APA News Digest

April 17, 2025

Editor’s note: Some links in this message will work best if you log in to AlliedPilots.org before clicking them.

In This Edition ...

• Don’t Forget to Vote Before April 30
• Carey Expedited Presidential Grievance 18-060 (Apportionment Pay)
• Investor Relations Committee: Three Airlines – Two Up, One Down
• APA Holiday Schedule
• APA Board of Directors’ Spring Meeting Set for May 5-9
• Hotel Committee: Changes to Our Hotel Survey
• Aeromedical Committee: Our Recommended Reading List
• Membership Committee: APA Welcomes Leadership Class
• APA Medical Minute – Benefits of a Primary Care Physician
• APA Contingent Walks the Walk for MS Research
• Domicile Events
• Week in Review
• Are You Willing to Serve?
• Professional Standards FAQ
• If You’re 50, Join The Grey Eagles
• Pilot Job Fairs and Future Pilot Seminars

Don’t Forget to Vote Before April 30

Voting in the Election Round of the National Officer elections will be open until 0001 Central on April 30. For those pilots based in LAX, the Runoff Round for the Chair and Vice Chair elections will also conclude at 0001 Central on April 30.

Visit the Candidate Information page on AlliedPilots.org to review their resumes and campaign emails.

The links for the respective voting sites can be found below. The Voting PIN previously provided to you for the earlier rounds of the election will be the same for this round of the election. If you are LAX-based, you will again have separate PINs, one for the national election and one for the domicile election. As a courtesy, PINs were emailed to all eligible voters on Monday. That email came from vote@votegrity.net.

As with all prior rounds, electronic and mail voting will be permitted during these elections. Any voter who is unable to vote electronically, or would prefer to vote by mail, can request a mail ballot by visiting this website: https://electiontrust.com/apabod. Alternatively, you may request a mail ballot by calling 1-888-454-3230. If you request a mail ballot in one round of the election, you will receive a mail ballot for all subsequent election rounds. Requesting a mail ballot does not preclude you from voting electronically. However, if you submit both an electronic and a mail ballot, only the electronic ballot will be counted.

For the National Election Round, you will log on to this website to vote electronically: https://apa-national.sequent.vote.

For the LAX Runoff Round, you will log on to this website to vote electronically: https://apa.sequent.vote.

To enter either voting page, you will need your AA Employee ID Number and your Voting PIN.

If you do not receive or misplace your Voting PIN, do not receive a mail ballot, and/or are experiencing difficulties casting your ballot, please call the Voting Support Call Center at 1-888-454-3230.

To verify your identity, the call center will ask you for your APA Unique Identifier Code, which can be retrieved by logging into AlliedPilots.org and selecting “Member Update.” Your APA Unique Identifier Code will be at the bottom of the page.

The Support Call Center is staffed by APA’s election vendor from 0900 to 1700 Central on every day of the voting period for each round of the election. On the last full day of each round, the call center will remain open until 2200 Central. You may direct any additional questions about the election to APA’s Election Coordinator, Kathy Lazenby, at 817-302-2175, or at elections@alliedpilots.org, between 0800 and 1600 Central.

Carey Expedited Presidential Grievance 18-060 (Apportionment Pay)

Carey Expedited Presidential Grievance 18-060 (Apportionment Pay) is on its final approach. Eligible pilots will soon be paid from the $1.74 million award, and going forward, assessment of apportionment pay has been refined.

The grievance raised four issues pertaining to JCBA Sections 6 and 12 (all now found in Section 12 of the 2023 CBA) relating to Check Pilot proficiency flying and pilot training:

1. The Company failed to properly pay pilots apportionment pay when check pilots flying for proficiency flew revenue trips.
2. The Company selected and blocked more sequences than necessary for the purposes of operating experience.
3. The Company failed to provide APA the contractually required reports related to apportionment pay.
4. The Company failed to return trip sequences to open time immediately upon discovering the trips would not be needed for operating experience.

The arbitration took place on Oct. 17 and 18, 2023, and the Allied Pilots Association/American Airlines, Inc. Pilots System Board of Adjustment issued its final opinion and award on June 5, 2024. A majority of the System Board found for APA on issues 1 and 3, holding that the JCBA required the Company to pay apportionment pay when Check Pilots fly for their own proficiency and that the Company had failed to provide the contractually required reports regarding apportionment pay. As a result of the award, and the difficulty in ascertaining APA’s actual damages, the System Board directed the Company and APA to confer on how to calculate damages. After extensive discussions between the two parties, the Company is to pay $1.74 million in combined damages to eligible pilots.

Senior Attorney, Negotiations Greg Dimmick and Labor Attorney Jared Kelly served as lead counsel in this case. APA Legal will email details to pilots who will receive relief in accordance with the Award. If you have any questions, please contact APA Legal at 1-800-323-1470, ext. 2170.

Three Airlines – Two Up, One Down

This is a new message from the APA Investor Relations Committee.

Last week, Delta reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2025, announcing a pre-tax* profit of $382 million with a 2.9% pre-tax* margin. Delta noted that there was a softening of demand in domestic passenger traffic with greater resilience in international traffic and broader premium products.

“The impact has been most pronounced in domestic and specifically in the main cabin, with softness in both consumer and corporate travel. While not immune in this environment, we do continue to see greater resilience in international and our diversified revenue streams, including premium and loyalty, reflecting underlying strength of our core consumer.”
— Delta CEO Ed Bastain

This week, United reported its first quarter financial results, generating a pre-tax* profit of $391 million with a 3.0% pre-tax* margin. United provided similar commentary on domestic passenger traffic softening while noting that international passenger traffic and premium products remain resilient.

United’s CEO pointed out that his airline is one of the two that were expected to be profitable in the first quarter.

“The strains on the macro economy have impacted demand, but even in that strained environment, United just had the highest first quarter pre-tax margin since COVID began, and we expect to be one of only two airlines that are profitable in the first quarter.”
— United CEO Scott Kirby

American Airlines will report its financial results on April 24. American’s pre-tax* estimates are quite different than United’s and Delta’s. Wolfe Research’s latest American Airlines model estimates a pre-tax* loss of $619 million with -4.9% pre-tax* margin.

*non-GAAP (excludes special items)

APA Holiday Schedule

APA headquarters, including Contract Administration, will be closed on April 18 in observance of Good Friday. Contract Administration will be open from 0700 to 1900 Central on Saturday and Sunday.

As always, your APA support team remains available 24/7. When Contract Administration is closed, calls will be forwarded to a phone service operated by Contract Compliance Committee and Flight Time/Duty Time Committee volunteers. Please note that call-back times may be longer than normal due to limited staffing. If your call is not urgent, we encourage you to wait until normal business hours resume.

You may also want to consult the pilot volunteers on your domicile’s Contract Compliance Committee. Almost every domicile has one, and some of them have larger rosters than the national committee. Contact your local committee by visiting your domicile’s page on AlliedPilots.org and clicking the “Domicile Committee List” link.

To reach a contract administrator, call APA HQ at 1-800-323-1470 and press Option 3. If you prefer to e-mail your question to the contract administrators, click here. For specific FAR 117/fatigue issues requiring immediate attention, you can also call the Emergency Help Line at 682-738-6670 manned 24/7 by Flight Time/Duty Time Committee volunteers.

APA Board of Directors’ Spring Meeting Set for May 5-9

The APA Board of Directors will convene at union headquarters in Fort Worth on Monday, May 5, for its regularly scheduled spring meeting.

The meeting agenda will include a Membership and Guest Hour on the first day immediately following the APA President’s report. Policy stipulates that “Any APA member(s) in good standing or, with the consent of the Board, a guest of a member shall be allowed to address the board. Allocation of time will be 60 minutes divided by the number of members/guests desiring to speak; however, no individual will be afforded more than 10 minutes, including any questions/ answers by the Board. Members and guests must advise the meeting Chair of their desire to address the Board.” Please email asmith@alliedpilots.org if you wish to address the Board.

The Board is tentatively scheduled to receive briefings from the following committees during the meeting:

• Compass Project
• Economic and Financial Analysis
• Family Awareness
• Financial Audit
• Government Affairs
• Grievance Resolution
• Information Technology Steering
• Investor Relations
• Joint Implementation Action
• Membership
• Negotiating
• Political Action Steering
• Scheduling
• Scope
• Strategic Planning
• Membership

The meeting will also include these agenda items as required by policy:

• 2 Hours of Domicile Issues Discussion
• Action Taken on Previous Motions and Tasking Orders
• List of Grievances Above a Step 2
• Negotiating Priorities
• Budget Update
• Budget Variance Reporting
• Update on General Reserve Fund Balance, Maximum and Minimum
• APA Emergency Relief and Scholarship Fund Report
• Daily Expense Allowance Review/Approval
• Committee Budgets
• National Committee Recommendation List
• Approval of Newly Appointed National Committee Members
• Approval of Annual Strategic Plan
• Michael Michaelis Safety Award for Excellence (committee recommendations and vote)
• Annual Contract Compliance Training

Vacation Slides and Extensions for June

This is a new message from the APA Scheduling Committee.

Vacation slides and extensions for June will reopen at 1700 Central on Friday, April 18. If you have not already made these selections and are expecting long course training in June, the Scheduling Committee strongly recommends that you do not delay in doing so.

Changes to Our Hotel Survey

This is a new message from the APA Hotel Committee.

We recently updated the Hotel Survey on the APA Pilot app by removing the section about food and activity suggestions. Unfortunately, importing the data from the Hotel Survey to the Hotel Webpages was problematic. Pilots can still submit food and activity suggestions by clicking the “Feedback” links found on each Hotel Webpage.

Additionally, the Hotel Committee is currently combing through all 400-plus webpages and removing the outdated reviews and information, especially those regarding COVID policies. We LOVE all food and activity suggestions; please submit them through the “Feedback” links, or feel free to send us an email: hotel-webpages@alliedpilots.org.

Thank you for continuing to complete the surveys, as they provide valuable information!

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.

Our Recommended Reading List

This is a new message from the APA Aeromedical Committee.

In an effort to improve our members’ health, we have created a recommended reading list. Each month, we will highlight a book that has helped in the prevention of, treatment of, or recovery from an injury or illness, or has elevated a member’s education. Feel free to send your book recommendations to aeromed-committee@alliedpilots.org.

Master Your Emotions

Have you ever thought … about your thoughts? Do you have a bias toward the negative? Understanding how negative feelings and emotions work is the first step. Then we must learn how to reprogram those emotions and turn them around. A happier life is possible if you follow the steps in Master Your Emotions.

The author was an introvert whose shyness kept him from getting the results in life he wanted. When he decided to devote his life to betterment, everything changed. His story could be the blueprint for your transformation, too.

Disclaimer: This recommendation is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine or other professional health care services. Always consult with your medical provider when making health care decisions.

APA Welcomes Leadership Class

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

Click the image for a closer look.

On April 16, 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: Ryan Abreu, Richard Bendel, Asmund Berge, Steven Buller, Wayne Carmickle II, Grady Chism Jr., Michael Coburn, Michael Curie, Drew Deleon, Brian Ellis, Cody Hoecker, William Jenkins, Eric Junkins, Lyndon Lamott, Justin Morgan, Kennieth Moyano, Matthew Navarro, Logan Neumeier, David Ng, Alan Penton, Yaswanth Potluri, Justin Rogers, Esteban Seisdedos, Sophie Sillano, Matthew Smith, Elvis Subasic, Brian Watt, Mark Williams, and Thomas Zahorchak.

APA Medical Minute – Benefits of a Primary Care Physician

In this previously released edition of the APA Medical Minute, APA Medical Advisors Manager Marsha Reekie is back with a reminder about the benefits of having a primary care physician, including referrals to specialists as needed and the ability to identify and address family history-related risks such as diabetes and hypertension.

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

APA Contingent Walks the Walk for MS Research

Amber Thompson, Kathy Parr, Cassie Bien, and Tina Smith

On March 29, APA Medical Advisors Cassie Bien, Kathy Parr, and Tina Smith – along with Amber Thompson, APA Safety-Training-Security-Aeromedical-Professional Standards Coordinator – participated in Walk MS in Fort Worth. The APA team walked to support our pilots and pilots’ families who have been affected by multiple sclerosis.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society hosts its Walk MS events nationwide as part of the organization’s commitment to finding a cure for this chronic disease. According to its latest estimate, more than one million Americans live with MS.

The APA team’s collective response to the March 29 event: “It was truly inspiring to see so many people turn out for such a worthwhile cause. We enjoyed ourselves, and we hope APA members can participate in an upcoming Walk MS in their own local communities.” You can find the full Walk MS schedule here.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact the APA Medical Advisors at 817-302-2400 or medical-advisors@alliedpilots.org.

Domicile Events

APA Vice President CA Chris Torres and DFW Domicile Chair CA Brian Smith were among the 100-plus guests at the “Les Bon Temps Rouler” social event that MIA-based CA Ronny Monsour and his wife hosted for MSY commuters on April 12.

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

• BOS: Boston Red Sox game on July 10
• DFW: Pilots for Kids Golf Tournament on May 19
• LAX: Retirement Dinner on June 7
• MIA: Air Dot Show on May 3; Domicile Meeting on May 15
• ORD: Domicile Meeting on May 14; Galt Fly-In and Pancake Breakfast on May 24
• PHL: Philadelphia Phillies game on July 23

Week in Review

Here are some recent messages you may have missed:

• Scheduling Committee: PBS Beta Testing
• Scheduling Committee: PBS Beta Testing Began Today

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 (2)
  • 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)
• Grey Eagles Liaison Committee (1)
• Retirement and Benefits Committee (1)*
• Training Committee (0)
  • 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.

Professional Standards FAQs

What issues are not appropriate for Professional Standards?
Professional Standards will not normally address CBA disagreements, substance/alcohol abuse, and any immediate threat to safety of flight. The program is not designed to address issues related to security violations; legal, medical, or criminal issues; or gross negligence. Professional Standards is not able to address issues arising from online forums, nor should PS volunteers post to such forums. However, if you are in doubt about which APA committee is best suited to handle your needs, all Professional Standards volunteers are familiar with the vast network of support offered at APA and through the company. Call Your Union First!

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. Our next cruise, a nine-night excursion across the southern Caribbean, launches Oct. 9.

Pilot Job Fairs and Future Pilot Seminars

The Future & Active Pilot Alliance’s next Pilot Job Fairs are scheduled for April 25 at ATL followed by May 16 at ORD. The next Future Pilot Seminars are scheduled for April 26 at ATL followed by May 17 at ORD. 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.