • ORD
  • SFO

If you can stand with your fellow union pilots that day, use the RSVP links in this message from the United ALPA Strategic Preparedness and Strike Committee.

Troubleshooting IVR and CASS Issues

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

Issue 1: PNRs generated by the Jumpseat Reservation System (IVR) do not allow TSA PreCheck if “US” is not saved in the pilot’s JetNet travel profile.

Pilots who list for the jumpseat using the IVR must modify their JetNet travel profile in order to use TSA Precheck when checked in as a D2WP/D2WA.

  1. Log in to Jetnet.
  2. Select “Travel,” then “Add or Edit Travelers.”
  3. Click on your name, then scroll down to “Secure traveler & AAdvantage.”
  4. Under “Known Traveler,” select “US” in the far-left box with a scroll menu, if not already selected.

Issue 2: Pilots wishing to jumpseat on OAL using CASS must verify their passport information in their JetNet travel profile.

  1. Log in to Jetnet.
  2. Select “Travel,” then “Add or Edit Travelers.”
  3. Click on your name, then scroll down to “Passport.”
  4. Verify that the number, expiration date, and country match your passport.

Have questions or concerns? File a Jumpseat Debrief.

Don’t Forget to Pay Incidentals Charges

This is a new message from the APA Hotel Committee.

All too often, individual hotels contact the AA Hotel Contracts Office because a crew member (flight attendant or pilot) departed the hotel with an outstanding bill. The crew member charged incidentals to their room but did not have a credit card on file and departed without paying the bill. No doubt the vast majority of these instances involve simple forgetfulness, but the optics aren’t good. If it happens repeatedly, it can ruin our relationship with a good hotel, and it creates work for various people. The hotel must reach out to AA Hotel Contracts, which in turn reaches out to the Chief Pilot. The Chief Pilot contacts the pilot and has them contact the hotel to settle the bill. It’s uncomfortable for all concerned and can be embarrassing for the company and employee.

Charging incidentals to your room can be of great convenience. Additionally, it can provide an opportunity to obtain hotel points. Please be diligent and ensure your card is on file and avoid any awkward conversations with your Chief Pilot and the hotel. As a best practice, do not charge anything to your room unless you already have a card on file. The Hotel Committee also recommends that you request a zeroed-out bill prior to departure if you charge to the room to ensure all incidentals have been covered.

Some hotels are going cashless, just as AA has done with onboard purchases. Based on conversations with industry insiders, we expect this trend to continue, so be prepared to pay with a credit card in some hotels. If credit card versus cash is an issue for you, we advise you inquire before the point of sale.

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.

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 April 18: Cole Baltz, Irvin Baptiste, Zoe Bieranowski, Kyle Bockey, John Boyd, David Campos, Daniel Colclasure, Ryan Corcoran, Jonathan Darwin, Sean Davis, Alain Paul Desnoyers, Clarke Groefsema, Constantinos Hadjigeorgiou, Shane Hamlett, Robbie Howard, Sebastian Kendra, Gordon Kinney, Jesse Kondas, Michael Kozik, Amelia Kucharski, Cameron Lampert, Matthew Litton, Esmaeil Madadi, Derek Mauck, Marcel Melo, Ryan Middleton, Nabeel Mohammad, Patrick Mojsak, Oscar Molina Bedoya, Abhishek Mudgal, Matthew Mullahy, Brent Muno, Jose Nunez II, Luke O’Sullivan, John Quinn Jr., Daniel Reyes, Francis Paul Reyes, Jarrod Roberts, James Roy III, Francisco Severino, Riley Shannon, Stephen Steele, Justin Stimpson, Andrew Taylor, Amid Teghizadeh, Carlos Tejada Castro, Martin Tkacs, Ryan Trudeau, Devin Ullrich, Arthur Walley, Jeffrey Warrick, Erick Williams, and Bryce Wyckoff.

APA Welcomes Captains’ Leadership Class

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

Click the image for a closer look.

On April 19, 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: Jose Borrero, Jody Brandt, Joseph Braun, Paul Brennan, Douglas Buboltz, John Degraaf, Mark Earnhardt, Vladimir Gurevich, Ty Gwizdala, Kathlyn Hopkins, Tracy Johnson, Patrick Kraus, Michael Lauer, James Long, Luis Machuca, Daniel McRae, Scott McWard, Todd Newton, Juan Rodriguez, Douglas Ross, Adam Sanders, Philip Sevenz, Neal Snetsky, Greg Storm, Kurt Swanick, Leonard Thornton, Dean Vandermolen, Michael Waples, Timothy Whitmire, and Edward Zukowski.

APA Board of Directors to Meet Next Week

On April 6, the APA Board of Directors scheduled an April 26-28 special meeting for the purpose of a Negotiating Committee update. When the agenda is finalized, it will be posted here.

Domicile Events

MIA Domicile Chair CA Thomas Copeland and APA President CA Ed Sicher talked to pilots on Thursday at MIA.

Domicile Officers and National Officers joined volunteers from the APA Strike and Tactical Operations Planning Committee and the National Communications Network for Concourse Conversations this week at LAX, PHX, LGA, and MIA. These leaders encouraged all pilots to participate in the strike authorization vote.

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

  • DCA: Concourse Conversations on April 27
  • DFW: Concourse Conversations on April 24 and May 18; Pilot Retirement Party on May 6; Pilots for Kids Golf Tournament on May 15
  • LAX: Pilot Retirement Party on June 3
  • ORD: Domicile Town Hall Meeting on April 27; Pilot Retirement Party on April 28; Galt Airport Pancake Breakfast on May 27
  • PHX: Pilot Retirement Party on May 5

Domicile Elections

Runoff Round ballots listing the following candidates were mailed to ORD pilots on April 6, and they will be tallied on April 27.

ORD Chair
CA Jon Glenna
CA Wesley (Wes) Smith

ORD Vice Chair
FO Thomas Hickson
FO Paul Meyers

For more information, visit AlliedPilots.org/Elections.

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 (0)
    • 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 (7)
  • Compass Project (5)
  • 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)
    • Flight Operations Quality Assurance Subcommittee (1)
  • Scheduling Committee (9)
  • Training Committee (3)
    • Checkmate (1 on 787, 2 on 777, and 2 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

Will the other person know it’s me who made the call?
Our cornerstones are: confidentiality, neutrality and transparency. We make every effort to protect the identity of the reporting party and, in most cases, anonymity is preserved. In a direct conflict between two parties there is little need for remaining anonymous. In a case involving observed behavior, maintaining anonymity is easier.

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 April 22 at MIA followed by May 27 at HNL. Click here for more information.