WELCOME TO THE TEXAS EAGLE

A

...

Welcome to the

January Issue __________1 Capt. Berberich Addresses the Meeting ___________ 2 ALPA Council 83

Committee Overview ___ 3 Capt. Brad Wickman, New DFW Chief Pilot ________ 5 DFW Hub VP Mike Reid __ 6 MEC Vice Chairman

Dave Ryter on the November 2005

Displacement Results ___ 9 Attention, TWA Pilots! _ 10 Dave Ryter on

Preferential Bidding ___ 11 Test Your Jumpseat

Knowledge! __________ 11 DFW Ramp Frequency __ 12

Welcome to the January 2006 issue of the Texas Eagle, a newsletter for DFW Eagle pilots

published by LEC 83 of the Air Line Pilots

Association. In this issue, the results of the LEC 83 elections are in. Also, those who may not be aware of LEC 83’s activities will find an overview of its committees. Perhaps a DFW-based Eagle pilot may find he or she may have an interest in serving fellow Eagle pilots in such a committee.

More volunteers are definitely needed! In this issue, a DFW Eagle pilot can find interviews with Capt. Brad Wickman, the new DFW Chief Pilot, and Mike Reid, American Eagle VP of DFW. Also, MEC Vice Chairman Dave Ryter shares some insight into the November displacement results and preferential bidding. Lastly, a jumpseating quiz will challenge your jumpseat knowledge.

1

2

L

...

Welcome to the

December Issue ________ 1 Capt. Berberich ________ 2 ALPA Council 83

Committee Overview ___ 3 Capt. Brad Wickman, New DFW Chief Pilot ____ 5 DFW Hub VP Mike Reid __ 6 Dave Ryter with the

Displacement Results ___ 9 Attention, TWA Pilots! _ 10 Preferential Bidding ___ 11 Jumpseat Knowledge __ 11 DFW Ramp Frequency __ 12

Capt. Berberich Addresses the Meeting

ALPA Council 83 Election Results

At the LEC 83 meeting held in September, Capt. Tim Berberich gave a briefing to those attending concerning the present state of our relations with the company and detailed various issues

concerning fuel savings measures, what pilots are suggesting for saving the company money, preferential bidding, and outstanding grievances.

Nomination ballots were received, counted, verified, and sent to Herndon, Virginia, for ALPA International to review.

Nominations Are Tallied Nominated were:

Captain Representative: Capt. Tim Berberich Capt. Jim Joynt First Officer Representative: F/O Mike Auffet

F/O James Magee Secretary-Treasurer: Capt. Jose Barbaran

Capt. Richard Krutenat

Election Results

In November the results of the elections were in.

Thanks to all pilots who exercised their privilege and responsibility to vote. A big thank-you to those willing to serve. Elected were:

Captain Representative: Capt. Tim Berberich First Officer Representative: F/O James Magee Secretary-Treasurer: Capt. Richard Krutenat

At the September 5 LEC Meeting

3 Continued

ALPA Council 83 Committee Overview

For those who may not understand the structure of ALPA in general, here is a brief overview. At all levels of ALPA, pilots make decisions through the democratic-representative process.

Decisions start with local pilot groups. Each pilot group consists of all the pilots at a given airline. Pilot groups exercise

considerable autonomy in governing their own internal affairs, such as negotiating contracts, enforcing those contracts, and discussing issues of concern with their companies.

Members of each ALPA carrier are represented by their local council status representatives, who make up each pilot group’s Master Executive Council (MEC). Each pilot group consists of one or more local councils, which generally correspond with the pilots’ major domiciles. These local council status representatives sit on ALPA’s Board of Directors, the Association’s highest governing body. The local council

representatives elect the officers of the MECs, the chairmen of which comprise ALPA’s Executive Board. ALPA’s Executive

Council, which bears fiduciary responsibility for the

Association, includes both elected executive vice presidents and the national officers.

Here at LEC 83, our current status representatives are Capt.

Tim Berberich and F/O Matt Sanders. Our secretary-treasurer is Capt. Peter Heffley. The newly elected officers will begin their terms in February. If you are a DFW pilot, you should have their telephone numbers saved in your mobile phone, as well as the accident hotline and the representation hotline.

Captain Representative—Capt.Tim Berberich, (817) 726-3522, [email protected]

F/O Representative—F/O James Magee, (972) 679-9536, [email protected]

Secretary-Treasurer—Capt. Rich Krutenat, (817) 307-9714, [email protected]

ALPA Accident Hotline (202) 797-4180

ALPA Representation Hotline (866) 810-8773 EGL MEC Office (877) EGL-ALPA

Their job description is to represent DFW pilots at the MEC level and to serve and assist DFW Eagle pilots.

The following is a list of current committees and the volunteers who serve on them. If you see volunteers in the crew room, ask them about their involvement and what they do to serve DFW Eagle pilots. You might be surprised to learn what happens behind the scenes.

4

P AMERICAN EAGLE

ILOTS

alpa

DF W

L E C 08 3

A design for the LEC 83 logo submitted by F/O Dennis DelaPaz Accident Investigation—Capt. Victor Cabot, F/O Bill DeGroh

Aeromedical—Capt. Paul Markuson, F/O Sam Huffman Air Safety—Capt. Victor Cabot, F/O Bill DeGroh Critical Incident Response—Capt. Roger Qualls

Communication—Capt. Rich Krutenat, Capt. Joel Bohnsack Grievance—Vacant

HIMS (Human Performance)—Capt. Paul Markuson, F/O Sam Huffman

Hotel—F/O Mike Catarineau, Capt. Lloyd Hedges Info Rep—Capt. Rich Krutenat

Professional Standards—Vacant Scheduling—Vacant

Security—Capt. Mark Godfrey Family Awareness—Vacant Jumpseat—Vacant

Legislative—Vacant Membership—Vacant

Retirement/Insurance—Vacant Training—Vacant

Notice that some of the committees are currently vacant. We have recently lost some volunteers as they pursue other career opportunities. We also just lost our Scheduling volunteer, Andy O’Hara, to the MEC Scheduling chair. Some committees are effectively staffed by only one volunteer.

Obviously, some committees require more or less involvement than others, but as you can see, there is plenty of room for volunteers to take initiative and get involved in a committee that interests them. Our pilot group traditionally has had three major obstacles toward volunteering. First, we have a large percentage of pilots who commute to work, making it difficult to be present for certain union-related activities.

Second, many Eagle pilots have felt that Eagle would never be their “career airline.” Third, frequent changes of domicile and equipment have led to instability in LEC committee volunteer staffing. Consider, however, the following: Much volunteer work can be done from a hotel room with either a laptop or a mobile phone. Also, more and more Eagle pilots are finding that Eagle just might be a viable “career” airline—

at the very least, they are staying much longer than they anticipated. Also, domicile and equipment changes need not prevent a pilot from participating at their new position.

Whatever your situation, consider how you might find your own way to serve your fellow Eagle pilots. We will be a stronger and healthier pilot group as a result.

L

...

Welcome to the

December Issue ________ 1 Capt. Berberich ________ 2 ALPA Council 83

Committee Overview ___ 3 Capt. Brad Wickman, New DFW Chief Pilot ____ 5 DFW Hub VP Mike Reid __ 6 Dave Ryter with the

Displacement Results ___ 9

Attention, TWA Pilots! _ 10

Preferential Bidding ___ 11

Jumpseat Knowledge __ 11

DFW Ramp Frequency __ 12

5 TE: Brad . . . Congratulations on your new position. Thanks for

taking the time to talk with Texas Eagle. What is your background with American Eagle? How long did you serve as Assistant Chief Pilot here in DFW?

BW: I started with Chaparral Airlines in July 1989 flying a -159. I flew the Saab for about 7,000 hours between 1991 and 2000, and upgraded in 1995. In 2000, I was brought into the assistant chief pilot position and have served here in DFW in that position until 2005. I’ve been based here in DFW for my entire career at American Eagle. Prior to Eagle, I flew freight for Martinaire in caravans.

TE: How would you like your office to run here in DFW?

BW: I prefer a low key, open-door policy. I’m hoping to continue to increase the communication with DFW pilots. I get a lot of contact with pilots by way of face-to-face time in the crew lounges. That’s important. A lot of times I’ll meet the pilots at the gate to handle a question or to help sort out a mess.

Sometimes there’s the follow-up phone call I make to a pilot to help clarify a situation or try to get an accurate coding of a delay.

Speaking of which, I hope our pilots will be patient with the delay coding process. I hope pilots won’t be irritated when our office is following up a delay. The common goal is to have accurate

reporting, not so much to assign blame but to get at the real reason for the delay. We can’t improve what’s wrong with our system if we don’t see an accurate picture. The delay code cards can be picked up in the office if a pilot wants to be proactive about this whole thing.

We try to be equipped with most of the common day-to-day questions that a pilot might ask us, and we reference the

Capt. Brad Wickman, New DFW Chief Pilot

Continued

Capt. Wickman, in Between Calls

Be informed.

Be united.

Be involved.

Be safe.

6

F/O Dave Ryter, MEC Vice Chairman, on Outstanding MEC Arbitrations

Continued applicable parts of the contract and FM1. But there are

times when we’re not sure of the answer, and we’ll have to research it a little before we can get back to a pilot. I basically want everyone to know that if you really have a problem, you can get ahold of me. Stop by the office and pick up my card, or if it’s really urgent, Dispatch has ways to contact us.

TE: Any upcoming news at DFW?

BW: Well, I’m sure you know about the plans to move into the rest of the B terminal. The latest information is still kind of fluid, but the initial plans are to start taking the high B gates (36, 35, etc.) probably around January or February. We have plans for an additional crew lounge

pretty well established; we’re looking forward to having a more updated crew lounge with more amenities. As of right now, we’ll be keeping the existing crew lounges as well. In the spring of 2006, we should expect to fill in the rest of the B terminal.

Terminal D is running pretty well, but as a side note, I want to caution DFW pilots concerning bringing food through DFW Customs. They’re pretty serious about this. Probably the best advice is to not bring any food whatsoever through Customs.

That’s about it.

TE: Thanks for taking the time for the interview. We look forward to a good relationship with your office.

BW: My pleasure.

An Interview with DFW Hub VP Mike Reid

TE: Thanks, Mike, for your time and your comments for this article. Could you outline the future plans that American Eagle has in mind for the Satellite Terminal, Terminal A, and Terminal B?

MR: We’ve come a long way here at DFW. Just six years ago we were an all-turboprop operation with no terminal access at all.

All passengers were boarded by bus and delivered planeside at various hardstands. The Satellite Terminal, modeled after LAX’s operation, was built in 2001. It was an improvement in that it simplified the busing operation. The Eagle bag room facility, adjacent to gate A9, was built shortly thereafter. Now in 2005, we occupy a large portion of Terminal B, gates B3—B17, and our international flights utilize two AMR-leased gates and two shared gates in Terminal D. As soon as construction is complete in

Terminal E for ATA, Frontier, and other airlines, we will be moving into more gates in Terminal B. Our construction for these areas is tentatively scheduled to be completed by late March.

L

...

Welcome to the

December Issue ________ 1 Capt. Berberich ________ 2 ALPA Council 83

Committee Overview ___ 3 Capt. Brad Wickman, New DFW Chief Pilot ____ 5 DFW Hub VP Mike Reid __ 6 Dave Ryter with the

Displacement Results ___ 9

Attention, TWA Pilots! _ 10

Preferential Bidding ___ 11

Jumpseat Knowledge __ 11

DFW Ramp Frequency __ 12

7 Mike Reid

In the meantime, we are actively drawing down operations from the Satellite Terminal, and are using gates A9—A12 on an interim basis until more room opens up in Terminal B. The disposition of the Satellite Terminal is still unknown at this time.

TE: Which terminal will the Saabs use, and how will passenger boarding be accomplished?

MR: We are currently looking at a plan to refit the north end of Terminal B with “radial jetbridges,”

which can accommodate either jets or Saabs, similar to those found at some of our outstations.

TE: Are there plans for a combined crew room for the pilots and flight attendants?

MR: We are looking at keeping the current crew room

arrangements in Terminal B and creating an additional combined pilot/flight attendant crew room on the north side of Terminal B when it becomes available. The exact location has not yet been confirmed.

TE: Are there plans to refit the jetbridges in Terminal B (and retrain ramp and gate agents) to allow movement of the bridges while the external power (GPU) plug is connected to an aircraft?

This would help the jets taxi into the parking spot without ever requiring an APU to be started—a significant savings.

MR: This is something I will be looking into, and I hope to have an answer for you in the near future.

TE: Do you have any comments or input you’d like to share with DFW Eagle pilots?

MR: Yes, I’d like to mention that I’ve been in contact with Ed Criner about the issue of clearing Customs in Terminal D and returning to the secure area. As it stands today, if a crew clears Customs, it is acceptable to return to the secure side of the terminal for the purpose of riding the Skylink to Terminal A or B to sign out, drop off kit bags, etc., and to pick up the employee parking bus.

Finally, I want to thank our pilots for their efforts in moving record numbers of people safely and efficiently. I would like to offer our thanks for their help and diligence in getting as many people as possible on the flights, while still moving the flights out on time. From time to time, a crewmember will see

A Saab at work at DFW Continued

8 that it is possible to add more passengers to his or her flight and will

ask the gate agent to board more passengers. While I am grateful for the team attitude, I want to emphasize that keeping our flights on schedule is the one thing crewmembers can do to improve the overall travel experience for our customers. After feedback from both the agents and flight crews, we are currently working on a new process that will allow the agents to better manage passenger maximization at the gate. This will allow a more timely accommodation of the customers who can be put on the flight. If they cannot be placed on the flight, we will accommodate that passenger on another flight. But keeping schedule integrity is critical, especially now as we move toward the Simplification Project.

TE: What is the Simplification Project?

MR: The Simplification Project is a test currently under way with the Saab operation here at DFW. This project provides an

opportunity for us to improve our operations and achieve a competitive advantage by increasing the productivity of our existing aircraft.

In order to do this, we have shortened the time an aircraft sits on the ground and staggered the gates where the aircraft arrive.

Shorter turn times allow us to fly our existing schedule with fewer aircraft.

As a result, the aircraft that are freed up will allow us to grow

without purchasing new aircraft. The test has shown encouraging results in better A14 performance, fewer cancellations, fewer aircraft swaps, and more time for Maintenance to repair broken planes. The test has also shown improvement in Saab arrival and block time performance.

TE: Thanks, Mike, for your time.

MR: You’re welcome. Any crewmember who would like to contact me with any comments, questions, or suggestions can send an e- mail to me at [email protected].

L

...

Welcome to the

December Issue ________ 1 Capt. Berberich ________ 2 ALPA Council 83

Committee Overview ___ 3 Capt. Brad Wickman, New DFW Chief Pilot ____ 5 DFW Hub VP Mike Reid __ 6 Dave Ryter with the

Displacement Results ___ 9 Attention, TWA Pilots! _ 10 Preferential Bidding ___ 11 Jumpseat Knowledge __ 11 DFW Ramp Frequency __ 12

An inbound Mexico flight at Gate D20

9

MEC Vice Chairman Dave Ryter

on the November 2005 Displacement Results

TE: Dave, I know it’s complicated, but could you explain what just happened on the November 2005 displacement bid?

DR: Here’s my best attempt to explain the bid award. Although it is a tough read, anyone interested in this convoluted and confusing process can power through it. In my opinion, the most important element is the reminder to file a grievance fact sheet if you feel that you have been harmed in any way by the company’s position on the process.

The Association strongly believes that an Eagle pilot’s AA seniority is not applicable during a displacement until such time as a “flow- back” pilot is at risk of losing a position as a jet captain. This occurs when a displaced flow-back pilot has no other jet captains junior to him or when he does not have enough displacement bids entered into his 3*. At that point, and only at that point, does Letter 3 come into play to determine that pilot’s options.

The company has taken a different position. The company maintains that an Eagle pilot’s AA seniority applies to every stage of a displacement. In other words, a flow-back pilot may not displace another flow-back pilot unless the displacing pilot has more AA and more AE seniority than the pilot he is intending to displace. Consequently, a senior Eagle pilot who does not have an AA seniority number is not permitted to displace a flow- back pilot.

The first pilots to be furloughed from AA were the most junior AA pilots. When they came to Eagle, they began their Eagle seniority.

With each subsequent wave of AA furloughs, more senior AA pilots were furloughed but became junior to those previously furloughed from AA who had already begun flying at American Eagle. Thus, an inversion of AA seniority occurs as furloughed AA pilots come to Eagle. This seniority inversion makes it very rare for any flow-back pilot to have more AA and more AE seniority than any other flow- back pilot. As a result, displaced flow-back pilots are extremely limited in their options under the company’s position.

Let me give you an example from the displacement bid. The first pilot displaced from BCE was a pilot without an AA seniority

number who proffered to displace to NCE. Because this proffer did not require training, the proffering pilot was permitted to use his own seniority in determining whether or not he could hold NCE. He could, and therefore he displaced to NCE. Under normal

circumstances, this pilot would have displaced the most junior NCE pilot. But because of the company’s position on AA seniority, the pilot proffering to displace out of BCE was not permitted to

Continued

10 displace any flow-back pilots. Because

Letter 3 protections were invoked, Eagle Rights pilots were also protected.

Therefore, the pilot targeted for

displacement from NCE was the most junior

“flow-through” pilot without an AA seniority number. Luckily for that pilot, a more senior pilot had proffered to displace out of NCE to DCE. Once again, because this proffer request did not require training, the proffering pilot was allowed to use his seniority in determining whether or not he could hold DCE. He could, and therefore he displaced to DCE. Now the cycle began again.

Because this pilot did not have an AA seniority number, he was not permitted to displace a flow-back pilot, and because Letter 3

protections had been activated, Eagle Rights pilots were also protected. Therefore, the pilot targeted for

displacement, and in this case actually displaced, was the most junior flow-through pilot in DCE without an AA seniority number. Confused yet? Join the club. This pilot (the junior flow-through DCE pilot without an AA

seniority number) wanted to displace into OCC. Because of the company’s interpretation regarding AA seniority, this pilot could not displace any flow-back pilots holding OCC, and therefore he could not displace any Eagle Rights pilots whose protections are triggered any time Letter 3 is invoked. It just so happened that there was a flow-through pilot in OCC without an AA seniority

number who was junior to the pilot being displaced from DCE. Therefore, the pilot displaced from DCE displaced the junior flow-through pilot in OCC, who in turn displaced to MCA where the company elected to carry him as an overage.

Keep in mind that this delineates only the first of 20 similar displacements. In February, the company took the same position, and the Association grieved. Any pilots who feel that they were harmed by the company’s use of AA seniority in determining displacement

eligibility should file a grievance fact sheet so that they may be added to the Association’s file pertaining to the MEC grievance filed in February.

Attention, TWA Pilots!

If you are a former TWA pilot who may have input or

perhaps some expertise in the Preferential Bidding System (PBS) as it was implemented at TWA, we ask that you consider participating in the PBS exploratory process. Your experience and insights would be greatly appreciated. ALPA Council 83 Chairman Capt.

Tim Berberich is a member of the PBS Committee and can be contacted at

[email protected]. You may also contact Capt.

Richard Krutenat, ALPA Council 83 Communications Committee chairman, at [email protected].

A TWA 757 in Spain

11

Test Your Jumpseat Knowledge!

What would you do in this situation? You grab a sandwich in

between flights at the outstation. Two pilots introduce themselves to you and ask about Eagle’s jumpseat policy. One pilot works for Independence Air and the other works for Comair. The cockpit jumpseat is available, and there are two seats available in the cabin. They’re looking for a ride to DFW. Can you take one of them or both of them? Where are they permitted to sit?

Give up? I did too when a similar situation happened to me in Cincinnati. I looked in HIDIR, but it was old info and had not been updated. (The gate agents are supposed to know, but sometimes you can’t always rely on them to help a jumpseating pilot.) Since then I have learned the RES entry that addresses this: F*PSM/CASS and F*PSM/D6. In this example, the record shows that neither pilot is CASS-approved, which means that neither pilot can occupy the jumpseat. But Independence Air has a limited jumpseat (which means that the number of jumpseat riders is limited to the actual number of jumpseats

MEC Vice Chairman Dave Ryter on Preferential Bidding

TE: Will any move to a Preferential Bidding System require membership ratification by the pilots?

DR: Ratification of TAs and LOAs default to MEC ratification unless specified otherwise by the MEC. To date, every member of the MEC has expressed a strong desire for membership ratification with regard to any agreement on preferential bidding. I do not have the authority to tell you what the MEC will do, but I have no current reason to believe anything other than membership ratification would result.

TE: Will there be an opportunity for the pilots to “try out the system” before voting yes or no?

DR: We have made it abundantly clear to the company that a trial period must exist. Although the specifics and duration of a trial period have not been discussed, the company has not objected to the concept.

TE: What other airlines are currently using PBS?

DR: America West, Comair, Continental, United, and TWA (when they existed), and the Delta F/As have preferential bidding. Continental Express is currently engaged in negotiations over PBS.

Continued

L

...

Welcome to the

December Issue ________ 1 Capt. Berberich ________ 2 ALPA Council 83

Committee Overview ___ 3 Capt. Brad Wickman, New DFW Chief Pilot ____ 5 DFW Hub VP Mike Reid __ 6 Dave Ryter with the

Displacement Results ___ 9

Attention, TWA Pilots! _10

Preferential Bidding ___ 11

Jumpseat Knowledge __ 11

DFW Ramp Frequency __ 12

12

DFW Ramp Frequency

Recently, the “inbound” frequency position in our DFW Operations tower was eliminated. Our pilots have been advised to utilize the

“Estimated On Time” (EON) function of ACARS to send the in-range call to Operations. If the flight has a special need that does not already appear in the passenger information, we’ve been told to call the “ramp” frequency, 128.82.

This policy has created some stress on the folks who work the frequency. As you may know, the ramp tower is located above the A terminal, and the B and D terminals are only visible by video camera. Due to local frequency phenomena, pilots calling from the east and west sides of the airport may not hear each other’s

transmissions and may often “block” each other, the ramp controller, or both. Additionally, the DFW Ops team is now required to coordinate with AA ramp controller at Terminal D. When an OSO situation, gate changes, or other

irregularities are added to the mix, the DFW

ramp controller position becomes very challenging indeed—often resulting in aircrafts’ burning more fuel than necessary as they wait for one person to sort out a complicated situation. We strongly urge management to reconsider these factors and make an additional frequency available.

In the meantime, may we urge all DFW pilots to set a strong example of patience, professionalism, and courtesy toward our coworkers in Operations. It should go without saying, but sarcastic comments or condescending remarks really have no place in this situation and only serve to aggravate already difficult

circumstances. Please consider reserving your remarks until you’ve paid a visit to the DFW Ops tower and seen firsthand how things operate up there. You might come to appreciate the job they perform for us every day. If you’d like to contact the Ops tower, the number is (972) 425-1634.

Comments, Questions, Opinions, and

Editorials Are Welcome.

Contact:

Capt. Richard Krutenat Council 83 Communications

Chairman

[email protected] 817-307-9714

T EXAS E AGLE

JANUARY 2006

Editor: Captain Rich Krutenat E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 817-307-9714

installed in the aircraft), and Comair has an unlimited jumpseat. Therefore, the Independence Air pilot rides on a limited basis (one jumpseat) and the Comair pilot also rides on an unlimited basis (an open seat in the back). This RES record can be printed out and carried in a pilot’s flight bag for

immediate reference when such a situation comes up. Let’s do our best to make sure none of our fellow ALPA pilots are left at the gate.