APA News Digest

Sept. 13, 2024

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In This Edition ...

Domicile Elections – Why Voting is Vital

The Election Round voting period opened on Sept. 9 for elections at CLT, LGA, and MIA. Each domicile will elect a Chair and a Vice Chair for three-year terms that begin on Nov. 1.

If you’re based at one of these three domiciles, it’s imperative for you to cast your vote for the Chair and Vice Chair of your choosing. By doing so, you’re exercising your voice in the future of your union and in the future of your career as an American Airlines pilot. Consider this — APA and management will exchange early openers for the next round of Section 6 negotiations in just over two years’ time. One of the best ways for management to gauge membership resolve is voter turnout. If it’s low, that tells management that the APA membership is disengaged and apathetic. On the other hand, a strong voter turnout will demonstrate that our pilots are engaged and determined.

Which message do you want to send to management? The choice should be clear. Don’t permit someone else who may not have your best interests in mind to determine the path forward. Exercise your right to vote.

The following candidates are listed on the ballots:

CLT Chair
CA Heather Ducimo Boulanger
CA Erik DeWinne
CA Casey Granger

CLT Vice Chair
FO Hickory Ham
CA Michael Pfeifer
FO Tammy Smart

LGA Chair
CA Jeff Kerr
CA Mark Lokey

LGA Vice Chair
CA David Hines
CA Sam Pool
CA James Scanlan

MIA Chair
CA Thomas Copeland
CA Andrew Weingram
CA Jay Wilhelm

MIA Vice Chair
FO James “Jamie” Funderburk
CA Anne Witcher

The Election Round voting period ends on Oct. 1.

Click here to learn more about the candidates, and click here to cast your vote.

Sept. 11, 2001 – We Will Never Forget

This week, at the request of LAX Domicile Chair CA Bill Evans, CA Tom McGuinness shared his thoughts on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Since the beginning of time, the clock has moved at the exact same pace. When we are young going through school, it feels like our days go on forever, but as we age, we find ourselves always coming up on the holiday season asking ourselves “Where did the year go?” Twenty-three years has gone by since Sept. 11, 2001, and that was a day that changed my family’s life forever. Those that were here and flying have images and memories engrained into their minds and will never forget. The other half were much younger and have only heard stories from their parents or friends. What I remember was a normal day that my dad went to work to fly a trip from BOS to LAX. I had the full expectation, as a 14-year-old kid, that he was going to come home. He never did.

FO Tom McGuiness would have celebrated his 65th birthday this week.

One of my memories I want to highlight today comes from my dad’s memorial service. I remember looking out over the podium, seeing thousands of you in full uniform, intently watching me tell you about my dad and all the cool kid things he made a point to do with me growing up. After speaking, I walked back into the crowd to join you for the remainder of the service. I distinctly remember the long line where each and every one of you waited to speak to a heartbroken little boy. You all looked at me in the eyes and said, “We won’t leave you, son.” And to this day, you never have.

What I’ve learned over the years is that our uniforms not only define our jobs, but they also define the expectation for how we are perceived as people. We fit the mold as being trustworthy, professional, vigilant, protective, and caring people. I believe this so much that I tell my wife where our crews stay all around the world when she travels, and if she ever needs help, she can go there and find one of our pilots (probably by the pool or local watering hole). In reality, we have over 16,000 pilots at American Airlines, which extends the reach of our family all over the world!

On Sept. 10, 2001, my family celebrated my dad’s 42nd birthday. My mom made him his favorite meal. It was slow roasted chicken and peas with tomato sauce over white rice and a non-fat cheesecake for dessert. We all celebrated as a family. As I write this message, my dad would have turned 65. This would have been his retirement week from American Airlines, and I will tell you now, my family will be making this meal to celebrate his life.

FO Tom McGuiness with his daughter, Jennifer, and his namesake

One thing I would ask of those seeing this message: When you’re flying your trips this week, especially on Sept. 11, take the time to brief your crews. Make it a special briefing, and get everyone together. Remind them to look out for one another and always take care of each other. Let us not let the day-to-day operation and the passage of time allow us to forget what’s truly important in life. I sincerely hope you all have great trips this week.

Tom McGuinness
737/CA/DFW/I

APA members observed the 23rd anniversary of the attacks in a variety of ways.

Monday: Volunteers representing the APA Aeromedical Committee – including CA Rondeau Flynn, FO Pete Gillespie, FO Ken Hagan, and FO Vern Reaser – were among the pilots who helped place 3,000 flags at the Healing Field in Sandy, Utah. Each flag bears a tag describing one of the victims of the 9/11 attacks. APA was invited to participate by representatives of the United Pilots MEC at ALPA.

APA Aeromedical Committee Chair CA Rondeau Flynn

Tuesday: APA Vice President CA Chris Torres and LGA Domicile Chair CA Lawrence Cutler were among a contingent of pilots and flight attendants who paid their respects at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York.

APA Vice President CA Chris Torres

Wednesday: FO Mitch Hanson, who serves on our Safety Operations Subcommittee and is also a Major General in the U.S. Air Force, spoke during the ceremony at the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial in Grapevine, Texas.

FO Mitch Hanson of the APA Safety Operations Subcommittee

You can see more photos and videos of this week’s events on APA’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Your Safety Crew – Collaborative Evaluation with Dispatch

Every day, thousands of American Airlines flights are safely dispatched across the globe. An integral part of that collaborative crew effort, led by the Captain, are the union dispatchers represented by the Professional Airline Flight Control Association (PAFCA).

The American chapter of PAFCA represents more than 500 highly trained and experienced FAA-licensed aircraft dispatchers and operations specialists, many of whom are licensed pilots, former air traffic controllers, and military veterans.

Dispatchers are under just as much pressure as we pilots are to do more with the less. They are dealing with the same “keep the metal moving” philosophy that ensures management’s bonus-incentivized metrics are met. We must be ever vigilant to not allow these insidious or overt pressures to reach into the sacred and collaborative safety-evaluation process conducted by Captains and dispatchers.

In fact, American Airlines’ Flight Operations Manual (FOM) directs this joint evaluation process for safety:

“Flight Plan/Dispatch Release. The captain and dispatcher will jointly evaluate the Flight Plan/Dispatch Release for: 
— fuel requirements and alternate airports to satisfy FARs and Company policies 
— cruise altitude and Mach, route, station dispatched to, and alternate(s) 
— conditions, known and contemplated, that will affect safe operation of the flight in accordance with FARs and Company policies” (FOM 1g.4 Responsibility and Authority)

In an effort to bolster our unions’ relationship, APA President CA Ed Sicher has committed to working directly with PAFCA-American President Alex Hart and our respective subject-matter experts to affirm our joint professional commitment to the safety of our operation and passengers. Safety must always remain our highest priority.

Bipartisan Group Forms Aviation Safety Caucus

This is a new message from the APA Government Affairs Committee.

FO Bryan Lingle spoke at Wednesday’s press conference.

Two dozen members of Congress – including 12 Republicans and 12 Democrats – have formed the Aviation Safety Caucus, which was introduced at a Capitol Hill press conference on the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“This caucus is dedicated to strengthening aviation safety and security by collaborating on real legislative solutions. The safety of our skies is not a partisan issue,” said Rep. Nick Langworthy of New York, who chairs the caucus. “Our first priority is ensuring that we close existing security gaps with the Safer Skies Act, building on the hard-won reforms enacted after 9/11, and we will continue to work to protect the millions of Americans who rely on our aviation system every day.”

The Safer Skies Act, introduced in August by Rep. Langworthy and Rep. Marc Veasey of Texas, is meant to close loopholes that allow ticketed charter flights to skirt post-9/11 security screening standards.

Government Affairs Committee Deputy Chair FO Bryan Lingle joined Rep. Langworthy and other caucus members at Wednesday’s press conference, as did representatives of ALPA, SWAPA, and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.

“In an industry like ours, there’s always going to be competition. There’s always going to be new entrants into the market offering unique products, and that’s great; we should celebrate that,” FO Lingle said. “But we should never compete on safety, and we should never compete on security. There must be one standard of safety, one standard of security, across the industry – for pilots, for security, for flight attendants, for maintenance – so that when a paying passenger boards an aircraft in the United States – whether they’re flying from a big city or flying from a small town – they know that they can be confident in their safety and the safety of their families.”

Be Professional When Using DOTC

This is a new message from the APA Professional Standards Committee.

Two issues have recently come to our attention. Both relate to the DOTC process and pilot-initiated actions.

First, if you are sick, use your sick time. Fair enough. However, some pilots are using sick calls to remove themselves from a proffered and awarded sequence. It appears these pilots clear sick in a very short time (as little as an hour after the initial sick call) and immediately reenter DOTC with another proffer to improve upon the originally awarded sequence. Discuss amongst yourselves the boundary of what is and what is not a valid time from On Sick to Off Sick. Be professional.

Second, within the DOTC application, pilots can select a “reasonable” time needed from trip notification to sign-in. This “best guess” gives the operation a way to preserve scheduled departures for our customers, and award the trip to the appropriate pilot. Some pilots appear to be frequently misjudging this time. If you input a report time of five minutes, knowing you are two hours away (or even on a commute flight), that is unfair to other pilots and our passengers. Be professional.

The Professional Standards Committee continues to receive calls from pilots who feel they have been disadvantaged by these and other “tactics.” Please reach out to your domicile Professional Standards volunteers to discuss further.

New Hotels for October

This is a new message from the APA Hotel Committee.

  • LAS – We have heard your feedback regarding the Westin Lake Las Vegas, and we will no longer be laying over at that property starting Oct. 19.
  • LAX – Good news to report on the LA front: AA crews will no longer be staying at either downtown property as of Oct. 1, when our contract will begin at the Marina Del Rey Courtyard.
  • OMA – Due to increased layover volume in OMA, AA will be contracting with an additional long property. Beginning Oct. 1, we will be staying at the Cambria Hotel Downtown Omaha in addition to our current long property, the Hilton.

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.

Updates Planned for APA Pilot App

This is a new message from the APA Information Technology Steering Committee.

Robocall Users: Updated ADD Codes for Reserve Pilots (found under Global Preferences in your dashboard)

With the implementation of the new Reserve Assignment System (RAS), the list of available Reserve ADD codes has been reduced.

Here are your options:

  • AR: Opposite division reserve flying (award or assignment).
  • EA: “DOTC Volunteer” early award or assignment on first day of reserve block prior to 1000 HBT.
  • OD: Involuntary assignment into DFP up to 1200 HBT on non-golden day.
  • RF: Reserve flying (award or assignment).
  • VD: Voluntary award into DFP.

Please take the time to edit your selections and choose from only the codes listed above. The outdated codes will be removed by the end of next week.

MyOT Being Replaced by MyOT Beta

As of Sept. 27, the original MyOT will be decommissioned and replaced with the new MyOT Beta service currently available in the APA Pilot app.

For MyOT Beta setup instructions and FAQs, please visit the Latest Releases section of our committee’s webpage.

Upcoming Updates to Trips Marketplace

Based on feedback, our developers have “tightened up” the display of sequences and made other refinements. These will be released in the coming weeks, but here is a sneak peak of what to expect.

  • Departure and Arrival information broken apart.
  • Reduced padding between tables.
  • Condensed icons. Clicking on an icon will display a summary.
  • Quickly sort by clicking column headers.
  • Icon will display if you were notified by MyOT or if it matches your settings.

Here’s how Trips Marketplace will display on a tablet.

Also, internal beta testing has begun on Shared Sequences advertising and display. If all goes well, we expect that capability to be released in Trips Marketplace next week.

Many thanks to our IT Steering and Operational Analysis pilot volunteers (FO Phil Johnson, CA Curt DeKeyrel, CA Vince Trevarton, FO Connor Denton, FO Ken Lambert, and FO Chai Odom), along with our APA mobile development team (Scott, Neil, Ryan, Mark, Padat, Narayan, Olena, Denys, and Polina) for their continued work on the services provided to our members!

As always, we appreciate your continued feedback. Please use the Feedback option located in the side menu of the APA Pilot app. Feedback is received by the entire development team, and it is the best way for issues to be addressed as quickly as possible.

Aviation Safety Action Program Seeks Volunteers

This is a new message from the APA Safety Committee.

The APA Safety Committee is looking for several line pilots to serve with the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), one of the cornerstones of the AA Safety Management System. As the volume of ASAP reports increases, we need additional committee members to handle the growing workload.

Candidates need strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills, excellent writing ability, and solid deductive reasoning. Among the duties of our ASAP volunteers:

  • Conducting pilot debriefs of ASAP events to identify root causes and assist in developing mitigation strategies to help prevent a recurrence.
  • Participating with American Airlines Safety and the Federal Aviation Administration in twice-weekly meetings as an APA Event Review Committee member to research, process, and respond to ASAP reports.
  • Tracking and trending recurring events to mitigate identified risks.

APA is committed to working with the FAA and American Airlines Safety personnel to effect meaningful change and strengthen the airline’s safety culture. We encourage you to apply if you are interested in contributing to this effort. The application window will remain open until Sept. 27, 2024. We will invite qualified applicants to interview while the application window is open and after it closes.

Send your resume and cover letter (no phone calls, please) to:

Amber Callahan
Safety, Training, Security, Aeromedical, and Professional Standards Coordinator
STSAP-Admin@alliedpilots.org

Kid-Friendly Aviation Events Next Weekend

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

If you have any aspiring pilots in your family, we wanted to bring your attention to two upcoming events – one near MIA, the other near DFW – that are designed to be kid-friendly.

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 July 15, B787 aircraft 8LU has been written up 12 times for a lavatory/galley fan fault that has been on MEL once and been out of service five times. It was most recently signed off on Sept. 10.
  • Since Aug. 24, the flight deck door on A321 aircraft 580 has been written up six times, been on MEL twice, and been out of service four times. It most recently returned to service on Sept. 9 and is restricted to AA maintenance stations.

APA Welcomes Leadership Class

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

Click the image for a closer look.

On Sept. 11, 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: Scott Adams, Terry Armstrong Jr., Douglas Clark, Matthew Cliver, Justin Fishman, Robert Frey, Michael Ghannoum, Stanley Kendra, Thomas Knox, Fabrice Malary, Scott Mann, Craig Maternowski, Todd Mercer, Mona Naik-Yeole, Khiem Nguyen, Bo Praestegaard, Andrew Reese, Julien Riegel, Benjamin Russo, Stephen Spear, Jeffrey Watson, and Luis Zelaya.

APA Medical Minute – Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism

In the latest edition of the APA Medical Minute, APA Medical Advisor Christopher Ryan discusses deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

You can watch previous Medical Minute videos on APA’s YouTube channel.

Domicile Events

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

  • BOS: Telephone Town Hall Meeting on Oct. 7
  • CLT: Retirement Party on Sept. 21
  • DFW: Telephone Town Hall Meeting on Oct. 8; Retirement Party on Nov. 9
  • LAX: San Diego Padres game on Sept. 16; Temecula Lunch on Sept. 18
  • LGA: Domicile Meeting on Oct. 3; Telephone Town Hall Meeting on Oct. 7; Retirement Party on Oct. 26
  • MIA: Retirement Party on Sept. 14
  • ORD: Telephone Town Hall Meeting on Oct. 8
  • PHL: Telephone Town Hall Meeting on Oct. 8; Retirement Party on Oct. 19

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 (2)
  • Communications Committee (0)
    • National Communications Network (2)
  • Economic and Financial Analysis Committee (1)
  • Grey Eagles Liaison Committee (1)
  • Professional Standards Committee (1)
  • Scheduling Committee (6)
  • 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

Is management required to use Professional Standards?
No. Management is not required to use Professional Standards. However, management is encouraged to refer issues that are most appropriately addressed at the peer-to-peer level. Since 2016, management has been regularly utilizing Professional Standards to assist in resolution of cases for every appropriate opportunity.

To read all of the FAQs, click here.

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

Supporting Our Nation’s Veterans

100 Vets Who Give a Damn supports veterans by donating to numerous organizations. The group’s  next meeting is scheduled for 1800 Central on Sept. 19 at the C.R. Smith Museum in Fort Worth.

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. 20 at TPA followed by Oct. 25 at DAL. 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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