Received the following article from DPA today. This article makes it sound like CAPA got their recommendation and ALPA did not get theirs. I'm confused about a couple of things. Unless I am missing something, they are still talking about having carve outs in this legislation. Maybe the claim that ALPA did not get their way is based on the carve out being higher than ALPA wanted? Also, it says that the carve outs are 750 hours and an ATP for military pilots and 1000 hours and an ATP for pilots from an approved flight school. I thought you had to have 1500 hours to get an ATP.
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ALPA Flounders on FAA NPRM on First Officer Qualifications While CAPA Prevails
Once again, ALPA shows its assets are dedicated regularly to the protection of its regional members, often times at the expense of the major airline carriers that brought it into existence. Thankfully for mainline pilots, CAPA (Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations) has used its political influence to encourage a higher level of safety for the travelling public and a more valuable mainline career, despite ALPA's best efforts to the contrary.

On February 28th, 2012, the FAA issued a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking to raise the minimum flight time to operate in a 121 carrier to 1,500 hours. Since the Colgan Air crash in 2009 that killed 49 people in a regional Q400, the U.S. Congress has sought to stiffen the requirements for operating any Part 121 carrier with passengers. Congress passed the Aviation Safety Act of 2010 requiring the FAA to make a rule change. In lock step with ALPA's opposition to the flight time increase proposal, FAA Administrator and former ALPA National President Randolph Babbitt testified against the proposal in February of 2010. It is no surprise that he would side with ALPA on this issue.

Proposed requirements summary:

1,500 hours and an ATP for all 121 carrier pilots with the exceptions below:

750 hours and an ATP for military pilots

1,000 hours and an ATP for pilots with a Bachelor's Degree in Aviation related areas.

From the beginning, ALPA has opposed the increase to 1,500 hours in an effort to protect future pilots of the regional airlines. Understanding that raising the requirement to 1,500 hours and requiring an ATP would raise the level of safety and the value of a pilot career, somehow ALPA chose to disregard those benefits and support even weaker restrictions proposed by the Regional Airline Association. The conflict of interest ALPA continues to operate under is clearly exemplified by this behavior.

At the first opportunity for comment, CAPA, which provides the political voice for most independent carriers outside of ALPA including SWA, APA, UPS, and USAPA, offered its full support for the 1,500 hour requirement by Congress and added the ATP requirement as well. CAPA participated equally in the Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) alongside ALPA as the FAA began to study the issue. Even though the ARC sided with ALPA's position in its final recommendation, the intent of the Airline Safety Act would ultimately prevail. Several State Representatives spoke up about ALPA's misguided position when it became apparent that the intent of the Aviation Safety Act was being circumvented.

Mainline pilots are truly fortunate that ALPA recommendations were largely ignored while CAPA recommendations were largely upheld.

With this new NPRM, mainline pilots have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to raise safety AND the value of our profession in one change to the FARs. How ALPA could squander this opportunity is beyond comprehension yet completely understandable when considering ALPA's allegiance to its regional members. When the Delta Pilots Association is successfully certified as the exclusive representative of all Delta Pilots, we will RUN, not walk, to the waiting group of independent pilots that make up CAPA and join with them in the restoration of the piloting profession. ALPA is no longer relevant to mainline pilots.

So when an ALPA proponent states that we cannot afford to do without ALPA's "powerful" political voice, simply say......YES WE CAN!