APA News Digest

Sept. 22, 2023

Editor’s note: Some links in this message will work best if you log in to AlliedPilots.org before clicking them.

In This Edition ...

• A Commitment to Continuous Improvement
• Did You Miss This Week’s National Town Hall Meeting?
• Training Committee: OE Planned Hours Update
• Legal Department: Presidential Grievance Regarding DEB Training Resolved
• Legal Department: Updates on Other Grievances
• Contract Compliance Committee: Get Educated About Our New Contract
• Contract Compliance Committee: Overrides for Flying to Hawaii
• Government Affairs Committee: Do You Back the PAC?
• Maintenance and Technical Analysis Committee: Pigs of the Week
• Membership Committee: APA Welcomes New Pilots
• Membership Committee: APA Welcomes Captains’ Leadership Class
• Domicile Events
• Domicile Elections
• Are You Willing to Serve?
• Professional Standards FAQ
• If You’re 50, Join The Grey Eagles
• Pilot Job Fairs and Future Pilot Seminars

A Commitment to Continuous Improvement

This is a new message from APA President CA Ed Sicher.

Did You Miss This Week’s National Town Hall Meeting?

If you missed this week’s National Town Hall Meeting, you have options to watch or listen to it. There is a video recording here, and the audio is also available as a podcast here.

That second link also includes the latest episode of our “Positive Rate” podcast, which features APA President CA Ed Sicher and Communications Committee Deputy Chair FO Tami McBride reviewing key contractual areas in which APA achieved gains in our newly ratified agreement, along with APA’s integral role in the pattern bargaining that has benefited multiple pilot groups in recent months. CA Sicher and FO McBride also address the union’s plans to highlight the many ways in which APA serves its membership in upcoming editions of “Positive Rate” and other updates. Our goal is to ensure you are familiar with the full range of services and support that APA has to offer.

One aspect of that support is the work of the Military Affairs Subcommittee, who hosted their own town hall meeting this week for military pilots. You can review a recording of that meeting here.

OE Planned Hours Update

This is a new message from the APA Training Committee.

Last week, the APA Training Committee and the ASAP Event Review Committee received an interpretation from the FAA Policy Division in response to our request for guidance on American Airlines’ changes to the AQP regarding “planned” OE hours.

It has been clarified that initial/upgrade captains and first officers must be properly “planned” with flights that add up to 25 hours of operating experience. If planned legs or sequences are removed or cancelled, they must be added back to reach at least 25 hours. As long as these planned flights are completed, the CKP confirms you have covered the required items, and you have passed a line check, your training is complete and you are legal for line operations. The only permissible reductions in flight time can be from under-fly events such as tail winds, shorter than planned taxi, ATC shortcuts, etc. A reduction in flight time cannot take place because flights have been removed. 

Given the challenging environment the industry is in today, we are disappointed that the long-standing practice of providing a “minimum” of 25 hours of flight time has been altered. Moving forward, your APA Training Committee asks the pilot group to remain diligent in monitoring your OE progress. This ensures your training will remain compliant with the FAA’s interpretation of American Airlines’ AQP regarding planned OE hours. 

The Training Committee would like to thank all pilots who submitted ASAPs regarding their operating experience flights being fewer than 25 hours. Your participation contributed greatly to ensuing discussions between APA, AA, and the FAA that were instrumental to the resulting clarification we received.

Presidential Grievance Regarding DEB Training Resolved

This is a new message from the APA Legal Department.

Presidential Grievance 20-014 protested the manner in which the Company scheduled, credited, and compensated pilots for Disrupting Everyday Bias (DEB) Training. The Company had directed all pilots to attend mandatory DEB Training as part of Continuing Qualification Training (CQT). One argument APA made was that the Company should not have folded DEB Training into CQT, as it was not part of the FAA-approved CQT.

The arbitration hearing was held in March 2021 before a five-member System Board of Adjustment. Soon after, APA made a motion to reopen the record to consider newly available evidence and arguments. The arbitrator granted APA’s motion, and additional evidence was submitted in September 2022.

Recently, the System Board found that the Company did not violate the JCBA by scheduling DEB Training on the same day as CQT, but that the Company did violate the JCBA by failing to apply the bargained minimum compensation rate of 5:15 to pilots undergoing DEB Training outside the confines of the CQT schedule. The System Board found that the appropriate remedy is the difference between the four-hour pay already received and the 5:15 minimum calendar rate. Accordingly, each pilot who took the DEB class will receive an additional one hour and 15 minutes of pay. APA Legal is in the process of confirming AA properly compensated all the affected pilots. Most importantly, the Company is now complying and submitting this type of training to the FAA for approval for inclusion in its CQT.

The additional compensation to our pilots is satisfying, but more importantly it shows APA’s dedication to our pilot group and our contract. APA’s willingness to object, litigate, and reopen a record to point out AA’s post-arbitration actions leveraged the Company into compliance. If you have any questions, please email klazenby@alliedpilot.org or call 817-302-2170.

Updates on Other Grievances

This is a new message from the APA Legal Department.

Resolution of open grievances between APA and AA continues, and this week the parties completed one of several scheduled dockets. During this week’s mediation, six individual grievances and one presidential grievance (20-130) were resolved in favor of APA, one grievance (MIA Domicile Grievance 21-001) was withdrawn by APA, and two other presidential grievances (PG 21-040 and PG 22-055) were discussed but not resolved. APA and AA will continue to discuss 22-055 at the next scheduled docket, and APA is proffering arbitration dates for 21-040. If you have any questions, please email ccalvin@alliedpilots.org or call 817-302-2170.

Get Educated About Our New Contract

This is a new message from the APA Contract Compliance Committee.

Everything you wanted to know about your Collective Bargaining Agreement but were afraid to ask!

Join us at 0900 Central on Oct. 25 – in person or via Zoom – for a full day of training on the new CBA.

For those in DFW, we are offering an in-person option at APA headquarters that will include a light breakfast and lunch. Click here to register for the in-person training course.

Pilots in other cities can participate in the same course via Zoom. Click here to register for the Zoom training course.

Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the Electronic Document Index before attending training. You must be logged in to AlliedPilots.org for the links to be accessible. This index connects you to a vast array of APA documents that we will reference. It is equally useful in the daily operation as a line pilot, so we recommend you bookmark the index for future reference. During training, it may be helpful to have two screens – one to run Zoom, and one to reference these documents.

A Zoom account (it’s free!) is required to remotely attend the training course. For those who are not familiar with Zoom, APA IT has created a Zoom Quick Reference Guide.

Help us help you! The Contract Compliance Committee’s goal is for you – the membership – to be informed, educated, and knowledgeable. Every single pilot should strive to be a contract expert or, at the very least, strive for continued learning and engagement. Knowledge is power, and it will assist you in employing and being a watchdog of your negotiated work rules. 

One more thing: Our Sequence Protection Flow Charts have been updated to reflect the implemented provisions of the new Section 4.C.

Overrides for Flying to Hawaii

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

Q: In addition to the Narrowbody Pay Band rate, what overrides apply to a pilot flying a 321NEO to Hawaii?

A: The pilot will also be paid the Long-Range Narrowbody Override, the Narrowbody Long Haul Override, and the International Override.

Section 3.C.1.b – The Long-Range Narrowbody Pay Band will be paid as an override and paid only on block hours actually flown. The override amount will equal the difference in the 12th year rate of pay for the Narrowbody Pay Band and the 12th year rate of pay for the Long-Range Narrowbody Pay Band.

Section 3.D.1 – International Override:

1. A pilot who holds a Captain assignment shall receive international override pay at the rate of seven dollars ($7.00) per hour for each hour of International flying actually performed.
2. A pilot who holds a First Officer assignment shall receive international override pay at the rate of five dollars ($5.00) per hour for each hour of International flying actually performed.
3. Except as provided elsewhere in this Agreement, International override shall not apply to the contiguous forty-eight (48) states.
4. Narrowbody Long Haul Override: A pilot shall receive a narrowbody long haul override of eight dollars ($8.00) per hour for Captains and six dollars ($6.00) per hour for First Officers for all narrowbody flying to Europe, South America (south of the equator), and Hawaii actually performed.

Do You Back the PAC?

This is an updated message from the APA Government Affairs Committee.

Members of Congress have offered amendments to the FAA reauthorization bills that would raise the mandatory retirement age for pilots and lower the number of flight hours needed to obtain an Airline Transport Pilot transport certificate. Your Government Affairs Committee is working hard to convince lawmakers that these measures are unnecessary, unwise, and dangerous. Several of our other legislative priorities can be found here.

We are able to have direct access to members of Congress thanks to your voluntary contributions to the APA Poltical Action Committee. Last month, 5,652 pilots contributed to the APA PAC. That number represented 36.6 percent of APA’s active members. Click the image below for a closer look at each domicile’s PAC contribution rates in June, July, and August.

Our Political Action Committee would be extremely well-funded if every APA member contributed as if his or her career depended on it – because it does.

Click here to back the PAC.

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.

• In the last two months, the left engine FADEC on A321 aircraft 858 has been written up nine times and has been out of service four times. At the time of this writing, it remained out of service.
• In the last two months, the flight deck door on A319 aircraft 753 has been written up 21 times and has been out of service six times. It was most recently signed off on Sept. 20.

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 Sept. 19: Rabah Aburub, Austin Anderson, James Blackmon, Michael Bruns, Jill Cagle, Ryan Campbell, Casey Cannon, David Carlo, Adam Cramer, Ashley Cwiakala, Davis Dugger, Bradford Fishlock, Andrew Glowa, John Gonzales III, Gerardo Gorria, David Hall, Damian Harasiuk, Wiley Harris, Sean Henry, Jessica Hershner, Nicholas Holland, Matthew Holmes, Samuel Janasov, Riley Kennedy, Garrett Laging, Robert Lahr, Dustin Larson, Blake Leymeister, Kai Lopez, Tine Martinelli, David McLaughlin, Christopher Metz, Patrick Mooney, Evan Mulholland, Douglas Palagi, Ryan Paul, Jacob Pavelka, Meredith Randazzo, Ryan Richards, Shawn Rodgers, Patrick Roks, Bradley Ruttman, Jon Sablan, Henoke Sahlu, Jonathan Schiler, Charles Springer, Robert Tentler III, Thomas Thigpen, Richard Towers, Justin Turner, Andrew Verriotto, Sean Walsh, Christopher Watson, and Robert Wood.

APA Welcomes Captains’ Leadership Class

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

Click the image for a closer look.

On Sept. 20, 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: Nathan Bandy, Matthew Baroni, Jonathan Butkovic, Eric Butler, Francois Danieau, Casey Dillard, Christopher Hawley, Alexander King, Joel Marquez, John Miller, Eric Mitchell, Daniel Oldham, Randall Parsons, Richard Perkins, Charles Scharmann II, Gary Smith, James Wilkerson, Daniel Williams III, Gregory Wintill, and Juan Zelaya.

Domicile Events

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

• CLT: Second Harvest service project on Oct. 2; Domicile Meeting on Oct. 13; Runway 5K on Oct. 21
• DCA: Memorial Golf Tournament on Sept. 28
• DFW: Domicile Meeting on Oct. 3; Telephone Town Hall Meeting on Oct. 17; Contract Compliance training on Oct. 25; Family Awareness event at Chicken N Pickle on Oct. 25; Retirement Party on Nov. 11
• LAX: Fleet Week lunch aboard the San Francisco Belle Sun on Oct. 8; San Diego Yacht Club party on Nov. 2; Dave & Buster’s event at LAS on Dec. 5
• ORD: Telephone Town Hall Meeting on Oct. 17
• PHL: Family Awareness event for PIT commuters on Oct. 5; Domicile Meeting on Oct. 10
• PHX: End of Summer BBQ on Sept. 27; IMAX training via Zoom on Oct. 24

Domicile Elections

Election Round ballots listing the following candidates were mailed on Sept. 7, and they will be tallied on Sept. 28.

PHL Chair
FO Michael Drost
CA Francis Heid

PHL Vice Chair
FO Jordan Glasner
CA Brian Sweep

PHX Chair
CA Herschel Beard IV
CA Michael Saracino

PHX Vice Chair
FO Jeremy Ryder
FO Jim Varden

Candidates’ resumes were mailed to PHL and PHX pilots on Aug. 9, when they were also posted on the APA Elections webpage.

If you have any questions, call 817-302-2175.

Are You Willing to Serve?

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

• Aeromedical Committee (1)
  • Disabled Pilot Awareness Subcommittee (3)
  • Human Intervention Motivation Study Subcommittee (2)
  • Pilot Occupational Health Subcommittee (2)
  • Project Wingman Subcommittee (3)
• Captain’s Authority Committee (2)
• Communications Committee (0)
  • National Communications Network (7)
• Compass Project (5)
• Grey Eagles Liaison Committee (1)
• Hotel Committee (1)
• Jumpseat/Non-Rev Committee (1)
• Retirement & Benefits Committee (2)
• Safety (0)
  • Environmental Sustainability in Aviation (2)
• Scheduling Committee (6)
• Training Committee (3)
  • Checkmate (1 on 777 and 1 on 320)

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

Professional Standards FAQs

Will Professional Standards handle issues with Crew Scheduling/Crew Tracking?
Absolutely! As you should be well aware, every call to Crew Scheduling/Crew Tracking (CS/CT) is recorded from the time you are connected until you hang up – even when you are on hold. While cases with CS/CT are rare, they do occur. There is a protocol for handling issues that arise with our colleagues in CS/CT: Conversations are reviewed jointly by Professional Standards and the CS/CT manager for resolution.

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 Sept. 30 at TPA followed by Oct. 14 at DFW. 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.