Pilots Booted Program Last Year Over Contract Talks
What didn't work for pilots may
still work for flight attendants at American Airlines; at least,
that's the hope. The Fort Worth, TX-based carrier, in conjunction
with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) and
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), implemented a cabin crew
Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) for the first time January
16.
ASAP is a safety partnership between the three organizations
designed to encourage flight attendants to voluntarily report
safety-related information. The reports will help identify
potential precursors to serious safety incidents. The flight
attendants' ASAP at American Airlines is now the single largest
ASAP in the world by virtue of American's more than 18,000 flight
attendants.
"Our flight attendants have made a huge commitment to supporting
safety at American -- one of our top priorities," said Lauri
Curtis, Vice President-Onboard Service, American Airlines. "We have
initiated this program with the best flight attendants in the
industry, to help us remain one of the safest airlines."
ASAP is designed for flight attendants to report safety
related-issues through a non-punitive reporting process.
Participation in ASAP is voluntary and confidential. A "sole source
report" (an event that has been reported by the flight attendant
only) that has been accepted into the program will not be used to
initiate or support any FAA or company disciplinary action, nor
will the event be the basis for any FAA or company disciplinary
action. The program allows a flight attendant to report an event or
incident that may otherwise go unreported.
That's how the program is supposed to work in theory, anyway.
As ANN reported, a similar ASAP self-reporting
program involving American's pilots came to an inglorious end last
October, after pilots accused American of unfairly disciplining
pilots, even when an incident was accepted for review under the
program.
The Allied Pilots Association -- which, it must be noted, is
locked in a contentious contract fight with American executives --
argued those actions left other pilots wary of participating...
which negated the purpose of ASAP in the first place. Besides
American and its American Eagle regional subsidiary, pilots at
Delta, Comair, and US Airways have also ended their participation
in ASAP, under similar circumstances.
Even as all parties involved cheer the new ASAP agreement for
American's flight attendants, that sets an ominous precedent for
the future: that ASAP is only as valuable as the latest round of
contract talks.