Air Line Pilot Magazine November-December 2025

Our Unmatched Pilot Perspective

Every year, our pilot photography issue celebrates the unique perspective of airline pilots. From sunrises on a walk-around to thunderstorms during flight, we view this industry from every vantage point.

Pilots have a unique job in a unique industry, and we bring our perspective to the work we do as ALPA members—including contract negotiations, discussions in Ottawa and Washington, D.C., and accident investigations.

The benefit of a pilot’s perspective is rarely as clear as it is during discussions about removing pilots from the flight deck. Pilots know the importance of having a second set of hands and eyes in both emergency and routine operations. We can observe each other, quickly communicate with each other, and continue to safely fly the aircraft if the other pilot becomes incapacitated.

It’s a priority of this administration to use the line-pilot perspective to make clear to manufacturers, regulators, airlines, and the flying and shipping public that there will never be a replacement for having at least two fully qualified, highly trained, and well-rested pilots on the flight deck at all times. We’ve successfully used our perspective to push back against attempts to implement single-pilot and reduced-crew operations, and we’re committed to continuing to fight for the safety of our passengers, crews, and cargo.

As this issue goes to print, the United States is coming out of the longest federal government shutdown in its history. For 43 days, federal workers went without pay, including air traffic controllers and transportation security officers who keep us safe and secure in the air and on the ground. The shutdown exposed weaknesses in our aviation system as more and more flights were delayed and canceled due to FAA-imposed capacity restrictions. Along with our National Air Traffic Controllers Association colleagues, pilots are well aware that our air traffic control system has been understaffed and underresourced long before this recent shutdown occurred, and it will continue to be without proper government action.

Throughout the shutdown, ALPA pilots were proud to stand with our brothers and sisters in the federal government as they worked without pay, and we continue to use our united voice to advocate for prioritizing aviation safety, security, and stability as the federal government moves forward.

On November 4, we faced the second fatal accident of a U.S. airliner this year when UPS Flight 2976 crashed into an industrial area in Louisville, Ky., seconds after takeoff. Throughout ALPA’s almost 95-year history, we’ve been voicing our pilot perspective to keep accidents like this from ever happening again. The Association has been in contact with our colleagues at the Independent Pilots Association to offer our resources and assistance in any way we can, and we join them in mourning the loss of three of their members and of our airline pilot community.

We must also use our perspective and experience to remind management at the negotiating table of the value that pilots bring to every flight and to the airline’s overall success. Pilots are trusted because we’re trained and tested. We’re the foundation of safe operations, and our contracts should reflect this. For pilot groups that have been in negotiations for far too long or those that are reaching the end of negotiations, management must remember our value. As groups in mediated negotiations—including Air Transport International, FedEx Express, Frontier, and Western Global—who were forced to pause talks due to the U.S. government shutdown or those close to either striking or achieving an agreement, like Air Transat, work to reach a deal, it’s our experience, solidarity, and perspective that will help secure a contract at the negotiating table. On November 17, I was proud to stand with Air Transat pilots on the informational picket line in Montréal, Qué., to demonstrate their resolve to achieve an industry-standard agreement.

Pilots have an unmatched, in-depth knowledge of airline operations; and through the voice of our union, we advocate to make the airline industry safer and more secure. We observe, we engage, and we speak up.

On the surface, this issue of Air Line Pilot is a celebration of the beauty of airports, aircraft, aviation, and the world through a pilot’s eyes, but it’s also a powerful reminder of the unique airline-pilot perspective that we bring to everything we do.