Pilots Booted Program Last Year Over Contract Talks

What didn't work for pilots may still work for flight attendants at American Airlines; at least, that's the hope. The Fort Worth, TX-based carrier, in conjunction with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), implemented a cabin crew Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) for the first time January 16.

ASAP is a safety partnership between the three organizations designed to encourage flight attendants to voluntarily report safety-related information. The reports will help identify potential precursors to serious safety incidents. The flight attendants' ASAP at American Airlines is now the single largest ASAP in the world by virtue of American's more than 18,000 flight attendants.

"Our flight attendants have made a huge commitment to supporting safety at American -- one of our top priorities," said Lauri Curtis, Vice President-Onboard Service, American Airlines. "We have initiated this program with the best flight attendants in the industry, to help us remain one of the safest airlines."

ASAP is designed for flight attendants to report safety related-issues through a non-punitive reporting process. Participation in ASAP is voluntary and confidential. A "sole source report" (an event that has been reported by the flight attendant only) that has been accepted into the program will not be used to initiate or support any FAA or company disciplinary action, nor will the event be the basis for any FAA or company disciplinary action. The program allows a flight attendant to report an event or incident that may otherwise go unreported.

That's how the program is supposed to work in theory, anyway. As ANN reported, a similar ASAP self-reporting program involving American's pilots came to an inglorious end last October, after pilots accused American of unfairly disciplining pilots, even when an incident was accepted for review under the program.

The Allied Pilots Association -- which, it must be noted, is locked in a contentious contract fight with American executives -- argued those actions left other pilots wary of participating... which negated the purpose of ASAP in the first place. Besides American and its American Eagle regional subsidiary, pilots at Delta, Comair, and US Airways have also ended their participation in ASAP, under similar circumstances.

Even as all parties involved cheer the new ASAP agreement for American's flight attendants, that sets an ominous precedent for the future: that ASAP is only as valuable as the latest round of contract talks.

FMI: www.aa.com, www.apfa.org