ALPA's Forward Thinking Provides Members with Resources to Navigate the Unexpected

Editor’s note: In celebration of ALPA’s 95th anniversary this year, this nine-part Air Line Pilot series revisits some of the union’s “wins”—successful campaigns, projects, and products that make public air transportation safer and more secure and that improve the working lives of the union’s members.

ALPA Wins, Part 5: Being Prepared

It’s commonly acknowledged that airline pilots are well prepared for all contingencies. When unexpected emergencies surface—whether it’s a system malfunction, extreme weather, or some other operational irregularity—pilots rely on their extensive training, system redundancies, and a highly structured sequence of procedures to help mitigate the issue.

ALPA applies this same philosophy regarding the wide range of programs and services it provides to members. Many of these programs are designed to anticipate periodic industry consolidation and financial downturns to insulate the organization and its pilots from these threats.

When COVID-19 disrupted the demand for commercial air travel, the Association worked in conjunction with other industry stakeholders to quickly secure federal aid (see ALPA Wins, Part 3). ALPA knew that if it acted early in the process, this aid could help stabilize the industry before the effects of the pandemic caused airlines to shutter and pilot careers to end.

For those whose airlines couldn’t avoid the economic impact of COVID, the union offered a full array of furlough-related resources, and members at less-affected carriers helped arrange for preferential interviewing and other services designed to promote job opportunities.

Over many decades, the Association has played a key first-wings-to-final-flight role in the airline piloting profession. ALPA promotes the profession to kindergarten through college students who are interested in flying and provides crucial mentorship. Access to ALPA’s Aeromedical Office, negotiated insurance benefits, and specialized insurance products—available to members only through the Association—helps protect pilots throughout their careers. And for those approaching their golden years, retirement benefits are a focus of all ALPA labor agreements.

Anticipating pilot needs and providing appropriate resources are important considerations. What follows are three of the many examples of ALPA’s numerous offerings that particularly underscore this core organizational principle and how these resources can help the union and its members navigate the unexpected.

Establishing a “War Chest”

ALPA’s Major Contingency Fund (MCF), also known as its “war chest,” is an excellent example of how the Association has evolved to better prepare for the future. One of ALPA’s most visible strategic assets, the MCF was initially established to provide further resources to pilot groups in the end stages of contract negotiations.

A war chest grant not only gives ALPA pilot groups additional funds to fight for the contracts they’ve earned, but also demonstrates to airline managements sitting at the bargaining table that the pilots have the full backing of the Association.

In 1985, shortly after the 5,000-plus United pilots concluded their strike to overturn a proposed two-tiered pay scale, individual ALPA members were confronted with a new and hefty assessment. The 29-day work stoppage reportedly cost the union close to $10 million ($32 million in today’s dollars).

In the August 1985 issue of Air Line Pilot, then president Capt. Henry Duffy shared his thoughts. “Collectively, we find ourselves rolling from crisis to crisis without ever emerging from financially pinching conditions,” he said. “The cost of success is less in the long run than the cost of losing. I don’t believe we can endure the latter.”

That year, ALPA’s Board of Directors approved the creation of the MCF, initially supporting a dues rate increase from 1.35% of each member’s salary to 2.35%. This dues adjustment would enable the Association to raise an additional $20 million annually for the fund.

In the coming years, the Executive Board expanded the uses of the MCF to address litigation, organizing efforts, settlements, and other purposes, and ALPA’s war chest proved its worth time and again. However, the Association struggled to find the necessary resources to adequately maintain the fund, which from 2006 to 2015 continued to decrease in value.

At the May 2015 Executive Board meeting, Capt. Randy Helling, then the union’s vice president–finance/treasurer, announced, “The union will recapitalize the MCF by allocating $1.5 million this year from dues income. This is the first time we’ve taken this type of measure since 1994, but the Executive Council believes now is the right time to grow and protect this fund.”

Three years later, the Association stood up the Structure, Services, and Finance Review (SSAFR) Committee and tasked it with determining how to better spend ALPA pilot dues money and bring the union’s spending limits and restrictions up to date. The MCF played a major role in this effort.

With more robust resources to draw from, the Executive Board acted in 2023 to extend the purpose of the MCF to include contract implementation. And earlier this spring, Capt. Wes Clapper, the Association’s vice president–finance/treasurer, wrote to the BOD, stating, “As of March 31, 2026, the MCF balance is $149,149,040.”

Now, with a significantly larger balance and updated funding and usage policies, the MCF has become the resource previous union leaders intended it to be and an ALPA asset all pilot groups can utilize, when needed.

Supporting Pilots in Their Time of Need

On September 2, 2005, a FastRead Newsflash was distributed to Association members announcing the creation of the ALPA Emergency Relief Fund in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The message from Capt. Duane Woerth, then the union’s president, called for donations to the fund and encouraged affected pilots to apply for a grant to help with their rebuilding efforts. The message also noted that the fund was authorized “to provide similar assistance in any future disasters or emergencies.”

From the onset, the program has centered around members helping members. “‘Pilots for Pilots’ is really what this resource is all about,” remarked Capt. Bill Couette, then ALPA’s vice president–administration/secretary, at the union’s fall 2013 Executive Board meeting as he announced the rebranding of the fund to Pilots for Pilots (P4P) (alpa.org/p4p).

The first grants were disbursed just a week after Hurricane Katrina, with 13 pilots from American Eagle, Continental, Delta, FedEx Express, United, and US Airways receiving the inaugural aid.

These grants—and donations—continue today, with the Association reminding pilots after a natural disaster occurs of the fund’s availability and the need for continued donations. P4P grants have helped pilots affected by floods, wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tropical storms, and more. And ALPA and its members have responded, rising up in times of need to ensure that those who need help get it. Since its inception, P4P has dispersed $1.7 million, helping more than 830 members and their dependents.

Anticipating the Need for Peer Support

Flying as an airline pilot is a rewarding career, but it can be stressful. In recent years, the Association has worked closely with federal policy makers and regulators to bring the challenges of the job and other pilot mental-health concerns out into the open. As the union’s Pilot Mental Health webpage asserts, “Outdated aeromedical rules discourage pilots from seeking care for mental health. It’s time to modernize the system.”

An airline accident in Europe more than a decade ago underscored some of the reasons for this change in attitude and the need to proactively address pilot stress and anxiety long before they can potentially result in unexpected, negative behaviors.

During Germanwings Flight 9525 on March 24, 2015, the first officer intentionally flew the Airbus A320 into the French Alps while his captain was in the lavatory. Two weeks before the flight, the first officer’s physician had recommended that he receive psychiatric hospital treatment due to a possible psychosis, but this diagnosis was never reported to the airline.

That same year, the Germanwings accident sparked the formation of a U.S. Pilot Fitness Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) with one of the recommendations noting that a supportive environment can assist with pilots’ willingness to self-disclose mental-health issues. In 2018, the Association introduced a new Pilot Assistance program to help members deal with the stressors that airline pilots face—the Pilot Peer Support (PPS) program.

Subsequently, in 2023, the FAA established a Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances ARC, cochaired by Capt. Travis Ludwig (United), ALPA’s Air Safety Organization Pilot Assistance Group chair.

Based on some of the ARC’s 24 recommendations, the FAA announced a series of groundbreaking changes and initiatives to address mental-health evaluation criteria, the processing of medical certification, and the use of certain antidepressants under specified conditions.

Both ARCs supported the use of peer support programs that offer the resources of staffed and trained pilot peers who understand the nature of the job as a safety approach to enhancing pilot wellness and helping pilots deal with stress.

“Whether you’re dealing with financial problems, family or relationship issues, or any other work or personal concerns, PPS volunteers are available 24/7 to listen and offer confidential, nonjudgmental support to ALPA members in the United States and Canada,” notes F/O Carrie Braun (JetBlue), who serves as the PPS chair. These volunteers can also direct the affected members to ALPA’s many additional resources.

PPS complements the other components of Pilot Assistance, which include Professional Standards, the Critical Incident Response Program, the Human Intervention Motivation Study, the Pilot Recovery Program, the Aeromedical Group, and Canadian Pilot Assistance. All of these programs are designed to provide ALPA members with the appropriate programs and services long before events and behaviors can affect pilot performance and, ultimately, aviation safety.

In addition, since 2024 ALPA has highlighted its “Are You in the Green?” campaign each May to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month. This annual promotion reminds members to self-evaluate their mental well-being before they enter an airline flight deck by using the IMSAFE checklist and its color-coded mental-health continuum, and to contact PPS if they need assistance.

“It’s the social interaction, the shared empathy, and the lived experience that make our peer programs so effective,” says Capt. Wendy Morse, the union’s first vice president, who also serves as the Association’s national safety coordinator. Speaking at last year’s Pilot Peer Support Symposium, she observed, “I’m very proud of the work you’ve all done—and continue to do—to make aviation safer, more secure, and stronger.