Article

Nine Decades of Documenting the Evolution of ALPA, the Industry, and the Profession

By Susan Fager, Senior Managing & Production Editor
June 29, 2026

Air Line Pilot

Since its first issue on April 5, 1932, Air Line Pilot has been ALPA’s flagship publication, keeping members informed and up to date regarding the Association, the industry, and the profession. Today, the compilation of feature articles, news stories, and photos also serves as a chronological de facto archive for the union. In celebration of ALPA’s 95th anniversary, we wanted to highlight some of Air Line Pilot’s covers and notable events from the Association’s past nine decades.

1930s: ALPA was founded on July 27, 1931. The 1930s were the formative years of the airline industry and the airline piloting profession, marked by hazardous working conditions and frequent occurrences of pilot pushing, compelling pilots to unite to demand safer working conditions and a better aviation infrastructure to improve safety and operational consistency.
1940s: World War II introduced a surplus of postwar transport aircraft and trained and tested pilots seeking employment, and domestic airlines were eager to hire them. Meanwhile, pilots from around the globe created the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) to address the future of international air travel and have a voice within the newly created International Civil Aviation Organization.
1950s: The decade introduced modern jet transports, which ushered in a new era for aviation. The Association established a formal framework for its safety structure—what would become the largest nongovernmental aviation safety structure in the world. Clancy Sayen, ALPA’s president, proposed the idea of pilot immunity in reporting programs to identify operational risks—the first steps toward today’s Aviation Safety Action Program and Flight Operations Quality Assurance program. The union also championed for pilots to participate in the certification of new aircraft.
1960s: With the foundations of jet travel firmly established, the airline industry expanded exponentially despite numerous new safety challenges, including evolving concerns regarding pilot fatigue. Due in part to the Association’s lobbying efforts, U.S. President John Kennedy signed legislation making aircraft hijacking and other violent acts aboard an aircraft a federal crime. ALPA’s All-Weather Flying Committee adopted a policy calling for the use of head-up displays on airliners.
1970s: The Association initiated studies to help identify the effects of wind shear on aircraft performance. After years of ALPA lobbying, regulators established airport certification requirements and mandated the installation of ground proximity warning systems on airliners. During the end of the decade, U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, removing governmental regulation of commercial aspects of the airline industry and forever changing it.
1980s: After more than two decades of ALPA advocacy, the FAA announced a runway pavement grooving directive. The Association helped secure traffic alert and collision avoidance systems for FAR Part 121 operations, passenger seatbelt signs, and crew resource management training. The effects of deregulation, combined with an economic recession and high fuel costs, took their toll on industry leader Braniff International Airways and others, which ceased operations.
1990s: In 1995, ALPA was awarded the Collier Trophy for its involvement in the design of the B-777. The Association’s One Level of Safety campaign proved successful, bringing FAR Part 135 operations with seats for more than nine passengers under the same rules as FAR Part 121 operations. In 1997, the Canadian Air Line Pilots Association merged with ALPA, bringing 10 new pilot groups and 2,700 Canadian pilots into the Association.
2001: On September 11, terrorists hijacked four U.S. airliners, using them as weapons to damage the Pentagon and destroy the World Trade Center, killing approximately 3,000 people in the process. These devastating attacks placed a new emphasis on passenger and cargo screening and other preemptive security measures. In response, the Association organized its Security Task Force, developing, lobbying for, and helping to implement dozens of security-enhancing initiatives.

2011: ALPA’s safety structure was enhanced, resulting in the Air Safety Organization (ASO) being established. The ASO placed all of the Association’s national safety, security, pilot assistance, and jumpseat functions under one entity. The Transportation Security Administration approved the testing of a new security-screening program for airline crewmembers—the Known Crewmember program, which ALPA and the Air Transport Association sponsored. The Association issued a regulatory, legislative, and public awareness action plan to safeguard the skies from intentionally illuminating an airline flight deck by a laser, successfully lobbying for a federal law to make deliberately shining a laser at an aircraft a federal offense.
2016: ALPA exposed the threat from the flag-of-convenience business model and lobbied for government enforcement of Open Skies bilateral aviation trade agreements, highlighting what it would take for U.S. and Canadian airlines to successfully compete in the global marketplace. The Association advocated for the safe transport of lithium batteries and to remedy the carveout of cargo pilots from FAR Part 117, pushing for science-based flight, duty, and rest requirements for cargo operations.

2019: ALPA released its “The Dangers of Single-Pilot Operations” white paper, underscoring the hazards of reduced-crew operations and the importance of having at least two experienced, well-trained, and well-rested pilots on the flight deck.
2023: ALPA, IFALPA, and the European Cockpit Association, launched “Safety Starts with 2,” an aggressive global public relations campaign to expose the threat of reduced-crew operations.

2026: ALPA continues to press Congress for legislation mandating automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast in (ADS-B In) technology integrated into the flight deck. ADS-B In could have provided the pilots of PSA Flight 5342 with additional situational awareness and time to visually acquire the aircraft and avoid the collision on January 29, 2025, with an Army Black Hawk helicopter, saving 67 lives. In April, the Transportation Security Administration officially announced that the Known Crewmember Program® would cease on December 31, 2026, and that the Crewmember Access Point program would take effect. On May 2, Spirit Airlines abruptly ceased operations due in part to poor management decisions and skyrocketing fuel prices, leaving 17,000 individuals out of work, including 2,000 ALPA pilots.

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