APA News Digest

March 28, 2025

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In This Edition ...

CEO Robert Isom Meets With APA Leadership

APA President FO Nick Silva welcomed American Airlines CEO Robert Isom, Chief Operating Officer David Seymour, and Senior Vice President-Labor Relations and Deputy General Counsel Lucretia Guia to the APA Board of Directors’ special meeting on Tuesday. FO Silva thanked Mr. Isom for his handling of the tragic accident in DCA on Jan. 29 and for his willingness to meet with the APA leadership.

Mr. Isom prefaced his remarks by acknowledging Mr. Seymour (“I don’t think there’s a more respected chief operating officer in the industry”) and Ms. Guia (“No one has gotten more labor deals in the last few years”). You may listen to Mr. Isom’s open-session remarks here.

Among the highlights of Mr. Isom’s open-session remarks:

  • “I’m really proud of our company, including all of you.”
  • “The MAX wouldn’t be out there flying as a mainstay of our fleet without APA’s efforts.”
  • “Look at COVID, what it took to make it through that time period; revenue fell by 95 percent. The work that we all did together in Washington really saved the industry, saved the jobs of all the people we get to work with. That was a joint effort.”
  • “I look at where we’re at right now, I’m very proud of the contract your leadership negotiated with the company and pleased that everyone is working to get implementation of that contract done.”
  • “We’re in a position where our capital requirements to fund this business are far less than competitors. Keep us growing from a widebody perspective.”
  • Mr. Isom said that AA has done “tremendous work to make sure we have the right partnerships,” including inking a new credit card deal with Citibank. He cited the work done by AA to build back the network, including planned expansion in PHL and ORD and delivery of 321XLRs and 787-9s. “So I feel really good about American’s standing.”
  • “We have to run an exceptional airline. It starts with reliability. The best airline is one customers can depend on.” Mr. Isom acknowledged that AA needs to have “a much stronger focus on the customer experience.”
  • Mr. Isom focused on margins and reducing leverage, stating that AA needs to “make sure we have a franchise that’s profitable, that people respect.”

The Board and National Officers spent the balance of their meeting with Mr. Isom, Mr. Seymour, and Ms. Guia in closed session.

Board Reviews Membership Polling Results

On Wednesday, the APA Board of Directors was briefed on data recently collected by the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Survey Center, which conducted 908 APA pilot interviews between Feb. 3 and Feb. 13.

“The sample size is significant,” pollster Phil Comstock said, resulting in a 3 percent margin of error and 95 percent “confidence factor.” UNH “did an excellent job” in producing “a very accurate sample,” he said. Mr. Comstock noted the response rate was 81 percent, which he characterized as “an excellent response, particularly in a mid-contract poll.” He said response rates tend to go up with pilots when you’re in bargaining, which “greatly mitigates any concerns about self-selection bias.” Among the highlights of his polling recap:

  • Regarding a question about pilots’ overall view of the APA,” he said there was “not a lot of difference in sentiment compared with the previous round of polling six months ago. Pilots credit APA in being responsive to their needs when they reach out. Even if the membership had criticism, you get particularly good marks when a pilot reaches out and says, ‘I need help.’”
  • In response to a question about pilots’ preferred form of communication, 80 percent of those interviewed indicated they prefer email as the primary form of communication from APA. Mr. Comstock attributed this preference to email messages not demanding “immediate attention.”
  • The polling included questions related to the APA Political Action Committee. Mr. Comstock noted there is “ample opportunity to increase participation in the PAC, not a lot of built-in resistance.” Respondents identified single/reduced pilots operations as the single biggest lobbying issue. “The level of concern is significant,” he said.
  • The polling also included questions about a possible merger between APA and the Air Line Pilots Association. Mr. Comstock noted that pilots who were represented by ALPA at a regional carrier held largely positive views, whereas pilots represented by ALPA at a legacy carrier held largely negative views. In response to a question about being represented by an association that represents multiple pilot groups, he said that in the most recent bargaining cycle, that has “been seen as more of a positive.” Fifty-eight percent of pilots who were interviewed “strongly” or “somewhat favor” formation of a negotiating merger committee, while approximately one quarter of the membership is “firmly opposed to an ALPA merger, don’t want a committee or want to fund a committee, intrinsic opposition.” In summary, Mr. Comstock reported there is not “a unanimous sentiment on either side of the question. You have a majority who want to go forward.”

You can review the data Mr. Comstock presented here.

You can watch recording of the open-session portions of the Board’s special meeting here.

National and Domicile Elections: Vote Before Monday

Voting is underway in multiple APA elections. The Election Round of the LAX and ORD Domicile Elections and the Nomination Round of the National Officers Election will run through 0001 Central on March 31. Resumes for all candidates may be found here: Candidate Information.

Each eligible pilot should have received a notice in the mail containing a unique Voting PIN and voting instructions for the National Officers Election. Each eligible pilot in LAX and ORD should also have received a separate notice in the mail containing a unique Voting PIN and voting instructions for the domicile election. It is important that you retain this letter, as you will need the same Voting PIN for all rounds of an election. If you are based at LAX or ORD, you will have two distinct Voting PINs – one for each election.

You should have also received your Voting PIN and voting instructions via an email from APA’s elections vendor, Sequent. To ensure you receive your voting credentials, please verify your contact information via the Member Update page on AlliedPilots.org.

The ballots for each election are found at separate websites:

If you did not receive or misplaced your Voting PIN, did not receive a mail ballot, and/or are experiencing difficulties casting your ballot, please call the Voting Support Call Center at 888-454-3230.

To verify your identity, the call center will ask you for your unique APA Unique Identifier Code. Your APA Identifier Code can be found at the bottom of the Member Update page on AlliedPilots.org.

Any voter who is unable to vote electronically, or would prefer to vote by mail, can request a mail ballot by visiting this website: https://electiontrust.com/apabod. Alternatively, you may request a mail ballot by calling 888-454-3230. If you request a mail ballot in one round of the election, you will receive a mail ballot for all subsequent election rounds. Requesting a mail ballot does not preclude you from voting electronically. However, if you submit both an electronic and a mail ballot, only the electronic ballot will be counted.

The Voting Support Call Center is staffed by APA’s election vendor from 0900 to 1700 Central on every day of the voting period for each round of the election. On the last full day of each round, the call center will remain open until 2200 Central.

We’ll See You at Sun ’n Fun Next Week

This is a reminder from the APA Family Awareness Committee.

The Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo, the biggest and best airshow in the southeastern United States, is happening next week, when we plan to serve two lunches and two dinners in our air-conditioned flightline chalet with private restrooms. Please bring your family!

The code for discounted tickets is APA995.

Besides the food and fellowship, there will be significant information passed along. You can expect to break bread with APA’s elected officials as well as volunteers from national committees. Additionally, APA Medical Advisors and representatives from the APA Benefits Department will be on hand to answer questions.

As you make plans to join us in Lakeland, Florida, please RSVP for each meal separately so we can be sure to order enough food.

Join Us for YOUnion 301 on April 9

This is a new message from the APA Compass Project Committee.

The Compass Project and APA Vice President CA Chris Torres will host a “YOUnion 301” meeting via Zoom at 1100 Central on April 9. This “Captains’ Development Seminar” is intended to help new captains and soon-to-be captains understand their authorities, APA support, and safety trends within our airline.

If you register now, you will receive reminder emails in advance of the meeting.

Click here to register for the April 9 meeting.

Town Hall for Military Pilots on April 9

This is a new message from the APA Military Affairs Subcommittee.

Join your Military Affairs Subcommittee via Zoom at 1400 Central on Wednesday, April 9, for this year’s virtual town hall meeting. We will discuss a variety of topics that directly impact our Guard and Reserve pilots.

Topics to be discussed:

  • DFP movement issues
  • USERRA five-year limit issues
  • Military Leave count against five-year USERRA limit
  • Chinese visa issues
  • FAA 1,000-hour rule for upgrades
  • VA disability ratings and VA letters
  • PBS bidding strategies
  • 401(k) contribution calculations and AAL matching issues

We will also have time for questions on other topics and encourage you to submit questions in advance to militaryaffairs@alliedpilots.org. We will be recording the meeting and posting it to the Military Affairs page on AlliedPilots.org for review throughout the year for those who cannot attend.

Click here to register for the April 9 town hall.

The Military Affairs Subcommittee is here to assist you during your transition to the airline and beyond. We look forward to hearing from you.

Boarding and Baggage

This is a new message from the APA Jumpseat/Non-Rev Committee.

Your APA Jumpseat/Non-Rev Committee offers the following guidance with regards to boarding and baggage storage for pilots who are traveling for deadhead, jumpseat, or non-revenue purposes.

Over the last few months, AA management has implemented Boarding Insights throughout our worldwide network to ensure passengers are boarding with their assigned group. In general, this means you should board with the group on your boarding pass when traveling as an employee. However, there are several contractual provisions that may allow a pilot to pre-board or board ahead of the group on your boarding pass. Please provide a debrief if you have questions or your boarding pass does not indicate the proper group for your type of travel.

PRE-BOARDING – CBA 19.D.3.f. – “A deadheading Pilot may pre-board the aircraft.”

Once the FAA required minimum crew flight attendants are onboard, deadheading crew members, in or out of uniform, are permitted to pre-board.

  • All deadheads listed on the NS are permitted to pre-board on all domestic and international flights.
  • Working flight attendants may wish to deplane and cannot do so if a deadheading pilot is onboard.
  • Deadheading crew members who pre-board with carry-on bags must remain on the aircraft. If leaving the aircraft, they must take all carry-on bags with them.
  • Any pilot issued a flight deck jumpseat “W” will be in Group 1 and may pre-board.

NOTE: Pilots and flight attendants listed as non-revs and in uniform can board with Group 6 if they are assigned to Groups 7-8.

Crew members who are AAdvantage status customer or have an American Airlines branded credit card that comes with a higher tiered boarding privileges will be assigned those group numbers based on their respective tiers and/or credit card.

BAG STORAGE – CBA 19.C.3, WebRef

Due to limited baggage stowage space in the flight deck, carry-on baggage for pilots issued a flight deck jumpseat may be secured in the following order:

  • In the flight deck, or
  • If the jumpseat occupant’s baggage cannot be accommodated in the flight deck, jumpseat occupants will be allowed to use available cabin overhead bins for storage.
  • If the jumpseat occupant’s baggage cannot be accommodated in either the flight deck or cabin overhead bins, then:
    • American Airlines pilots may check their crew baggage (gate valet/gate dispatch & delivery) for retrieval on the jet bridge at the destination. If an AA pilot’s baggage is lost, the pilot shall be subject to the American Airlines policy regarding lost baggage applicable to revenue passengers.
    • D6 (OAL) jumpseat occupants or those issued cabin seats are allowed to check in with the captain to stow their baggage in the flight deck. Baggage that cannot otherwise be stowed shall be gate checked for pick up in baggage claim at destination.

The captain has final authority regarding carriage of items on the flight deck (FOM 1s.4.3).

If you have questions or concerns regard this or any other jumpseat, deadhead or non-rev travel questions, please call, text, or email our members or file a debrief.

Hotel Debrief vs. Hotel Survey

This is a reminder from the APA Hotel Committee.

A Hotel Debrief is an important mechanism for crews to communicate systemic and particularly egregious layover issues (hotel or transportation) that need to be addressed with the company or the third-party vendor in a timely manner. Hotel Debriefs are monitored daily by the Hotel Committee.

The Hotel Survey, which automatically pops up on the APA Pilot app after a layover, is used to track trends, both good and bad. Issues that don’t need to be addressed immediately are best tracked in the survey versus a debrief. Room wait times, transportation wait times, climate control issues, and lack of food options are all examples of issues that are best communicated through the survey. The survey is quicker to fill out than a debrief and helps us to track trends. We can identify problems clearly with the survey, and it allows us to appropriately address them with American. An issue in a debrief is often seen by the hotel or the company as a “one off” (and often that is the case), but the survey gives us data necessary to identify an actual trend that needs to be addressed. Save yourself some time and capture this information in the survey, which takes just a minute or two to fill out. There is no need to duplicate with the debrief unless it is an egregious issue that leads to a fatigue call, forces you to secure your own transportation or hotel room, or causes a late departure.

We are also happy to send a positive Hotel Debrief to the company if you have a particularly great stay.

For more information, check out the QRH – Quick Reference Hotels document. This resource answers 99 percent of all hotel, transportation, and layover questions while providing helpful solutions. Suggestion: Download this QRH document to your AA iPad for easy access in the future.

Our Recommended Reading List

This is a new message from the APA Aeromedical Committee.

In an effort to improve our members’ health, we have created a recommended reading list. Each month, we will highlight a book that has helped in the prevention of, treatment of, or recovery from an injury or illness, or has elevated a member’s education. Feel free to send your book recommendations to aeromed-committee@alliedpilots.org.

The 5 Resets

Author Aditi Nerurkar believes the common misperception of stress as “bad” needs reframing. In The 5 Resets, she redefines stress as a healthy biological phenomenon that helps us tackle life’s many demands. Stress becomes problematic when it’s out of tune with the frequency of our lives, resulting in burnout, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and many other physical symptoms.

Disclaimer: This recommendation is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine or other professional health care services. Always consult with your medical provider when making health care decisions.

Training Offered for CIRP Volunteers

This is a reminder from the APA Critical Incident Response Program Subcommittee.

The Aeromedical Committee’s Critical Incident Response Program (CIRP) Subcommittee is responsible for ensuring a coordinated response toward accident investigators, crewmembers, and their families after a critical incident.

Have you always wanted to assist pilots who’ve had a bad day at the office? Here’s your chance to become part of a rewarding crisis management team. We will conduct a three-day training course for new volunteers May 6-8 in Dallas.

If interested, please email Deputy Chair FO Ken Hagan at khagan@alliedpilots.org.

APA Welcomes New Pilots

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

a group of pilots in a lobby

Click the image for a closer look.

On March 25, the APA Membership Committee hosted a casual dinner for the following new-hire pilots: Jason Aarons, Rick Bravo, Vernon Brown Jr., Matthew Burton, William Cawthorne III, Matias Cocconi, Joseph Coffey, Spencer Cole, Joshua Cornelius, David Correa Romero, Marc Curley, Frank De Graaf, Matthew Dragg, Rodrigo Fonseca Serra e Silva, Catherine Gonot, Hunter Harlow, Jason Hutto, Bryan Ingram, Heriberto Irizarry, Carlos Kulka, Michael Langlois, Tyrell Lee, Stephen Lowder Jr., Vincent Martin, Ludwig Monterroso, Antonio Nassar, Andrew Noll, Joseph Occhiuzzo, Adrian Perez, Dennis Phillips, Andrew Register, Matthew Richmond, Philipp Risseeuw, Christopher Ryan, Gregory Shepherd, Cetrena Simmons, Nicholas Spurgetis, Yasmany Torres, Marcel Trott, Ainsley van Rooyen, and Bryan Werling.

APA Attends Women in Aviation Conference

A contingent of APA volunteers are in Denver this week for the annual Women in Aviation International Conference, where they are talking to pilots about the support they can expect from APA if they are hired at American Airlines.

Positive Rate Episode 47: National Air Traffic Controllers Association

In the latest episode of our “Positive Rate” podcast, Communications Committee Deputy Chair FO Melissa Monahan talks with CLT NATCA President Anthony Schifano and CLT NATCA Vice President Justin Garay about the service air traffic controllers provide as a vital part of the national aviation system. The NATCA officials give an overview of their union and detail the tools controllers use — including radar, radio, and surface detection — and characterize controllers as “the glue that holds the whole thing together.” They encourage pilots to ask ATC for clarification whenever necessary: “If you have a question, ask.”

Each episode of “Positive Rate” features APA subject-matter experts working on the membership’s behalf. The podcast is available through popular streaming services, including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can search for “Positive Rate” or “Allied Pilots Association” on your platform of choice to subscribe and download. Your first opportunity to listen will be via AlliedPilots.org/Podcasts.

APA Contract Minute – Deadhead Clarification

CA Jason Saxer is back with a reminder about the deadhead clarification in this episode of the APA Contract Minute. The deadhead clarification requires the company to build all deadheads within the applicable Table B, Table C, or maximum reserve duty period.

APA Medical Minute – Retinal Detachment, Holes, and Tears

In the latest edition of the APA Medical Minute, APA Medical Advisor Cassie Bien discusses retinal detachment, holes, and tears, along with related FAA requirements.

You can watch previous Medical Minute videos on APA’s YouTube channel.

Domicile Events

a group of pilots in a lobby

Nearly 100 people gathered at the Bedford Village Inn & Restaurant on March 21 for the BOS Retirement Party. You can see more photos on APA’s Facebook page.

Visit AlliedPilots.org/Calendar to RSVP for any of these upcoming domicile events:

Week in Review

Here are some recent messages you may have missed:

Are You Willing to Serve?

Each of these national committees or subcommittees has the indicated number of vacancies:

  • Aeromedical Committee (0)
    • Critical Incident Response Program Subcommittee (2)
    • Disabled Pilot Awareness Subcommittee (3)
    • Human Intervention Motivational Study Subcommittee (1)
    • Pilot Occupational Health Subcommittee (2)
  • Captain’s Authority Committee (2)
  • Communications Committee (0)
    • National Communications Network (2)
  • Grey Eagles Liaison Committee (1)
  • International Alliance Committee (1)
  • Retirement and Benefits Committee (1)*
  • Scheduling Committee (1)
  • Training Committee (0)
    • Checkmate (1 on 777)

* Seeking volunteer with financial services experience and possible AIF®, CFP®, or related designations.

If you would like to serve on one or more of these committees, visit the Member Engagement Portal.

Professional Standards FAQs

How does management or an employee submit an issue to Professional Standards?
Committee volunteers are identified for each domicile on AlliedPilots.org and on each domicile APA bulletin board. Management is furnished contact information for every domicile and national deputy, and they may approach a committee volunteer with an issue. Emails, texts, and detailed phone messages are to be avoided, because the information is not confidential and may not be protected. Telephone contact and face-to-face meetings are encouraged, as confidentiality is paramount to the success of the program. You can reach your domicile Professional Standards committee via our phone tree: 817-402-2181.

To read all of the FAQs, click here.

Professional Standards’ 24/7 hotline: 817-402-2181

If You’re 50, Join The Grey Eagles

Are you a pilot for American Airlines, at least age 50, active or retired? Please join The Grey Eagles for food, fun, and fellowship. We offer cruises, conventions, monthly luncheons, retirement dinners, professional mentoring, and assistance to surviving spouses – all for a one-time lifetime fee. Our next cruise, a nine-night excursion across the southern Caribbean, launches Oct. 9.

Pilot Job Fairs and Future Pilot Seminars

The Future & Active Pilot Alliance’s next Pilot Job Fairs are scheduled for April 25 at ATL followed by May 16 at ORD. The next Future Pilot Seminars are scheduled for April 26 at ATL followed by May 17 at ORD. Click here for more information.

Industry News

For more about what’s happening in the industry, be sure to visit the Industry News page on AlliedPilots.org.

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