Airlines for America

Airlines for America (A4A), formerly known as Air Transport Association of America (ATA), is America's oldest and largest airline trade association. A4A member airlines and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. Based in Washington, D.C., the association advocates for the U.S. airline industry. The fundamental purpose of A4A is to foster a business and regulatory environment that ensures "safe and secure air transportation and enables U.S. airlines to flourish, stimulating economic growth locally, nationally and internationally."^[1] It is the only trade organization that represents the principal U.S. airlines and is the voice of the corporations it represents when lobbying Congress.^[2]

Profile

Mission

A4A's stated purpose is to "foster a business and regulatory environment that ensures safe and secure air transportation and enables U.S. airlines to flourish, stimulating economic growth locally, nationally and internationally." ^[1]

A4A advocates on behalf of participating regularly-scheduled (Part 121) airline corporations to the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection. The association has played a major role in all government decisions concerning aviation since its founding in 1936, including the creation of the Civil Aeronautics Board, the creation of the air traffic control system and airline deregulation. A4A also advocates that the American government implement a national airline policy that will enable U.S. airlines to function as effective multi-national enterprises. A4A believes an element of such a policy is the modernization of the U.S. air traffic management system, the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). ^{[2] [2]}

Government relations

A4A senior staff members have testified before Congress on numerous legislative and regulatory matters. One is that government policy must enable airlines to be job creators by no longer suppressing growth through what they argue as overly burdensome US. corporate tax code. This controversial theory has its detractors like Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman who points out that the actual collected taxes on US corporations is in fact lower than most Western countries^[3]. What's more, a report by the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that despite widespread unemployment, in April of 2010 the BEA reported that U.S. corporations, reluctant to expand in an uncertain economy, are sitting on $1.6 trillion in cash reserves, a record amount, according to BEA economist Greg Key.^[4]

The A4A has also lobbied on topics such as enhancing competition in international markets and advocating for a comprehensive review of the FAA's NextGen program costs, benefits, progress and management. A4A works with its members on legal and technical issues affecting the U.S. airline industry. A4A operates member committees related to fuel; airports; engineering and maintenance; the environment; training; security; facilitation; ground safety; cargo; passenger services; communications; government affairs; and international affairs. A4A advocates common association member positions before state and local governments to assure governmental and public understanding of the A4A's positions on the aspects of commercial airlines.

Legislative and regulatory priorities

A4A's priorities include maintaining airline safety; maximizing airline profits; reforming energy-commodity markets; creating an international framework for reducing industry emissions; accelerating modernization of the air traffic control system; and reducing government taxes on airlines.^[5] Airlines for America also has been very involved in promoting fuel efficiency and the development of alternative fuels.^[6]

The Air Transport Association supports NextGen modernization of the air traffic control system. This system will update the current 1950s radar-based technology with a modern, satellite-based navigation system.^[7] Aviation experts predict that a modern air traffic management system will save jet fuel and reduce delays by allowing planes to fly shorter routers and by allowing more aircraft to fly safely at any given time. Modernizing the air traffic control system would also reduce the amount of time that airplanes spend waiting on runways and in holding patterns.^[8]

Position on Airline Pilot Rest Time

Although the A4A states safety as their number one priority, in 2010 they opposed extending pilot rest periods from 8 hours to a 9 hours. Airlines for America stated that the new regulations would add significant operational and scheduling complexity that would cost the airlines too much.^[9] This however is not the first time the A4A has challenged either existing or impending FAA rules regarding pilot rest regulations. In 2001 the Federal Aviation Administration received correspondence from the ATA legal department urging action to view duty time as "scheduled time" not "actual time" on duty. The ATA challenged that an airman's duty time should be extendable beyond the regulatory 16 hours should there be either a weather or mechanical delay. The Federal Aviation Administration decided in the favor of airmen and its existing rule that on-duty time will be counted as actual, not scheduled.^[10]

Position on Collective Bargaining

In 2010, a federal court upheld new democratic voting procedures for workers in the airline and rail industries who want to form unions. Earlier that year, the National Mediation Board (NMB) issued a new rule that says air and rail union elections must be decided by a majority of votes cast. Previously under the Railway Labor Act, which covers rail and airline workers, every worker who did not cast a vote in a representation election was automatically counted as a “No” vote. The Air Transport Association, a trade union itself organized to increase corporate powers of collective bargaining, and 10 of its member airlines, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the NMB ruling. The court upheld the new rule and denied ATA’s (A4A's) request for an injunction. What had unfolded was a classic example in the adversarial relationship between corporate and labor agenda in the USA.

Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), says the court’s action brings workers “a step closer to pursuing the power of collective bargaining under fairer union election rules.”^[11]Needless to say the A4A has historically had an adversarial relationship with the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) and other airline employee labor groups. Since the beginning of the new millennium, tension between airline employees and airline management has become bitter. In September of 2011, 700 pilots both union and non, marched in their uniforms at the Occupy Wall Street protests. They carried signs stating, "Management is Ruining My Airline" and "What's a Pilot Worth? It depends on your perspective." Above the text were photos of the partially submerged Airbus flown by hero Captain Chesley Sullenberger, after saving the lives of every passenger on board. The event was later christened "The Miracle on the Hudson."^[12]Sullenberger himself has testified before congress that the quality of life for airline pilots in the USA has dropped so low that he doesn't know any professional airline pilots that want their children following in their footsteps.^[13]

Position on "Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections"

In 2011 congress finally responded to repeated calls for the United States government to pass an "Air Passenger Bill of Rights" to provide specific requirements about what must happen to air passengers in certain conditions.^[14] The push for the bill stemmed from several high profile passenger strandings over the last several years. On April 25, 2011, the Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections, "76 Federal Regulation 23110" rule was enacted.^[15] Amongst other items, the rule includes raising the minimum "denied boarding compensation" to customers with valid tickets yet still not allowed to board the aircraft. The legislation further penalizes airlines up to $27,500 a passenger if left stranded aboard an aircraft, on a tarmac for more than three hours.^[16] In 2010, the then Air Transport Association and the Regional Airline Association both opposed this legislation. The ATA stated, "As we have noted before, competition in the marketplace and existing Department regulations supported by fair enforcement are sufficient to ensure airlines continue to deliver good customer service."^[17] American Eagle, an RAA airline member, was the first airline to be fined under the new legislation. A total settlement including fines and compensation paid to passengers totaled $800,000 for tarmac delays incurred in Chicago in May of 2011.^[16]

A4A economic report and industry handbook

Since 1937, A4A has typically released an annual economic report on the U.S. airline industry that includes statistics on operational and financial results for passenger and cargo operations.^[18] This report includes data on industry revenue, expenses, traffic, fuel use, safety, economic impact and employment. A4A also publishes a handbook on the airline industry that provides background information on airline economics, operations, safety, security and history.^[19]The conclusions of the booklets are predicated on hard data. Naturally, interpretation of those data are derived by profit driven institutions. Readers of these materials should keep in mind that they are written from the perspective and interests of the corporations in the A4A union. These are not academic or government documents.

ATA Spec 100: Manufacturers' Technical Data

The then Air Transport Association released the newest version of ATA Spec 100 in 1999. According to the A4A website, this information will not be revised, and has been combined with ATA Spec 2100 to produce the ATA iSpec 2200: Information Standards for Aviation Maintenance manual.

This specification defines a widely-used numbering scheme for aircraft parts and the appearance of printed aircraft maintenance information. The Federal Aviation Administration's JASC (Joint Aircraft System/Component) code table provides a modified version of ATA Spec 100.

ATA Spec 100 contains format and content guidelines for technical manuals written by aviation manufacturers and suppliers, and is used by airlines and other segments of the industry in the maintenance of their respective products. This document provides the industrywide standard for aircraft systems numbering, often referred to as the ATA system or ATA chapter numbers. The format and content guidelines define the data prepared as conventional printed documentation. In 2000, ATA Spec 100 and ATA Spec 2100 were incorporated into ATA iSpec 2200: Information Standards for Aviation Maintenance. ATA Spec 100 and Spec 2100 will not be updated beyond the 1999 revision level.

ATA Spec 300: Specification for Packaging of Airline Supplies

ATA Spec 300 is an airline transport specification of the that establishes requirements for the design, development and procurement of effective packaging for supplies and equipment shipped by airlines.

To become ATA 300 compliant a shipping case should withstand being shipped a minimum of 100 times, should have recessed handles that will not break during transit, must have fittings and appliances that are coated with non-corrosive products and must have rounded well constructed edges.

With an ever increasing number of people travelling by commercial airlines there has been an increased use of personal luggage that meets the ATA 300 required standards.

Membership

Associate Airline Members

References

External links

• A4A official website
• JASC Code