APA News Digest

Jan. 26, 2024

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In This Edition ...

The Line Forums to Return at 1100 Central on Monday

This week, the APA Board of Directors approved a motion to restore “The Line” discussion forums. The APA IT Department is in the process of restoring the forums, with a targeted completion of 1100 Central on Monday, Jan. 29. As a reminder, the Board suspended The Line last fall so changes to the Constitution and Bylaws could take effect following the required 100-day abeyance period. In addition to changes to the C&B via R2023-47, modifications were made to the Policy Manual and Acceptable Use Policy via R2023-48 that address reported posts, forum moderation, and member suspension. Members should read the new Acceptable Use Policy.

B737 Pilots, Beware – FAA AD on MAX Engine Anti-Ice Limitation

Recent media coverage has highlighted reaction to an FAA Airworthiness Directive (AD) that addresses a design flaw on the B737 MAX 8’s engine anti-ice system. Management has sent a CCI message regarding the new limitation, but you may find the FAA AD narrative helpful as you process and comply with the FAA-directed limitation.

Here are a couple of excerpts from FAA AD 2023-15-05:

  • “This AD was prompted by a report indicating that use of engine anti- ice (EAI) in dry air for more than five minutes during certain environmental and operational conditions can cause overheating of the engine inlet inner barrel beyond the material design limit, resulting in failure of the engine inlet inner barrel and severe engine inlet cowl damage.”
  • “This condition as previously described, if not addressed, could result in departure of the inlet and potential fan cowl failure and departure from the airplane. The departure of the inlet may cause fuselage and/or window damage, potentially resulting in decompression and hazard to window-seated passengers aft of the wing and/or impact damage to the wing, flight control surfaces, and/or empennage, which could result in loss of control of the airplane. Inlet loss also causes significantly increased aerodynamic drag and asymmetric lift due to wing blanking, which risks fuel exhaustion on certain flights, resulting in a forced off-airport landing and injury to passengers.”

The Seattle Times has been investigating the situation. While these articles’ headlines focus on Boeing’s certification exemption request for the MAX 7, the engine anti-ice design flaw and FAA AD direction apply to all B737 MAX aircraft.

“FAA Has Just Got to Stop This Madness”

This has been a bad month for Boeing. In addition to the problems with the MAX 8’s engine anti-ice system, the company has received plenty of negative attention for a variety of other issues, most notably the door plug that fell off an Alaska Airlines Max 9 during a revenue flight. Two television networks turned to APA spokesman CA Dennis Tajer this week for his perspective on Boeing’s troubles.

“Boeing is failing right now to produce a reliable and most importantly safe product on a consistent basis,” he told News Nation. “This airplane, the MAX, is built on executive excuses and exemptions from rules that other airplanes have to have to fly safe. And the FAA has just got to stop this madness.”

During an appearance on Fox Business, CA Tajer said, “They’ve got to get their act together. Stop acting like a company that builds airplanes and be one.”

CA Tajer used these television appearances as opportunities to drive home APA’s point that single-pilot operations will not fly in commercial aviation.

“We’re currently flying with an aircraft that’s depending on the memory of two pilots that don’t have to remember this on any airplane to keep us from having such horrific things possibly happen,” he told News Nation.

“Two experienced and trained pilots can make the difference between life and death, and they did on that Alaska flight,” CA Tajer told Fox Business, “so we’ve got to make sure that the federal government doesn’t mess with that minimum level as well.”

Mentors Get Rave Reviews From New Hires

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

The Communications Committee recently highlighted the importance of being a Compass Project mentor for new hire pilots. These volunteers dedicate their valuable time to help new pilots navigate life at American Airlines for the better part of their first year. The Compass Project sends out a survey to these new hire pilots for them to share their experiences with our mentors, documents, and guides. The overwhelmingly positive feedback we receive almost weekly affirms the impact mentors have on our new hire pilots. Words like “supportive,” “attentive,” “knowledgeable,” “proactive,” and “outstanding” are often used to describe our mentors and the program. Here are three examples of feedback we received in 2023:

  • “Sponsor was absolutely critical to my transition to AA. I have no idea how I would have figured out how everything works on the line without him, very grateful. Always took the time to explain things to me and told me all the important things I need to know that aren't taught in training. Thank you!”
  • “Frank is an excellent mentor and was there for me when I had a question or just to talk about my transition from cargo to passenger airline flying! I am deeply appreciative of his guidance and mentoring! Knowing I have someone to turn to when I have a question makes a world of difference. Thank you!”
  • “Outstanding program sets up the foundation for you to become a successful American Airlines pilot.”

The Compass Project would not be what it is today if it weren’t for all the volunteers who dedicate their time to share experiences, knowledge, and guidance. Mentors have had such a positive impact that they have inspired new hire pilots to become sponsors themselves. If you would like to be part of this rewarding and fulfilling program, please visit the Compass Project webpage or click here to sign up. We are always looking for volunteers to be part of this special program.

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.

You Have Questions; We Have Answers

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

Over the last two weeks, Compass Project Committee volunteers have seen an increase in questions from our pilot group regarding certain DECS entries, especially how to move, drop or delete Duty Free Periods (DFPs). Fortunately, we can refer to our robust library of documents to find the answers we are looking for.

Searching for material on AlliedPilots.org is easy. The How to Search guide explains, with examples, how to search by content or by a document’s name. The Trip Trading guide contains everything you need to know about the Trip Trading System, Pilot to Pilot trades, and a link with instructions on how to move, drop, or delete DFPs. Tools and Ballots is a brief description, with links to more information, of some of the many tools available to pilots to enhance their monthly schedules, post and drop trips, open time, Reserve Preference Ballots (RPB), and others. If you want to be notified of trips that pop into open time, read the Set Up Notification Alerts guide. It will give you step-by-step instructions on how to set up open time notifications that will be delivered to the APA Pilot app on your mobile device. The APA Pilot app itself has an FAQ section with more details on how to manage notifications. Finally, the Decoding Guide contains most, if not all, FOS codes, acronyms, and abbreviations used at American Airlines. This is a very useful tool when trying to figure out what a code means in your schedule or HI10.

There will be another great tool available next month. As championed by the Compass Project Committee, Papyrus will allow pilots a customized APA document storage platform, supporting search, offline viewing, and hands-free synchronization to ensure you always have the most up-to-date documents. To learn more about the latest developments and upgrades to the new APA Pilot app, read the latest message from the APA Information Technology Steering Committee.

If you would like to learn more about the different resources available to you, visit the Compass Project webpage. Please contact our volunteers via email compassproject@alliedpilots.org, or call 817-302-2401 with any questions you may have.

How to Look Up an Open Time Hotel Assignment

This is a new message from the APA Hotel Committee.

Have you ever thought about picking up a trip in open time but wanted to confirm the hotel assignment first? This is easy to do in the new mobileCCI app.

Open mobileCCI and click on the “Search” function at the bottom right corner (1). Select the “Input Required” command (2). Select “CREW HOTEL LIMO INFO” (3). You will be prompted for the flight number, date, departure station, and arrival station of the layover you are looking up. Once you input this information, click “View” at the top right corner to display the Crew Hotel Limo information (4).

Data Collection Opportunity for DEL AMOC Pairings

This is a new message from the APA Flight Time/Duty Time Committee.

Your Flight Time/Duty Time Committee would like to remind you of the data collection opportunity associated with the Delhi AMOC. Volunteer pilots will be asked to wear a watch that records arm movement to calculate sleep quantity and quality, as well as to complete a series of sleep logs and reaction time/workload tests. The study covers two days pre-trip, the footprint of the DEL FRMS AMOC pairing, and two more days post-trip. Data collection will be compensated at $50 per day.

If you are planning to fly the JFK-DEL-JFK pairing and are interested in participating in this study, please contact FRMS@aa.com for further guidance. Data collection is critical to the ongoing validation process for this AMOC, and we encourage participation from interested members of our pilot group.

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 weeks, B737 aircraft 3NN has been written up seven times for cabin pressurization and has failed three functional check flights. At the time of this writing, it remained out of service.
  • Since Nov. 29, the right source light on B737 aircraft 3SY has been written up nine times and been out of service four times. It was most recently signed off on Jan. 25.

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 Jan. 23: Robert Ayala, Wolfgang Baer, Georges Barnes, Jonathan Benne, Roy Beville Jr., Justin Brown, Colby Crowther, Sergio Diaz Medina, Ryan Durgarian, Eric Joeben Estandarte, Phillip Ford, Jack Fredricks, Daniel Fredrickson, Jakob Fritz, Kelli Gallagher, Eric Geertz, Jason Harding, Richard Hom, DeVonne Johnson, Alex Judd, Asem Khlaifat, Matthew Lynch, Steven McGill, Patrick Melton, Samuel Mezzell, David Nicol, Jason Peters, David Plavan, Barry Plemmons, Matthew Plicque, Robert Podolinski, Ryan Prestera, Benjamin Price, Collin Pyle, Christopher Reid, Michael Salviano, Peter Sheppard, Jordan Sturm, Robert Tobin Jr., and Christopher Willenborg.

APA Welcomes Captains’ Leadership Class

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

Click the image for a closer look.

On Jan. 24, 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: Rosemary Albrecht, Thomas Albright, Chad Anthony, Michael Barsema, Sean Bruce-Rennick, Kenneth Compher, Jeffrey Dempsey, Nathan Denman, Robert Dobbins III, Adam Flowers, Todd Hetrick, Michael Holdcroft, Daniel Ipson, Franchesca Kiel, Edmund Knetig, Jason Krueger, Steven Lanzer, Chase Manson, Brian Marshall, Gordon Moss, Isai Ortiz Rosario, John Poole, Jonathan Rios, Ryan Ross, Neil St Hill, Alexander Teta, Brett Thomas, Chad Voiland, and David Wiggins.

Retirements in November and December

This message from the APA Membership Committee has been updated to include pilots who retired on disability.

We would like to recognize and congratulate these pilots who retired in November and December.

BOS: CA Mark Beatty and CA Forrest Bornkessel

CLT: CA Cynthia Abbott, CA John Anderson, FO James Augspurger, CA Campbell Barnett, CA Charles Boswell III, CA Jeffrey Cairns, CA Jeffrey Charlton, FO Alan Corey, CA Glen Dominy, CA William Dye, CA John Gowdy, CA Timothy Hartney, CA Steven Heinz, CA Christopher James, CA Brian Johnson, CA Arlington Johnson III, CA Randy Keever, CA Garry Kessler, FO John Kinneer, CA David Kratzer, FO Kelvin Peterson, CA Kenneth Potts, CA Jeffery Rausch, CA Mark Schoonover, CA James Tatum, CA Troy Wheeler, and CA Kevin Young

DCA: CA Robert Cameron, FO Peter Lewis, CA Bryan Pullen, and CA Rand Wickham

DFW: CA Daniel Alexander, CA Christopher Allen, CA Timothy Barrett, CA Richard Bennett, CA Dwight Bouck, CA Mike Brown, CA Kerry Burklow, FO Randall Campbell, CA Anthony Chapman, FO Mark Chapman, CA Dale Churchill, FO Scott Corns, CA David Davis, CA Brad Dusenbery, CA Martin Engelsen, CA Robert Etter, CA Howell Finch, CA Jeff Fisher, FO William Hopmeier, FO J.J. Jackson, CA Douglas Jacobs, CA Gary Kaup, FO Kimberley Lowe, FO Russell Mading, CA Christopher Mortensen, CA Glenton Murdock, CA Richard Nelson, CA Brian Olson, CA David Perfetti, CA James Rabun, FO Jonathon Reibach, FO Douglas Robertson, FO Raiford Rustin, FO Ernest Seiffert, CA Guy Shellhouse, FO Charles Smith, CA David Strickland, CA Bruce Walls, CA Thomas Westbrook, CA Philip White, and CA Kenneth Wood

LAX: CA Marc Bingham, FO William Boyd, CA John Bruhn, CA Michael Chase, CA Bernard Clerx, CA Keith Daill, FO James David, CA Kevin Hart, CA William Kaufer, CA Craig Kronfeld, CA Hugh Malone, CA John Morgan, FO Christopher Nordeen, CA Henry Putek, CA Robert Ray, CA David Stromswold, FO Richard Van Tassell, and FO Twain West

LGA: CA Larry Arken, CA David Ciabattoni, CA Larry Coleman, CA Michael Danley, CA Ronald Emerson, CA Walter Gershoff, CA Gregg LaPoint, CA James Myers, CA Kevin Reeves, CA Thomas Smith, and CA Brian Tighe

MIA: CA Frank Aichelmann, CA Bjorn Andreassen, CA Donald Bishop, CA Douglas Causey, CA John Dahl, CA Tim Demetris, FO Swen Ekstrom, CA Paul Hutchinson, CA Jok Jevizian, FO John Martell, CA Antonio Ochagavia, CA Gary Ogle, CA Anthony Palhete, CA Jon Patrick, CA William Reed, CA Orestes Reina, FO Jeffrey Sturmthal, CA Richard Thiele, CA Tug Tura, and CA Ed Walker

ORD: FO Thomas Calcagno, CA Paul Carrubba, CA Andrew Caudill, CA Kenneth Compere, FO Maria Eberle, CA Timothy Eilts, CA Joseph Garinger, CA Linda Kuhn, CA Steven Petersen, CA John Reed, and CA Maralyn Wilchynski

PHL: CA Jeffrey Brough, CA Richard Burrus, CA Charles Fern, CA James Harrison, CA Terence Nyquist, CA David Ray, FO Michael Rhea, CA Jeffrey Ryan, FO Richard Scherer, FO Rinaldo Vivarelli, and CA Jeffrey Yanus

PHX: CA William Brumitt, CA Paul Esterly, FO Timothy Hubbell, CA Patrick Lang, CA Paula McKinnon, CA Christopher McMillin, CA Donald Pelava, CA Mark Schulte, CA Nancy Wendel, CA John Wood, and FO Richard Woodward

Save the LAX Employee Cafeteria

The following is excerpted from a recent message from the LAX Domicile Officers.

Six months ago, we learned American Airlines does not intend to offer a space in the new expanded terminal for the employee cafeteria. This has been a staple of LAX for decades, not just for our crews, but crews around the system, agents, mechanics, ramp employees, TSA, Customs, LAX Police, and other airport employees. We were told by the company this decision was made in 2018 by AA Corporate Real Estate.

We made a flyer with a QR code to email those in charge at LAX and corporate real estate. Front-line employees sent hundreds of emails. Meanwhile, construction on Terminal 4 continues, and the last we’ve heard from management is the cafeteria is set to close in January 2025.

If you’ve enjoyed the friendly staff, fresh sandwiches and wraps, salads, breakfast, and their other daily specials at a good price over the decades, and would like it to remain in the new expanded terminal, voice your opinion. Even if you haven’t had the opportunity to enjoy the food, the staff, or the convenience of the cafeteria, we still need you to let management know this ill-advised decision that affects so many of our LAX employees should be reversed. Click here to email those at AA who can right this bad decision. Let them know what this means for you and our front-line coworkers.

Your email will go to:

  • Robert Isom, Chief Executive Officer
  • Brady Byrnes, Senior Vice President, Inflight and Premium Guest Services
  • CA Russell Moore, Vice President, Flight-Line Operations
  • Katherine Goudreau, Managing Director, Corporate Real Estate Facilities
  • Radney Robertson, Managing Director, LAX Operations
  • Andrew Masiello, LAX Senior Base Manager
  • LAX Chief Pilots
  • LAX Domicile Officers

Domicile Events

Nearly 400 pilots and guests enjoyed an evening at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo on Wednesday. See more photos on our Facebook page.

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

  • DCA: Contract Compliance training on Feb. 1; IMAX training on Feb. 2
  • LAX: Domicile Meeting at SoFi Stadium on Feb. 7

CLT Domicile Election

Election Round ballots listing the following pilots in alphabetical order were mailed to all CLT members on Jan. 9:

CLT Domicile Chair
FO Russ Blackwell
FO Erik Knauff
CA Dan Scola

They will be tallied on Jan. 31. The winner will serve as Interim CLT Domicile Chair through Oct. 31.

If you have any questions, contact the APA Elections Department via 817-302-2175 or elections@alliedpilots.org.

Week in Review

Here are several 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 (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)
  • Grey Eagles Liaison Committee (1)
  • Jumpseat/Non-Rev Committee (1)
  • Retirement & Benefits Committee (2)
  • Scheduling Committee (5)
  • 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

What is the process for handling issues that occur repeatedly?
As human beings, it is expected that behavior changes slowly and, as such, some pilots will always behave as their personality dictates. The Professional Standards process should not be expected to “change” a personality, but more thought of as an opportunity to share how a certain behavior affects peers and colleagues. There will also be the possibility of an employee exhibiting the same behavior because they have yet to be informed there is a different expectation. If an issue has been referred to a committee member, and an employee exhibits the same issue, please be patient and give the committee the opportunity to re-address the issue. As a submitter, if you are concerned, you have the option of updating the committee volunteer on observed progress. If at any time you are concerned with the time needed to process any submission, contact any national deputy or your elected Domicile Officer for resolution.

To read all of the FAQs, click here.

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

FAA Seeks 737 Pilots for Study in OKC

The FAA is looking for 16 Boeing 737 captains with greater than 100 hours of HUD time and 30-day HUD currency to participate in a study of head-worn equipment. Pilots must be current and qualified in the B-737.

Dates are Feb. 8, 12-15, and 20-22. Location is Oklahoma City. Duty day is eight hours starting at 0730. Captains from the same airline will be paired as a crew.

Compensation is $1,000 plus hotel reimbursement of $110 per night, daily per diem of $48, and mileage reimbursement between 25 and 250 miles.

Interested pilots should send an email to btaeronautical@gmail.com.

FlightSafety Seeks New Instructors

FlightSafety International is seeking experienced pilots to work as flight instructors at its Dallas North Learning Center at DFW. A hiring event has been scheduled from 1100 to 1700 Central on Feb. 1. Click here to register.

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 Feb. 9 at DAL followed by March 15 at SAN. 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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