This episode, Hawaiian Airlines MEC Chair Larry Payne, ALPA National SPSC Chair Ronan O’Donoghue, and HAL Strategic Planning Committee Chair Ethan Pearson-Pomerantz sit down with HAL Communications Chair Mike Davis for a roundtable discussion of strategic planning. The group gives their thoughts on the purpose of strategic planning and a synopsis of the various methods involved. They also give an overview of the major takeaways from the latest round of joint Alaska-Hawaiian strategic planning sessions, which were facilitated by the ALPA National SPSC team and focused on the ongoing merger process.

On December 3, Hawaiian Airlines announced a merger agreement with Alaska Airlines. To talk about what the merger process will look like going forward for our pilot group, MEC Chair Larry Payne, Joint Negotiating Committee appointee Rob Willoughby, and Merger Committee Chair Eric Thorstad joined Communications Chair Mike Davis for an in-depth discussion of the merger.

Among the topics discussed: an overview of the merger process, preparations for Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) negotiations, major tenets of ALPA Merger Policy, and the logistics of Seniority List Integration.

Episode recorded December 22, 2023

Listen as HAL MEC Strategic Planning Chair Ethan Pearson-Pomerantz discusses our contractual vacancy language with HAL Vacancy Committee Chair Chad Holcomb. The two cover a broad range of topics within vacancies, including bidding timelines, category freezes, activation and effective dates, and much more.

To summarize some of the concepts discussed in the podcast, we’ve put together the following helpful infographics:

Vacancies (Part 1): http://tinyurl.com/ms26zt8e

Vacancies (Part 2): http://tinyurl.com/etdtxput

This month, we're taking the scenic route on our HAL Contract Explained series, as Block 3 Rep. Sean Kimura is joined by Negotiating Committee Member Rob Willoughby and Secretary Treasurer Sean Lee to dive into the details of PWA Section 6: Vacation! Listen as Rob explains the finer points of our vacation contract language: how we accrue and use vacation, how the number of slots is determined, how vacation can be cancelled, and more!

For more information, check out our custom HCE: Vacation infographics:

Vacation Bidding: https://tinyurl.com/bde43khs

Vacation Accrual: https://tinyurl.com/4cspjkxw

Vacation Modification: https://tinyurl.com/yu9762tt

Host Sean Lee is joined by Negotiating Committee member Ethan Pearson-Pomerantz to discuss all the protections our PWA provides in the case of a merger or acquisition. To see the topics summarized, please check out our infographic on the subject:

Mergers and Fragmentation: https://tinyurl.com/ydd9tv37

Listen to the second episode of our HAL Contract Explained series, covering the topic of scope! Scope is the foundation of an airline union contract, ensuring our job security. In this episode, Secretary-Treasurer Sean Lee sits down with Scope Chair Doug Brayham and Negotiating Committee Member Ethan Pearson-Pomerantz to discuss protections surrounding feeder carriers, code shares, and joint ventures. 

To help summarize the topics discussed, we’ve provided the following infographics for handy reference: 

Scope – Feeder Carriers and Code Shares: https://tinyurl.com/26yh8st8

Scope – International Code Shares: https://tinyurl.com/2rux6hd4

Scope – Joint Ventures:  https://tinyurl.com/p9b6kpvr

This week, we Talk Story with HAL Managing Director of Safety and Security Bennet Walsh. HAL MEC Central Air Safety Chair Captain Scott Clark and HAL MEC Member F/O Sean Lee discuss the new FOQA crosstalk LOA.

See more of HAL Contract Explained here: https://www.alpa.org/hal/contract/contract-explained

This month, we meet with Scheduling Committee Member Ted Hebert in his new role reviewing monthly pilot parings on behalf of the Pilots of Hawaiian Airlines.

Ted shares his best tips and tricks when it comes to monthly bidding, as well as how to survive an IROP.

Later in the show, we’re joined by the HAL MEC Fatigue committee, fresh off of a all-pilot call on the same subject.

Negotiating Committee member Ethan Pearson-Pomerantz sits down with MEC Block 4 Rep. Sean Lee to discuss the new bidding and scheduling language negotiated as part of our new Tentative Agreement. Among the changes discussed: the 24-hour scheduling system, reserve changes (including long call reserve and biddable RAPs) scheduling flexibility, bidding within the Average Line Value system, new order of assignments, and more. (Originally published February 2023)