APA News Digest

June 14, 2024

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In This Edition ...

National Town Hall Meeting on June 19

APA President CA Ed Sicher will host a national town hall on Wednesday, June 19, beginning at 1600 Central. The meeting agenda will include discussion of the following:

  • The status of The Line forums
  • APA’s strategic plan
  • The state of American Airlines
  • The ALPA card drive

The bulk of the agenda will be dedicated to a question-and-answer session with participating members.

A few minutes before the town hall begins, all members in good standing will receive a call from Telephone Town Hall Meeting, the vendor that assists APA with its town halls. The phone number that will appear in your caller ID is 817-302-2171. We recommend adding this number to your contacts. For members unable to answer the outbound call, we will provide a toll-free call-back number and a web link.

We look forward to updating you and providing answers to your questions.

Membership Referendum Closes on June 19

The APA Board of Directors recently approved R2024-12 Rev 1, “BOD Term Length and Limits,” which calls for modifying the term length and limits for Domicile Officers in Article VI, Section 4 of the APA Constitution and Bylaws. Per Article XIV of the C&B, “Amendments to Election or Recall Procedures for National and Domicile Officers passed by an affirmative vote of a two-thirds majority of the Board of Directors will be subject to approval by the membership by way of a referendum ballot.”

Under the existing provisions, Domicile Officers serve two-year terms, and are permitted a maximum of four terms totaling eight cumulative years. R2024-12 Rev 1 proposes increasing term length to three years to provide greater continuity of representation, while in turn prospectively decreasing term limits to two consecutive terms for a total of six consecutive years (aligned with term limits for National Officers and National Committee Chairs). With the increase in term length, all term cycles would eventually begin in November of the respective election category year to reduce turnover on the Board of Directors.

A YES vote will increase Domicile Officer term length from two to three years effective with the November 2024 elections and reduce term limits prospectively from four to two consecutive terms, with all terms eventually beginning in November of the respective election category year.

A NO vote will maintain the current term lengths, limits, and term start months.

The voting window will close at 1200 Central on June 19. You may access the voting tool via AlliedPilots.org/Vote.

“Let Me Check What You Just Checked”

APA spokesman CA Dennis Tajer talked to Wisconsin Public Radio this week about what turbulence looks like from a pilot’s perspective.

“The aircraft are designed in a way to endure turbulence that is beyond your wildest imagination,” he said. “We’ve got a lot more going for us nowadays with technology, but the most critical piece of technology is that seat belt connected to you. If the airplane can handle it, and you’re attached to the airplane, it’s going to be unnerving, but you’re going to come out of it unharmed and maybe just have a story to tell versus a hospital visit.”

When the host asked him about wear and tear on older planes, CA Tajer seized the opportunity to highlight APA’s concerns about foreign maintenance stations.

“You can’t just fly an airplane for several decades and do a quick check. They do have heavier checks. Those checks are often done offshore,” he said. “It’s another thing we’re fighting for, to bring that back home, do the detailed checks with good oversight – not just delegated review by the Federal Aviation Administration, but the FAA actually being there and saying, ‘Now, let me check what you just checked.’”

APA Medical Minute – Testosterone Replacement Therapy

In the latest edition of the APA Medical Minute, Medical Advisor Christopher Ryan discusses what to keep in mind if you’re considering testosterone replacement therapy.

APA Contract Minute – Expense Reimbursement for Reserves

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

CA Jason Saxer is back with a new edition of the APA Contract Minute. This time around, CA Saxer discusses provisions governing expense reimbursements for reserve pilots.

Watch Your Bags!

This is a new message from the APA Hotel Committee.

Recently, a pilot staying at a hotel in Europe walked several feet away from his bags as he approached the check-in desk. He was at the desk for only a minute or two, but that was enough time for someone to grab his bags and run out of the hotel. He lost his personal belongings, his company iPad, and his passport.

Please maintain positive control of your bags until you are in your hotel room, as this is not the first time this has happened. We also recommend that you do not leave your bags on a shuttle. Another pilot recently put his bag on a shuttle and then went back inside the hotel to grab a coffee. When he returned to the shuttle, the bag was gone.

We hope that you never find yourself in this situation; however, if you do, please file a Hotel Security Debrief so AA can follow up with the hotel or the transportation company. We can ask the hotel to pull the security tapes; however, they are typically not able to identify the person who stole the belongings. Please stay close to your bags, and don’t let your guard down.

For more information, check out the recently updated 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.

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 April 24, A321 aircraft 920 has been written up seven times and been out of service six times for a right engine stall message. It was most recently signed off on June 11.
  • Since April 27, A319 aircraft 752’s left engine FADEC has been written nine up nine times and been on MEL and out of service four times. At the time of this writing, it remained on MEL.

APA Welcomes Captains’ Leadership Class

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

Click the image for a closer look.

On June 12, 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: Craig Augustino, George Bean Jr., Christopher Boylan, Jeffrey Copeland, Richard Goodlett, Edmund Guerrero Jr., Theodore Hasse, Michael Lackovic, James Mackey, Kevin McCunney, Nancy McMath, Beau Nicewanner, James O’Connell, Sean O’Rourke, Paul Rades, Christopher Robb, Erich Roeder, Andrew Taylor, Ian Toogood, Timothy Wadsworth, Joshua Williams, Brandon Witzel, and Joshua Yoder.

Congratulations to Newly Upgraded Captains

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

We would like to recognize and congratulate the following pilots who upgraded to captain in May. They are listed by their post-upgrade base and equipment.

BOS 737: Charles Coppa and Janelle Setta

CLT 737: Robert Banks, Erik Breault, Ciro Capasso, Matthew Costa, Eric Darwin, Richard Goodlett, Samuel Heda, David Hegedus Jr., Brandon McIntire, Jacob Muraski, Nathaniel Terry, and Tim Wadsworth

CLT 320: Rudy Foskuhl and Robert Martin

DCA 737: Nicholas Osburn and Andrea Themely

DFW 777: Alex Durr, Michael Galante, Kim Grummitt, and Arno Knapen

DFW 787: Jennifer Palmer and Robert Stack

DFW 737: Kenneth Bach, Richard Blagg Jr., Jeffrey Copeland, Christopher DeLong, Michael Doyle, Jeffrey Fitzgerald, Colin Hendershot, Denver Hill, Andre Leyakatalie, Michael O’Dea, Kareem Omar, Mircea Pamfil, Casey Ronayne, Adam Shepherd, James Spencer, Shad Vinson, and Elisha Walker IV

DFW 320: Steven Cates, Korry Hamman, Emmanuel Lindsay, Robert Marsh, Joseph McBrearty, Chad Nedved, Christopher Tredemeyer, Miriam Williams, and Brandon Witzel

LAX 737: Jeffrey Caouette, Taylor De Ley, Edmund Guerrero Jr., Brian Horeczko, Vincent Jordan, Antoine Morrison, and Victor Stoeckmann

LGA 737: Zachary Balas, Matthew Creed, Michael Redmon Jr., and Natalia Tiunova

MIA 777: Christine Rupert

MIA 737: Todd Eysenbach, Edward Kelley, Juan Melendez, and Paul Murdock

MIA 320: Thomas Pappas

ORD 737: Keith Allison, Wayne Bushmaker, Stephen Farlow, Geoffrey Haw, Joseph Lanera, Brian Lietzke, Joseph Miklasz, and Kyle Morris

PHL 737: Christopher Humphries

PHX 320: Brett Cavitt

Gone West

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

We extend our deepest sympathies to the loved ones of these pilots, whose deaths we learned of in April and May: Michael Taylor, 68, on Nov. 11; Roger Price, 86, on Dec. 11; Ralph Soderburg, 82, on Jan. 23; Jim Myrick, 100, on Jan. 25; Al Andersen, 90, on Feb. 13; Bob Block, 87, on Feb. 25; Ron Anders, 87, on March 4; Don Fletcher, 88, on March 7; Harvey Vance, 79, on March 8; Vern Brown, 86, on March 15; Dick Walker, 75, on March 21; George Gaughran, 86, on March 27; Albert “Spike” Nunn, 85, on March 28; Steve Stevenson, 92, on March 28; Don Kreppein, 87, on April 1; Steve Bristow, 75, on April 1; Sidney “King” Graham, 86, on April 4; Jim Michaels, 93, on April 6; Jack Mihalo, 91, on April 12; James Frawley, 67, on April 13; Victor O’Bryan, 88, on April 15; Jim Rizor, 90, on April 16; Gary Hagstrom, 79, on April 17; Bill Randle, 87, on April 17; Mark Mata, 67, on April 18; Roger Misgen, 92, on April 19; Bill Piper, 91, on April 19; Roy Johnson, 74, on April 22; Al Robinson, 92, on April 22; Terry Martin, 86, on April 26; Burke Schlott, 83, on April 26; Bob Cook, 79, on May 2; Bob Harris, 87, on May 2; Darrell “DB” Chandler, 85, on May 4; Mike Pifer, 69, on May 8; Tom Boyd, 80, on May 10; Herb Engh, 91, on May 11; and Bob Fullerton, 79, on May 11.

We Remember TWA Flight 847

On June 14, 1985, Hezbollah terrorists hijacked Trans World Airlines Flight 847 after takeoff from Athens, Greece with 139 passengers and eight crewmembers on board.

The ensuing hostage crisis lasted for 17 days, with the plane landing twice in Algiers and three times in Beruit. The hijackers tortured and murdered U.S. Navy SEAL Robert Stethem, who was a passenger on Flight 847.

We mourn the death of Mr. Stethem and honor TWA Captain John Testrake, First Officer Philip Maresca, Flight Engineer Benjamin Zimmerman, Purser Uli Derickson, and Flight Attendants Judy Cox, Hazel Hesp, Elizabeth Howes, and Helen Sheahan, who put themselves in harm’s way to prevent the hijackers from killing more passengers.

Domicile Events

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

Also, save the date for these upcoming commuter events:

  • AUS: Gathering at Easy Tiger on June 21
  • BNA: Nashville Soccer Club game on June 22
  • ATL: Gathering at Atlanta Golf & Social on June 23

Domicile Elections

Pilots based at CLT, LGA, and MIA will elect a Chair and Vice Chair to represent each domicile for terms that will begin on Nov. 1. As of 1500 Central today, these pilots were officially seeking nomination:

  • CLT Chair: CA Casey Granger
  • CLT Vice Chair: CA Casey Granger
  • LGA Chair: none
  • LGA Vice Chair: none
  • MIA Chair: none
  • MIA Vice Chair: CA Ken Wells

The electronic submission for nomination process will close at 0001 Central on June 28. For more information, visit the Elections page on AlliedPilots.org.

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)
    • Disabled Pilot Awareness Subcommittee (3)
    • Human Intervention Motivation Study Subcommittee (1)
    • Pilot Occupational Health Subcommittee (2)
    • Project Wingman Subcommittee (3)
  • Captain’s Authority Committee (3)
  • Communications Committee (0)
    • National Communications Network (7)
  • Grey Eagles Liaison Committee (1)
  • Scheduling Committee (4)
  • Training Committee (5)
    • 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

How long are terms for committee members?
There is no set term. Due to the length of time it takes to train and release a volunteer to handle cases individually, we encourage a minimum one-year commitment. The current volunteer longevity average is seven years; some have been volunteering for more than 25 years.

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 July 12 at CLT. 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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