APA News Digest

Feb. 7, 2025

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In This Edition ...

National Officers Election

APA Secretary-Treasurer FO Pat Clark sent the following message to all members on Thursday.

Members in good standing will elect a President, Vice President, and Secretary-Treasurer to serve from July 1, 2025, until June 30, 2028.

The following pilots were submitted for nomination and have indicated a willingness to serve: 

President
CA Bill Evans
FO Alex Gutierrez
CA Jim Scanlan
CA Edward Sicher
FO Nick Silva

Vice President
CA Chris Torres
FO Scott Yancy

Secretary-Treasurer
CA Clint Early
FO Tim Hamel
FO Philip Johnson
CA Andrew O’Hara

Nomination Round voting will open at 0000 Central on March 10 and close at 0001 Central on March 31. Each domicile’s top three candidates for each office will advance to the Election Round. (Because there are only two candidates for Vice President, that office will be excluded from the Nomination Round.)

Election Round voting will open at 0000 Central on April 8 and close at 0001 Central on April 30.

If necessary, Runoff Round voting would open at 0000 Central on May 7 and close at 0001 Central on May 29.

Aviation Coalition Underscores Commitment to Safety 

APA is a member of the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA). CA Harvey Meek, a longtime member of the APA Government Affairs Committee, also serves as CAPA’s President.

CAPA is one of several aviation organizations that issued a joint statement this week to underscore our commitment to safety and urge policymakers to ensure that the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration have the staffing and resources they need.

Positive Rate Episode 42: How Compass Supports Pilots from Day One Until Retirement

In the latest episode of our “Positive Rate” podcast, Communications Committee Deputy Chair FO Melissa Monahan talks with Compass Project Committee Chair FO Erik Knauff about the variety of ways in which Compass supports APA members throughout their careers. Compass provides custom-tailored programs for new-hire pilots, new Captains, return-to-work pilots, and pilot families, and the committee adheres to the primacy principle that “what is learned first is best remembered.”

Each episode of “Positive Rate” features APA subject-matter experts working on the membership’s behalf. The podcast is available through popular streaming services, including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can search for “Positive Rate” or “Allied Pilots Association” on your platform of choice to subscribe and download. Your first opportunity to listen will be via AlliedPilots.org/Podcasts.

We welcome your feedback on this format. If you have a question or comment, please send it to Communications Director Gregg Overman via goverman@alliedpilots.org.

Join Us For YOUnion 101 on Feb. 12

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

The Compass Project hosts a series of YOUnion webinars to educate pilots about various stages of their careers. YOUnion 101 is designed for newly hired pilots with little-to-no Part 121 experience.

The next session of YOUnion 101 is scheduled for 1100 Central on Feb. 12 via Zoom.

Register in advance for this webinar.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar from Exec_Assistant@Zoom.com.

Send your feedback to YOUnion@alliedpilots.org.

Vacation Payout

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

The 2023 CBA modified the Vacation Year to run from the April contractual month through the March contractual month of the following year. As a result, any vacation hours remaining in a pilot’s Vacation Bank on March 1 will be paid out in the March pay period, per the language in Section 9.F.1.f. Those hours should be visible on your March 14 Pay Statement/Details Report.

Productive Conversation in PHL

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

a group of pilots in a lobby

Click the image for a closer look.

On Jan. 16, Professional Standards volunteers from the national and PHL committees held a base meeting with the PHL Chief Pilots and the PHL Domicile Officers to discuss ongoing topics. We were able to share experiences with management and discuss ways to improve pilot relations moving forward. Attendees included …

  • Flight Offices: PHL Director of Flight CA Tim Airey, PHL Chief Pilot CA Adrienne Wooley, DCA Chief Pilot CA Sam Omari, and CA Matthew Caruso
  • Domicile Officers: PHL Chair FO Michael Drost and PHL Vice Chair CA Brian Sweep
  • APA Professional Standards Committee: Chair CA Linda Wackerman
  • PHL Professional Standards Committee: Chair CA Matthew Hawkins, Deputy Chair FO Trent McPhail, Deputy Chair FO Yvonne Pappas, FO Dave Caribardi, FO Renato Depaoli, FO Russ O’Dell, and FO Kurt Stein

Professional Standards is a unique union resource that handles conflict resolution amongst pilots and other work groups at the lowest level. As always, we ask our pilots to contact us first if you have any issues or concerns with anything or anybody. We have volunteers trained to handle any matter that arises at anytime, anywhere, via our hotline: 817-402-2171.

Overage and Pop-Up Market Hotels for February

This is a new message from the APA Hotel Committee.

Below is the list of overage hotels and pop-up market hotels that will be utilized this contractual month. If you are scheduled to stay at one of these properties, we recommend you review this article. As a reminder, APA typically does not create webpages for temporary hotels.

  • BGI: Courtyard Bridgetown Marriott
  • DFW: Holiday Inn South and Marriott North
  • FLL: Courtyard Marriott Airport
  • LBB: The Overton and Staybridge
  • PLS: Alexandria Resort and Club Med
  • SFO: Hilton Union Square
  • SVD: Blue Lagoon Hotel and Marina
  • UVF: Zoetry Marigot Bay

For more information, check out the 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.

APA Welcomes New Pilots

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

a group of pilots in a lobby

Click the image for a closer look.

On Feb. 4, the APA Membership Committee hosted a casual dinner for the following new-hire pilots: Bengt Andersson, Brian Bertka, Mary Bird, Richard Bolton, Andrew Booe, Ryan Broderick, Alexander Camacho, Zachary Chiavaroli, Maximilian Clukey, Robert Coleman, Eric Dewaele, Raul D’Souza, Christopher Geer, Jeffrey Gibson, William Hafker, Brayan Herrera Valencia, Adam Houseman, Douglas Howard, Scott Kelly, Andrew Kim, Reece Kinkade, Blake Kroll, Shenouda Labib, Daniel Ligon, Scott Mall, William Martin, Michael McKee, Maarten Milders, Kevin Miller, Phillip Newman II, Coen Nijsen, Jullian Owers-Hacker, Raul Perez, David Pessing, Leonardo Pineda Flores, Garrett Robinson, Deven Romain, Logan Sanders, Ricardo Alberto Sepulveda Rosa Pires, Joseph Silver, Darian Sotomi Jr., Megyn-Lea Thompson, John Tonkovich, Andrew Van Keuren, Gregg Van Splunder, David Williams, Christopher Wills, and William Wirstrom.

APA Welcomes Leadership Class

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

a group of pilots in a lobby

Click the image for a closer look.

On Feb. 5, 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: Tuomas Ahola, Michael Bernard, Jon Brigance, William Broman III, Clifford Bruder, Chase Bugni, Jorge Cortes Mejia, Derrick Erickson, Alessandro Fossaghi, David Goodman, Christian Henrickson, Michael Johnson, James Shawn, Robert Simmons, Pamela Sperry, Jeffrey Speth, Brendan Stephen-Fowler, James Threadgill Jr., and Brent Watts.

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 January: Gregg Haefner, 61, on Nov. 26; Ken Lape, 87, on Dec. 2; Ed Bagby, 81, on Dec. 8; Jim Bohanan, 77, on Dec. 8; Brev Hankins, 70, on Dec. 16; Don Meyer, 86, on Dec. 23; Bob Hirsch, 71, on Dec. 24; Tom Brown, 90, on Dec. 25; Gary Stephens, 82, on Dec. 29; Lemuel Dougherty, 82, on Dec. 30; Bob Terbet, 89, on Dec. 30; Dan Hartman, 68, on Jan. 4; Bill Chaney, 90, on Jan. 12; Joe Taylor, 90, on Jan. 12; and Brian Lapworth, 80, on Jan. 14.

LAX Domicile Election

When there are four or more candidates for a domicile position, the APA Constitution and Bylaws call for a Nomination Round that narrows the field to three. The following pilots are seeking nomination:

LAX Vice Chair
CA Timothy Dick
FO Cort Keithley
FO Tom Price Jr.
FO Gaston Valdovinos

Nomination Round voting opened at 0000 Central on Feb. 6, and it will close at 0001 Central on Feb. 28.

For more information, see the Elections page on AlliedPilots.org.

Domicile Events

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

Are You Willing to Serve?

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

  • Aeromedical Committee (0)
    • Critical Incident Response Program Subcommittee (1)
    • Disabled Pilot Awareness Subcommittee (3)
    • Human Intervention Motivational Study Subcommittee (1)
    • Pilot Occupational Health Subcommittee (2)
  • Captain’s Authority Committee (2)
  • Communications Committee (0)
    • National Communications Network (2)
  • Economic and Financial Analysis Committee (1)
  • Grey Eagles Liaison Committee (1)
  • International Alliance Committee (1)
  • Professional Standards Committee (1)
  • Retirement and Benefits Committee (1)*
  • Scheduling Committee (1)
  • Training Committee (1)
    • Checkmate (1 on 777)

* Seeking volunteer with financial services experience and possible AIF®, CFP®, or related designations.

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

Week in Review

Here are some recent messages you may have missed.s

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

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

The Future & Active Pilot Alliance’s next Pilot Job Fair and Future Pilot Seminar are scheduled for Feb. 21 and 22 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.

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