APA News Digest

March 15, 2024

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In This Edition ...

We Want to Hear From You

The following is excerpted from today’s Joint Leadership message.

As we continue to experience life under our first new collectively bargained agreement in more than two decades, we are focused on improving our communications and engagement with the APA membership as we move toward Contract 2027. At the direction of the Board of Directors, our Strategic Planning and Communications committees have put together a plan to enhance transparency and be more responsive to the issues and concerns affecting our membership. We are committed to delivering on our plan to make APA more transparent and responsive and to continue providing our members with the level of representation and services you deserve.

During the next several weeks, we will detail what this new approach means for APA and its members. That starts with us having face-to-face interactions and hearing directly from you. Next week, Board members and National Communications Network volunteers will be in airports nationwide to listen to YOU. We want to hear directly from as many pilots as we can. Ask questions, vent your frustrations, or just let us know what’s on your mind. Help us better understand what we are doing well and what we can do better.

Click here to review next week’s Concourse Conversations schedule.

Presidential Grievance Filed Over Payments to Retirees

APA President CA Ed Sicher filed Presidential Grievance 24-071 on March 14. This grievance protests American’s violation of Letter of Agreement 23-001 (One-Time Supplemental Payment), which is attached to the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement. American has failed and refused to pay the One-Time Supplemental Payment as described in LOA 23-001 to those pilots who voluntarily opted to retire pursuant to LOA 20-007 (VOR) and LOA 21-001 (VORR2).

Paragraph 6 of LOA 23-001 provides that “An eligible Pilot who has separated their employment from American Airlines (i.e., removed from the Pilot System Seniority List), regardless of reason, will receive the Supplemental One-Time Payment for any Eligible Earnings received during the Relevant Period.” Despite the clear language of LOA-23-001, American refuses to make the Supplemental One-Time Payment to those pilots who retired pursuant to VOR and VORR2 even when they meet all the conditions described to be eligible.

The grievance seeks the following relief:

  • An order directing American to immediately cease and desist refusing to pay the One-Time Supplemental Payment (per LOA 23-001) to those pilots who retired via LOA 20-007 (VOR) or LOA 21-001 (VORR2).
  • An order directing American to immediately comply and maintain compliance with LOA 23-001, all other related sections of the Agreement, and past practices.
  • An order directing American to pay the One-Time Supplemental Payment (per LOA 23-001) to those pilots who retired via LOA 20-007 (VOR) or LOA 21-001 (VORR2).
  • Any other appropriate relief.

The next step is to schedule the appeal hearing before the Vice President of Flight. We expect to schedule that hearing in late March or early April.

APA will continue using every tool at our dispoal to fight for our members – whether they’re active or retired – to ensure that American complies with all contractual provisions and letters of agreement.

APA President Meets With Key Senators

APA President CA Ed Sicher and Sen. Tammy Duckworth.

APA President CA Ed Sicher was in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with key members of the U.S. Senate. Along with Government Affairs Committee member CA Eric Jeppson and APA spokesman CA Dennis Tajer, CA Sicher met with Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, who chairs the Senate Committee on Science, Commerce, and Transportation. They discussed aviation safety issues of importance to our membership and the traveling public.

A second meeting was with Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who chairs the Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation Subcommittee. They were joined by Government Affairs Committee member CA Tim Knutson for a discussion about progress on the FAA reauthorization bill and related topics.

“It Feels Like the Enemy is Within”

Alaska Airlines said Tuesday its 2024 capacity estimates are "in flux" due to federal scrutiny of Boeing. United Airlines said it asked Boeing to stop building planes not yet certified by the FAA. Southwest Airlines said it cut its capacity forecast, citing fewer Boeing deliveries than expected.

With the plane manufacturer’s numerous issues affecting the rest of the industry, CNBC’s Last Call contacted APA spokesman CA Dennis Tajer for a second interview in as many weeks.

“Boeing airplanes saved my tail many times in combat. The enemy was outside the airplane,” CA Tajer said Tuesday. “Now it feels like the enemy is within.”

Last Saturday, the body of Boeing whistleblower John Barnett was found in a vehicle parked outside a Holiday Inn in Charleston, S.C. Mr. Barnett, who had retired to Louisiana, was in South Carolina last week to testify in a deposition related to problems he identified at Boeing’s plant there. A coroner said he died from “what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” but police are investigating.

His death prompted News Nation to book CA Tajer for an interview.

“Every day is a new disclosure and a new shock to us,” CA Tajer said. “We’ll never cease being shocked, but we’ll also never cease to fight to protect our passengers.”

Quick Reference Hotels Document Has Been Updated

This is a new message from the APA Hotel Committee.

Version 2.0 of the QRH – Quick Reference Hotels document is live. This resource answers 99 percent of all hotel, transportation, and layover questions while providing helpful solutions. You can find the QRH link at the top of each Hotel Webpage on AlliedPilots.org and within the Hotels section of the APA Pilot app.

Suggestion: Download this QRH document to your AA iPad for easy access in the future.

Please send any QRH feedback or questions to hotel.chair@alliedpilots.org.

Reciprocal Agreement Reached with Porter Airlines

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

Porter: American Airlines has reached a reciprocal jumpseat agreement with Porter Airlines, which flies to BOS, EWR, IAD, LAX, MDW, and MIA, plus other airports in the U.S. and Canada. Book a jumpseat via this page on the Porter website. For more details, see the Reciprocal Jumpseat Agreements list on our committee’s webpage.

JetBlue: We have been advised that JetBlue management has had issues with accommodating jumpseaters on weight-restricted flights. If you encounter an issue, please file a Jumpseat Debrief.

Make Plans to Join Us at Sun ’n Fun

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

CA Tim Dick, FO Natalie Anagnostou, FO Tim Jackson, CA Jerry Gemma, and FO Melissa Monahan

The Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo, the biggest and best airshow in the southeastern United States, is coming up in April. We plan to serve two lunches and two dinners in our air-conditioned flightline chalet with private restrooms. Please bring your family!

The code for discounted tickets is APA995.

Besides the food and fellowship, there will be significant information passed along. You can expect to break bread with APA’s elected officials as well as volunteers from national committees.

As you make plans to join us in Lakeland, Fla., please RSVP for each meal separately so we can be sure to order enough food.

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 Feb. 21, A321 aircraft 170 has been written up nine times for right engine bleed air. It has been on MEL and out of service four times. It was most recently signed off on March 9.
  • Since March 3, the flight management computer/inertial reference system on B737 aircraft 3FB has been written up 14 times for items such as “it doesn’t allow a pilot to enter aircraft position” or “it fails inflight.” Also, erroneous alert messages occur in the scratch pad, and speeds disappear during takeoff. It was most recently signed off on March 12 and is restricted to Class 1 or 2 maintenance stations.

APA Welcomes Captains’ Leadership Class

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

Click the image for a closer look.

On March 13, 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: Stephen Adams, Akil Andrade, David Athay, David Bakony, Howard Bohl Jr., Johannes Bruce, Natalie Butler, Jaime Esteban, Neal Geeting, Paulo Goncalves, Zachary Green, Thomas Hanrahan, Matthew Hauke, Rohaan Khullar, Maggie Linn, Braden McCormack, Justin McKay, Mario Patterson III, Nicholas Petro, Richard Pond Jr., Christopher Prout, Paulo Ramos da Silva Filho, Stephen Riggs Jr., Eric Robbins, Jeffrey Rubens, Holden Saunders, Joshua Smith, Cameron Springstun, Stephen Stark, Adrian Tutein, and Connor Walker.

Domicile Elections

Electronic balloting for the DCA and DFW domicile elections opened at 0000 Central on March 13. Pilots from those bases can vote for the following candidates through 1200 Central on April 2:

DCA Chair
FO Brandon Lightly
CA Chris Wachter

DCA Vice Chair
CA Timothy Doreen Jr.
FO Thomas Lawler

DFW Chair
CA Steven Pacheco
CA Jon Sherrell
CA Brian Smith

DFW Vice Chair
CA Drew Coleman
FO Julio Gomez
FO Jason Gustin

For more details, visit the APA Elections webpage or review APA Secretary-Treasurer FO Pat Clark’s March 4 message: DCA and DFW Elections Electronic Balloting Update.

Domicile Events

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

  • DCA: Retirement Party on June 29
  • DFW: Pilots For Kids Golf Tournament on May 20; Texas Rangers game on Aug. 6
  • LAX: Family Awareness lunch at MYF on April 9; Family Awareness lunch in Thousand Oaks on April 10; Family Awareness event at Camas Airport on April 23; Family Awareness event at Boeing Museum of Flight on April 24; Family Awareness event at Rowland Freedom Center on April 25; Retirement Party on April 27
  • LGA: New York Mets game on Sept. 2
  • MIA: Domicile Meeting on March 18; MSY Crawfish Boil on April 6
  • ORD: Retirement Party on May 4

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 (2)
    • Disabled Pilot Awareness Subcommittee (3)
    • Human Intervention Motivation Study Subcommittee (1)
    • Pilot Occupational Health Subcommittee (2)
    • Project Wingman Subcommittee (3)
  • Captain’s Authority Committee (2)
  • Communications Committee (0)
    • National Communications Network (7)
  • Flight Time/Duty Time Committee (1)
  • Grey Eagles Liaison Committee (1)
  • Jumpseat/Non-Rev Committee (1)
  • Scheduling Committee (5)
  • 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

When I make a call, am I “turning someone in” to Professional Standards?
No! When you call Professional Standards, you are utilizing fellow pilots, who are trained in handling peer-to-peer conflict, to resolve an issue that you are not comfortable resolving yourself. One of the first questions a volunteer will ask you is: “Have you tried to resolve this issue yourself?“ While resolving the issue between the two parties is truly resolution at the lowest possible level, many people are not comfortable with this scenario and utilize Professional Standards.

To read all of the FAQs, click here.

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

Retirement Seminar Scheduled for April 3

American Airlines and APA will host a retirement information session from 1000 to 1200 Central on April 3 via Microsoft Teams. Future retirees are encouraged to attend. To ensure you get the most out of this seminar, click here to submit your questions in advance.

How to log into the Microsoft Teams meeting:

  1. Click here from any device with Wi-Fi or cellular service.
  2. Enter the meeting ID: 283 423 147 987
  3. Enter the meeting passcode: hnkJKH
  4. Click “Join a meeting.”

Please note the speakers will be sharing their screens, so the recommendation is to use a device where you can view the presentations.

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 April 26 at ATL. 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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