Licking the Feeding Hand

Founded in 1931 and representing over seventy-thousand pilots in the employs of forty U.S. and Canadian airlines, the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) is the world’s largest and most influential pilot union.

On 05 June 2023, ALPA announced Representative Rick Larsen (Democrat-Washington State) had been awarded the union’s top legislative honor, Pilot Partisan of the Year. The award will be presented during ALPA’s 10th annual Legislative Summit, at which nearly two-hundred pilot volunteers will meet with lawmakers and their staffs for purpose of discussing the importance of maintaining America’s ostensible gold standard of aviation safety and preventing the adoption of airline business schemes practiced abroad—socialist contrivances by which the safety, labor rights, and competitiveness of the U.S. airline industry stand to be undermined.

ALPA president Captain Jason Ambrosi stated: “Representative Larsen is one of the strongest champions for pilots in Congress. He fought tirelessly to keep America flying and aviation workers employed during the pandemic, and has been a tireless advocate for safety and security across the airline industry. We appreciate Representative Larsen’s efforts to champion the safety of pilots since 2001, when he first became a member of Congress. Thank you for being a friend to all ALPA pilots.”

ALPA recognized Larsen for what the union called his “steadfast commitment to aviation safety and advocating for the aviation workforce,” setting forth: “Through his leadership position, including serving as Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation for four-years, Larsen advanced the interests of workers through his advocacy for a worker-first Payroll Support Program and cosponsored the Fair and Open Skies Act to protect the rights of U.S. workers in international aviation. Larsen has also been a staunch advocate for maintaining rigorous pilot-training requirements as Congress developed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation.”

During the Legislative Summit, ALPA pilots will encourage lawmakers to protect aviation safety advancements included in the Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010 as work continues on the upcoming FAA reauthorization.

Captain Ambrosi added: “ALPA is advancing a pilot-partisan agenda. Our issues aren’t Republican or Democratic; they’re pilot partisan. As our industry continues its strong recovery, ALPA pilots have never been more committed to ensuring airlines provide safe and reliable air transportation. This means maintaining the gold standard of aviation safety that makes the United States the global leader in air transportation. As this country’s lawmakers work on the 2023 FAA reauthorization, pilot production is up, the passenger fatality rate is down, and our skies are the safest in the world—and our goal is to ensure that continues.”

ALPA contends provisions inherent the Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010 have raised the proverbial bar for U.S. aviation by mandating the widespread implementation of safety management systems; promoting the adoption of scientifically-based flight, duty, and rest requirements; and improving pilot qualification, experience, and training requirements—to include supplemental training in high-altitude operations, flight in adverse weather conditions, and stall prevention and recovery techniques.

FMI: www.alpa.org