Who’s Your ALPA Rep & Why It Matters Page 21 Exclusive Q&A with FAA Administrator Huerta Page 17 The Latest on Flight Time/Duty Time Page 25 Why You Don’t Want Sequestration to Happen Page 37 March 2013 Air Line Pilot 1 PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. PRINTED IN A member service of Air Line Pilot. MARCH 2013 • VoluMe 82, NuMbeR 3 COMMENTARY An Interview 4 Take Note With FAA Tell ALPA Your Past Administrator 5 Aviation Matters Huerta ALPA’s Brand of 17 Determination 6 Weighing In Making the Most of Your 15 ALPA Membership FEATURES 17 17 An Interview with About the Cover FAA Administrator An Alaska Airlines B-737 takes off from Ronald Huerta Reagan Washington National Airport. 21 Who’s Your Rep Photo by Eric Davis. & Why It Matters Download a QR CGN reader to your 25 Fighting the smartphone, scan ANC the code, and read the magazine. YTH Cargo ‘Carveout’ YEG Air Line Pilot (ISSN 0002-242X) is pub lished YYC monthly by the Air Line Pilots Association, YVR YHZ Inter national, affiliated with AFL-CIO, CLC. Editorial Offices: 535 Herndon Parkway, Fighting SEA&WhyYWG It Matters YQT YOW YUL PO Box 1169, Herndon, VA 20172-1169. PDX Telephone: 703-481-4460. Fax: 703- 464- The Cargo YYZ 2114. Copyright © 2013—Air Line Pilots MMV MSP ‘ ’ YHM Association, Inter national, all rights Carveout DET PHL LGA reserved. Publica tion in any form without DET MDT JFK ORD TOL MDT permission is prohibited. Air Line Pilot TOL CLE EWR DAY and the ALPA logo Reg. U.S. Pat. and T.M. SLC IAD DCA Office. Federal I.D. 36-0710830. Periodicals SFO LAS ROA ORF DEN STL CVG CHO postage paid at Herndon, VA 20172, and TYS CLT additional offices. LAX MEM Postmaster: Send address changes to ATL Air Line Pilot, PO Box 1169, Herndon, VA 20172-1169. DFW Canadian Publications Mail Agreement IAH 21 #40620579: Return undeliverable maga- FLL zines sent to Canadian addresses to 2835 MIA Kew Drive, Windsor, ON, Canada N8T 3B7. 25 34 our Stories SJU DEPARTMENTSHKG HNL HKG United Pilot Jumps with 27 GUM7 Preflight Vintage Airborne Unit to Facts, Figures, and Mark History Info 35 Health Watch 29 AlPA@Work Detecting and Treating To Protect and Serve, Prostate Health 27 Remembering Membership Chairs Take Care of Their Own; 37 The landing the Pilots of the Cutting into Thin Margins Great Silver Fleet ALPA Hosts Safety Data Sharing Symposium 38 We Are AlPA 32 AlPA Toolbox ALPA Resources and Contact Numbers Pilot Tax Deductions for Business Travel Ta ke HOT TOPICS In This Issue Note Tell AlPA Your Past In describing what it was like to play for Who’s Your Rep? Philadelphia Eagles coach Earle “Greasy” See page 24 Neale in the 1940s, legendary Eagles quarterback Tommy Thompson recalled that Q&A with the the Pro Football Hall of Fame coach would FAA Administrator begin preparing for each game by asking See page 17 his players, “Remember what this team did against us the last time?” According to Thompson, the coach On the Record—They Said What? would then go on to recount the entire See page 12 game, play-by-play, completely from What Your Membership memory. Learning from the Committee Chair Can Do for You past makes us effec- tive in the present. See page 29 Sharing an experi- ence so that others The Latest on . can learn from it is at the core of ALPA’s Flight Time/Duty Time OMMONS C symposium to strengthen safety See page 25 IKIMEDIA information shar- ing programs (see “ALPA@ Work: ALPA Hosts Safety Data Sharing ALPA’s Comments on Symposium,” page 30). The data that pilots and other airline employees submit American–US Airways Merger EARLE “GREASY” NEALE—W EARLE “GREASY” will mean we can do more to prevent See page 8 accidents before they occur and that our industry will make new progress toward Have you Read? achieving the next level of safety. But sharing the lessons of the past is See page 14 important throughout ALPA. Whether it’s acknowledging your experience with a legislator’s pro-pilot position by donat- What You Need ing to ALPA-PAC, giving an ALPA com- mittee the benefit of your background, to Know About Per weighing in on an ALPA membership poll, or submitting a photo that captures Diem and Taxes your time flying the line, every experi- ence matters. See page 32 In these pages, you not only will find reporting on ALPA’s safety information sharing efforts, you’ll also read about local Why You Don’t Want council representatives and officers and why it’s important to know who represents Sequestration you. Our union counts on you to share your knowledge so that, together, we can to Happen create a safer, more secure, and more See page 37 competitive future. Marie Schwartz Director, ALPA Communications Survey Says… [email protected] See page 15 4 Air Line Pilot March 2013 AviationMatters AlPA’s brand of Determination While the difficulties are real, so are the benefits of he year ahead promises fresh opportunities to prove ALPA’s own brand of determination. For example, US Airways the power of our union. As Winston Churchill said, produced its highest ever annual profit in 2012, and most T“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; analysts expect that trend to continue as American Airlines an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” As an and US Airways navigate the merger approval process. optimist, I recognize that our union’s strength is rooted in Although the company is clearly winning at US Airways, our discipline and drive in pursuing opportunities. isciplining ourselves, helping each other, Recently, Hawaiian Airlines pilots visualizing the future, and resisting approved a letter of agreement that distractions are imperative to our success. sets the stage for their airline to add D I believe that focusing on opportunities for pattern new narrowbody Airbus aircraft. Hawaiian will now be positioned to bargaining will ensure that ALPA pilots—and all expand its service and continue the airline pilots—receive the pay, benefits, and work remarkable growth that has doubled rules we have earned. In the end, our collective the size of that airline’s pilot group since 2008. efforts will help our profession. New tentative agreements at Piedmont and PSA could add career progression opportunities to complement the pilots haven’t had pay raises in years and are still significant economic and quality-of-life improvements, and working under bankruptcy or restructuring deals. For these vehicles allow pilots to move to mainline jobs within comparison, a 12-year A330 Delta Air Lines captain’s hourly the airline family. This year, both Alaska Airlines and FedEx pay rate is $240, while a US Airways captain flying the same Express pilots will continue work to achieve key improve- equipment earns an hourly rate of $160. ments to their contracts using new bargaining models that Absent the vision, determination, and resources shared seek to complete deals more efficiently. by ALPA pilot groups that pave the way for contracts like While this trend line is positive, the industry—and many those in place at Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian ALPA pilots—still face difficulties. For example, pilots at Airlines, and United Airlines, US Airways pilots are losing, bankrupt Pinnacle and American Eagle have been forced on average, $80,000 a year in pay, while other stakeholders to make concessions, and negotiations at Air Wisconsin, are rewarded for their sacrifices. The powerful advantages CanJet, and Mesa Air Group aren’t moving quickly enough of ALPA’s drive and determination are clear when looking to conclusion. across the industry at the four cornerstone contract areas— pay, health and retirement benefits, work rules, and scope. Pay Rates Were Cut Drastically During the bankruptcy In 2013, ALPA will continue its ongoing efforts to solidify Period but Are Moving Strongly upward gains from this round of bargaining, fight for career progres- 275 sion models and opportunities, and bargain the contracts that U.S. and Canadian pilots deserve. 250 Disciplining ourselves, helping each other, visualizing 225 the future, and resisting distractions are imperative to our success. I believe that focusing on opportunities for 200 PAY RATES PAY pattern bargaining will ensure that ALPA pilots—and all 175 airline pilots—receive the pay, benefits, and work rules we have earned. In the end, our collective efforts will help our 150 profession. January 2007January 2008January 2009January 2010January 2011January 2012January 2013January 2014January 2015January 2016 American Continental Delta United US Airways Notes: Pay rates are top-scale captain for highest-paying piece of equipment on the property. Capt. Lee Moak, ALPA President March 2013 Air Line Pilot 5 WeighingIn Making the Most of Your AlPA Membership a face with the union’s subject-matter only ALPA can pool together the resources by Capt. William Couette experts—our staff—and know that they of our diverse pilot groups to best serve ALPA Vice President– are here to support the pilots. We want the profession—and add to that the Administration/Secretary the representatives to know that it’s okay institutional knowledge that ALPA’s staff to say “I don’t know,” only if it’s followed members possess and the experiences s an ALPA pilot who flies for by “Let me check into it, and I’ll get back our pilots bring to the table as elected American Eagle, I’m a member to you.” (See “Who’s Your Rep & Why It representatives and committee members. of the Air Line Pilots Association, A Matters,” page 21.) There is not an industry situation out there International.