Pilots Association, International
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August 2011 n OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL Modernizing the ATC System Page 18 6 Ways ALPA Exercise Ideas Why Lithium Made Member You Can Take Batteries Communications Anywhere! Are Dangerous Easy Page 23 Page 34 Goods Page 16 August 2011 Air Line Pilot 1 Watch The FlightDeck for information about the piloting profession and airline aviation news. Simply scan the QR code with your phone, sit back, and enjoy. flightdeck.alpa.org We’ll ask you a question from each episode, and you can send in your answer for a chance to win a Sennheiser HMEC 26-T headset valued at $850. Enter to win at flightdeck.alpa.org. New to QR technology? Down load a QR reader to your phone, scan the code, and watch The FlightDeck. A member service of Air Line Pilot. AUGUST 2011 • VolUme 80, NUmber 5 23 28 About the Cover A Delta B-747-451 military charter from Honolulu, Hawaii, in the final COMMENTARY seconds of her journey as she comes over the fence for Runway 5 Aviation matters 21 at George Air Force Base in Why Pilots Choose ALPA Victorville, Calif. 34 Photo © Hartsfield 6 Weighing In Photography. To The Financial Advantages of view a page- an International Union turning version of this issue, scan the FEATURES QR code with your 31 Cleared to Dream smartphone. New to this When Do I Jump? A Second- 16 lithium batter technology? Download a QR Grade Story ies Are Dangerous reader to your smartphone, scan Goods—Govern 34 Health Watch the code, and read the magazine. ment must Act Now! Hotel Room Workouts Air Line Pilot (ISSN 0002-242X) is pub lished monthly, except for the combined January/ 18 February and June/July issues, by the Air 18 From ‘Shrimp 36 Shaping History Line Pilots Association, Inter national, affili- boats’ to Satellites Excerpts from Flying the ated with AFL-CIO, CLC. Editorial Offices: DEPARTMENTS 535 Herndon Parkway, PO Box 1169, Line I and II Herndon, VA 20172-1169. Telephone: 703- 23 Chronicling AlPA’s 481-4460. Fax: 703-464-2114. Copyright © 7 Preflight 37 The Landing 2011—Air Line Pilots Association, Inter- Strategic Plan—6 national, all rights reserved. Publica tion in Facts, Figures, and Info any form without permission is prohibited. Ways AlPA made 38 We Are ALPA Air Line Pilot and the ALPA logo Reg. U.S. Pat. and T.M. Office. Federal I.D. member Communi 26 ALPA@Work ALPA Resources and 36-0710830. Periodicals postage paid at Negotiations Training Semi- Contact Numbers Herndon, VA 20172, and additional offices. cations easy: nar Recap; ALPA’s Jumpseat BOD Dele gate Council Promotes Captain’s Committee 5 Assistance to Jumpseaters 30 Our Stories Formula for Success: ALPA Helps Pilot Win Insurance Claim 7 HOW TO READ thingsthings THIS ISSUE 10you can do for your union and your profession If you’re... Listen to fellow pilots’ 1views on union issues in the crewroom Sit at the table with ALPA’s professional negotiators (pages Run for 26–27) and pick up some tricks of the trade with the top 3 ways ALPA office to increase pilot leverage and hints from the mediators. Then, 2 just turn the page (28) to find out what you can do to protect Contribute to the ALPA and maintain control over the flight deck jumpseat before your 3Emergency Relief Fund next flight. Volunteer for ALPA’s on a layover Critical Incident Start with the top industry news in Preflight (pages 7–15), Response Program complete with charts that break down the block hours for 4 U.S. ALPA pilots by aircraft type. Next, float by “From ‘Shrimp Boats’ to Satellites” (pages 18–22) and learn a bit about ATC’s Share positive news past, plus what ALPA sees as its future in NextGen. End on a stories with fellow lighter note with an infographic of the Paris Air Show in The ALPA pilots5 Landing (page 37). Attend the ALPA well connected Air Safety Forum Start with the “6 Ways ALPA Made Member Communications 6 Easy” (pages 23–25) to make sure you’re plugged into ALPA’s Make informed latest and greatest offerings. Then, check out what Linda choices in union Puchala’s reading on page 26 and how ALPA’s connections landed reps at the table (page 19) during the U.S. government’s elections 7 NextGen discussions. Observe the ALPA Code of Ethics 8and Canons big on family You won’t want to miss Capt. Richard Swindell’s story (pages Discuss the 31–32) about career day with his daughter’s second-grade class. advantages Once you wrap up there, go to Our Stories (page 30) to read of ALPA with9 about now-thriving baby boy James Day. non-ALPA pilots Regularly visit an exercise junkie www.alpa.org Never want to miss an exercise session again? Read Heath 10 Watch (pages 34–35) for tips on how to take your routine on A member service of Air Line Pilot. the road. 4 Air Line Pilot August 2011 AviationMatters Why Pilots Choose AlPA I caution against thinking that way. Too often, being “indepen- n my last column, I talked about how union membership dent” means being “isolated.” among airline pilots in North America has grown while de- Several “independent” pilot unions experienced that in their Iclining in other industries. This month, I’d like to expand on contract negotiations. In both cases, they negotiated on their that and discuss some of the reasons I believe pilots actively own until talks either stalled or broke down, underscoring how seek union representation and, more specifically, why they isolationism is ineffective in advancing a pilot group’s goals. choose the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l. Ultimately, both of these independent unions turned to the Pilots are problem solvers. And, Air Line Pilots Association for help. And, yes, we gave them our as part of a flight crew, pilots are assistance because ALPA is dedicated to the betterment of our programmed to assess a situation profession and raising the bar for all airline pilots. and act decisively as a unified team. I’m sure, too, if you ask the pilots of Canadian North, The two flight crews who will receive Evergreen, and Capital Cargo—all of whose independent Superior Airmanship Awards during unions merged with ALPA—they would say that the advantage ALPA’s Air Safety Forum in August in being members of the world’s largest pilots union was a exemplify that type of critical, coor- significant factor in their decision. dinated effort. So it’s not surprising The power of unity that the Air Line Pilots Association that pilots would see the benefit of promotes can also be seen in our affiliation with other inter- collective engagement that a union such as the Air Line Pilots Association can provide. Pilots are used to taking command of a situation; we are hrough our union, pilots not content to just fly airplanes. We want to contribute to our airlines’ success. In recent corporate transactions, ALPA pilots, experience firsthand through their national union, have proven to be effective the power of unity. partners in their airlines’ success. Our message to all other T industry stakeholders: constructive partnerships with ALPA When we move forward as a pilots are crucial to achieving the full benefits of these business coordinated team, we send transactions. The Air Line Pilots Association excels in providing for its a persuasive message: we are pilots opportunities to make a lasting difference. Whether it’s organized and we are focused— collaborating on scheduling issues to enhance the efficiency of flight operations while also improving pilots’ work rules and we aren’t going to be distracted quality of life or implementing safety partnership programs from achieving our goals. such as ASAP and FOQA or advancing aviation safety, there are many recent examples of ALPA pilot groups working together with their managements to achieve their mutual goals. national pilot associations within the International Federation Inherent in both of these reasons is a third—and, I believe, of Air Line Pilots’ Associations. We are working together the most compelling—reason that professional pilots choose to meet the challenges of today’s global air transportation the Air Line Pilots Association. Through our union, pilots system. And that extends to our colleagues at the Professional experience firsthand the power of unity. When we move Helicopter Pilots Association and Cathay, where we have forward as a coordinated team, we send a persuasive mes- entered into service agreements to assist them in reaching sage: we are organized and we are focused—we aren’t going their goals. to be distracted from achieving our goals. ALPA pilots convey For pilots in North America who don’t have union repre- the message that they aren’t alone, they are backed by their sentation, we offer the advantage of ALPA membership I men- union—more than 53,000 pilots at 39 airlines in the United tioned earlier. As we go to press, the pilots of JetBlue are voting States and Canada. on whether to join ALPA. We hope that they see the power of Pilots are information junkies—we don’t like not knowing. unity that our Association offers. And, let’s face it, with industry consolidation, the future holds much that is unknown. So it’s understandable that in these situations, pilots might start to get frustrated and think that they could have an impact if they just did it on their own. But Capt. Lee Moak, ALPA President August 2011 Air Line Pilot 5 WeighingIn The Financial Advantages of An International Union and reach of each member pilot group.