June-July 2018 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: » Human Factors » KCM Update » Virgin America’s Symposium page 26 Final Flights page 18 page 34 ALPA FIGHTS SINGLE-PILOTED Official Journal of the Air Line Pilots Association, International COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT page 24 WESTJET PILOTS APPLY PRESSURE, AGREE TO SETTLEMENT PROCESS page 10 PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. TWITTER FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. twitter.com/wearealpa facebook.com/WeAreALPA instagram.com/we_are_alpa Schwab Intelligent Portfolios.® Investing made easier. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is an automated investment advisory service that: • Builds, monitors, and automatically rebalances a diversified portfolio • Automatically projects a sustainable retirement income stream based on your stated goals • Provides access to a Schwab investment professional anytime you have questions, 24/7 All without charging advisory fees, commissions, or account service fees and with as little as $5,000 to get started. 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Schwab Intelligent Portfolios® is made available through Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., (“Schwab”) a dually registered investment adviser and broker-dealer. Portfolio management services are provided by Charles Schwab Investment Advisory, Inc. (“CSIA”), a registered investment adviser. CSIA and Schwab are affiliates and are subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation. Please read the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios disclosure brochures for important information, pricing, and disclosures relating to Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. The Charles Schwab Corporation and its affiliates are not affiliated with ALPA. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., 211 Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 ©2018 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Member SIPC. CC1885850 (0618-8LX0) ADP102246-00 (06/18) 00211038 june-july 2018 Contents VOLUME 87, NUMBER 5 ABOUT THE COVER WestJet pilots gather at company headquar- ters in Calgary, Alb., to hold their first-ever informational picket. Photo by Molly Martin. Air Line Pilot (ISSN 0002-242X) is pub lished monthly except for combined January/Feb- ruary and June/July issues by the Air Line Pilots Association, Inter national, affiliated with AFL-CIO, CLC. Editorial Offices: 535 Herndon Parkway, Herndon, VA 20170. Telephone: 703-481-4460. Fax: 703-464- 2114. Copyright © 2018―Air Line Pilots As- sociation, Inter national, all rights reserved. 18 Publica tion in any form without permission is prohibited. Air Line Pilot and the ALPA logo Reg. U.S. Pat. and T.M. Office. Federal I.D. 36-0710830. Periodicals postage paid at Herndon, VA 20170 and additional offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Air Line Pilot, 535 Herndon Parkway, Herndon, COMMENTARY VA 20170. Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40620579 5 OUR UNION Canada Post: Return undeliverables to P.O. ALPA Pilots Signal Strength Box 2601, 6915 Dixie Rd, Mississauga, ON L4T 0A9. 6 WEIGHING IN 30 Make Hay While the Sun Shines FEATURES 18 TRAINED FOR LIFE: KEEPING HUMANS AT 26 34 THE CENTER OF AVIATION 21 FEDEX EXPRESS DEPARTMENTS 30 OUR STORIES MEC INVESTIGATES 26 ALPA’S CONTRIBUTIONS FedEx Pilot Helps 7 PREFLIGHT Provide the Gift of Sight GROUNDBREAKING HELP MAKE KCM AND 32 RECENTLY RETIRED RETIREMENT PLAN PRE✓ PROGRAMS 28 ALPA@WORK See Who’s on the List CIRP Chairs Share 24 EXECUTIVE BOARD RESOUNDING SUCCESS Experiences, Discuss 34 THE LANDING ACTS TO THWART LATE- 27 AIR TRANSPORT Best Practices; Fee-for- End of an Era: Virgin Departure Committee America’s Final Flights BREAKING LEGISLATIVE INTERNATIONAL PILOTS Meets to Discuss Changes THREAT, WELCOMES Aff ecting Industry 36 WE ARE ALPA REACH THREE-YEAR ALPA Resources and NEW PILOT GROUPS DEAL Contact Numbers June-July 2018 Air Line Pilot » 3 Beyond the Page Look for these icons throughout the magazine to get access to even more information, including additional content, videos, and audio clips―or to get feedback on a question. Read More Web Address Video Link Audio Link E-mail Address This is the only aisle we care about. ALPA-PAC is the most bipartisan labor PAC in the country. Conservative, liberal, or somewhere in between: we don’t care what side of the aisle they’re on, as long as they’re on our side. Back the PAC! www.ALPAPAC.org Disclaimer: The descriptions of the Air Line Pilots Association PAC are not a solicitation to contribute to the PAC. Only ALPA members, ALPA executives, senior administrative and professional staff personnel, and their immediate family members living in the same household are eligible to contribute to ALPA-PAC. ALPA-PAC maintains and enforces a policy of refusing to accept contributions from any other source. ALPA members may learn more about ALPA-PAC and about contributing to Photo: iStock.com Photo: ALPA-PAC by entering the members-only portion of www.alpa.org. A member service of Air Line Pilot. Our Union ALPA Pilots Signal Strength hat an incredible NHL season! Signs of line operations. It’s a reckless action that threatens hockey fans’ fierce team loyalty can be found passengers, flight crews, cargo, and communities W in every city across the league on both sides on the ground. The language represents a corporate of the border. In Washington, D.C., the tradition giveaway and doesn’t belong in the FAA reauthori- that Capitals owner Ted Leonsis began in 2008 zation—or in any bill. continued this year when Caps fans wore red to In hockey, when the referee points at the goal signal their allegiance as they celebrated the team’s while blowing the whistle, fans know a team has Stanley Cup victory. scored. Sometimes, it doesn’t take much inter- Signals—actions, lights, or sounds that convey pretation to understand what a signal means. information—are fundamental to safe and secure For example, if a foreign airline operates with a flight operations, but they also shape our union’s flag-of-convenience business model, it’s likely the work and influence. The fact that so many of our company intends to base different aspects of its members wear an ALPA pin or lanyard, participate operations around the globe to avoid taxes, labor in our Calls to Action, and stand with our union laws, and safety regulations. The result would put brothers and sisters on the informational picket U.S. airlines and workers at a competitive disadvan- line all signal the strength of our unity. tage. That’s why ALPA supports Section 530 of the For ALPA pilot groups in bargaining, such as Air U.S. House FAA reauthorization bill, which would Georgian, Frontier, Trans States, United, WestJet, prevent foreign airlines with these business models and WestJet Encore, this means that other ALPA from serving the United States in the future. members’ response to informational picketing When present in the halls of Congress or Parlia- announcements on social media is frequently, “Tell ment, ALPA pilots signal objectivity and credibility me the time, give me a sign, and I will walk your on safety, security, pilot assistance, and jumpseat line." Our union stands together. issues. We saw the effect in the U.S. House FAA re- Every day, airline pilots ensure passenger, crew, authorization, which reflects many ALPA priorities. and cargo safety by analyzing signals ranging from In addition to maintaining first officer qualification wig-wag lights at runway hold short lines to PAPIs and training rules, the reauthorization improves on approach. These signals are technological tools the safe transport of lithium batteries, supports pi- that ALPA has often been instrumental in develop- lot assistance programs, requires secondary cockpit ing. They transmit information, but they’re only barriers on new passenger airliners, and enhances tools. The people who see and interpret them— Aviation Safety Action Programs with automatic highly skilled human pilots—remain the essential report acceptance. While far from perfect, the U.S. part of the safety equation on the flight deck. House bill does represent progress. And that’s why a qualified, rested, and well- The Washington Post reported that Capitals trained captain and first officer are the strongest forward T.J. Oshie signaled that he’s a man of the safety and security asset on every flight. For this people when he took the D.C. Metro to get to the reason, ALPA is a champion of the FAA’s first offi- Capital One Arena before championship games cer qualification, experience, and training require- three and four. Similarly, ALPA members signaled ments. Our industry has learned many times the their commitment to safety and our profession by value of having two trained and experienced pilots sending Congress more than 48,000 letters on ALPA at the flight controls, including during the recent issues in the first six months of 2018. Southwest Flight 1380 incident, which ultimately With every action, ALPA’s members signal the resulted in a safe landing under very demanding strength of our union. circumstances for the flight crew. Incredibly, despite this exceptional safety record, some are attempting to take pilots out of the cock- pit.