Allied Pilots Association (American Airlines)

The Allied Pilots Association (APA) is the workers union representing American Airlines pilots. APA was founded in 1963 by a group of American Airlines pilots who went away from the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). The five founding pilots of APA, Paul Atkins, Bob Guba, Nick O'Connell, Joe Garvey, and Dick Lyons, were expelled for life from ALPA. The first headquarters was situated in New York City before it moved to Fort Worth, Texas. APA is the largest independent pilots union in the globe.  APA provides a broad range of representation services for its members and devotes more than 20 percent of its fees income to support aviation safety.

The APA leadership understands that the direction of the airline pilot occupation is determined in large measure by policymakers in Washington, D.C. The APA Government Affairs Committee is commended with serving as the voice of APA pilots in our nation's capital. APA’s positions on important aviation safety- and security-concerned issues are based on the pilot's perspective as a subject-matter expert. All APA Government Affairs Committee associates are current line-flying pilots for American Airlines with thousands of hours of experience in large civilian transport & high-performance military aircraft. APA’s legislative success can be partially accredited to the strength of the union’s Political Action Committee (PAC) fund. The APA PAC is used solely for congressional campaigns and does not fund any extra APA expenses or salaries. APA is also a member of the Washington, D.C.-based Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations, which comprises approximately 28,000 professional pilots who work for a variety of passenger and cargo carriers.

APA provides all of the traditional union representation services for its members. This includes the lobbying of airline pilots' opinions to the U.S. Congress and government agencies. In addition, it devotes more than 20% of its dues income to support aviation safety. Organizationally, APA is led by three National Officers, president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer, chosen by the membership at large to serve three-year terms, working out of the association’s headquarters office. The Board of Directors contain of a chairman and vice chairman of the airline's eleven domiciles serves as the policy-making body for the association.