In its origin, the Alaska Air Carriers Association was formed to address the formation of an Alaska Transportation Commission, to request the Civil Aeronautics Board to study rural air service and to support legislation introduced into the Senate. Some of the transportation bills pioneered back then were regarding unlawful operation of white-colored aircraft, tariff charges by an air taxi operator, two-way radio communication for aircraft operating in and around Kodiak Island and maximum takeoff weights. In total there were 10 aviation-related bills during that Legislature, with only one receiving opposition by the Senators. Our "movie trailer" focus then is much as it is now - to speak with one voice for many companies.
Founded in 1966 to promote the interests of Alaska's commercial aviation businesses, the Alaska Air Carriers Association has a number of objectives that we dutifully pursue:
• To foster and promote aviation safety in Alaska;
• To promote uniform treatment of aviation businesses;
• To promote the welfare of its members by association, cooperation and education;
• To express the views of its members and provide accurate and reliable information on transportation matters;
• To provide educational support and assistance;
• To encourage and stimulate a fair and intelligent attitude on the part of the public;
• To encourage the passage of wise and just laws;
• To settle and adjust differences among its members, and to cultivate a high standard of business integrity, equity and justice with respect to the public.
In 1966, we were helping the aviation business stay on top of the latest regulations and maintain a powerful industry presence. We persist to do the same now. Back in our early days we encouraged air carrier owners to provide continuing education and training for their employees. In 2006, we continue to provide instruction on a wide range of topics for pilots, mechanics, and customer service agent, including legal or financial issues. Our message to foster aviation safety still receives top billing in our playbill. We encourage airlines and supporting businesses to be part of the Medallion Foundation - a program the Alaska Air Carriers Association founded through our safety committee. Mandatory requirements, such as adhering to the Federal Aviation Regulations, are already in place, but the AACA promotes involvement in the Medallion Foundation. Through its partaking, an air carrier goes above and beyond what is required by the FAA to voluntarily raise its standards of operation. Additional training through the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) helps companies learn why an event happened. Another example of a voluntary program for larger carriers, Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA), helps airlines learn what happened. Both these programs voluntarily collect data.
The Alaska Air Carriers Association executive team believes it is advantageous to use data to continuously assess carrier safety; and through suggestions for improvement, a company's management team can develop training objectives. If a business can identify problems, develop data-driven interventions, assess the effectiveness of these interventions by comparing pre- and post-intervention data and consider human factors in their scenarios, it could potentially improve its safety record. Having a team in place that can provide more sophisticated statistical analyses, which will likely be able to pinpoint the effectiveness of its interventions, might ultimately prevent accidents or incidents in the future.
While we're setting the stage for the next 40 years, we will continue to work toward other milestones. We will continue to focus on safety, lobbying to improve flying conditions in Alaska through additional infrastructure, and, of course, funding for statewide aviation projects. We'll expend a lot more human capital and sweat equity before we reach Tinseltown.
As we fade away from this act, however, we reflect upon the work done by the board of directors and staff over these many years and acknowledge that it's been fun getting to where we are now. Camaraderie, teamwork and sheer perseverance will get us to our most successful screenplay ever - "40 Years, the Sequel."
Karen Casanovas is the executive director of the Alaska Air Carriers Association.
