A note from the editor:
This is the second edition of the newsletter of LAS Airline Retirees. Our
Volume 1 Issue 2 March 2018
Clear ed for take -of f
Group’s flight plan wins endorsement at first membership meeting
Two members drove in from Salt Lake City and
another flew all the way from Charlotte.
Such was the draw of the first general member-
ship meeting of the re-formed LAS Airline Retirees
group at Henderson’s Total Wine & More on Tues-
day, March 13.
The meeting was hastily cobbled together by the
founding board of the organization to ensure that
it and the directors enjoyed the support of the
more than 70 members who have flocked to our
banner since it was founded in January.
While nowhere near that total of members was at
the meeting, it did draw a capacity crowd when
you consider that we had a limit of 30 people at
the meeting because of fire regulations in the City
of Henderson. At 28 attendees, the meeting was
just two shy of the limit.
The assembled members endorsed the seven
members of the founding board, and the actions
they took to set up the organization. Those actions
devoted readers — both of you — will note that while the first edition was
called The No Name News, it now has a real name. But why Wings? Sim-
ple answer: Last edition, we asked members to name the newsletter.
We got one answer. The editor appreciated the suggestion, but judged it
unsatisfactory. And so the editor chooses Wings. The name salutes what
we all have as airline retirees — the means to go anywhere and see eve-
rything, the whole world in our hands, as it were. It also was the name of
an old publication of the late, lamented US Airways.
Eyes and
ears are
focused on
newly-
elected
director
Lourdes
Moses at
the first
general
membership
meeting of
LAS Airline
Retirees
association
at Hender-
son’s Total
Wine &
More.
included the January declaration of independence
from the American Airline Vanguards Assn., with In other action, the membership approved board
which many of our members were affiliated. recommendations that directors should serve one-
year tems with elections for individual board seats
to be held in January each year.
Tibold Nagy, left,
and Lourdes Thus, all nine current directors must run for re-
Moses won posts election in January, 2019, if they wish to stay in
as new directors. office.
For expediency, the endorsement of directors and
The members also endorsed the establishment of their actions, and election of the two new direc-
the organization under its founding board: Marilee tors was carried out by show of hands.
Howell; Dan Shumate; Penny Bensyl; Lynda Carl-
son; Gloria Schellhase; Katherine Nowicki; and But, given time available for preparation, future
Bernard Hunt. elections for the board could well involve paper
ballots or other procedures.
Immediately following, they approved a decision to
increase the board to nine members with an im- Meanwhile, members voted at this initial general
mediate election — by show of hands — to fill the meeting for the next membership meeting to be
two new seats. 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 1 — place to be deter-
mined.
Lourdes Moses and Tibold Nagy were elected
unanimously to fill the posts.
See MEETING Page 2
W ing s/ Th e L AS Ai rl ine Re t i re es new le t te r P a g e 2

MEETING From Page 1

Our first general membership meeting, called
at short notice, was made possible through the
generosity of Henderson’s branch of Total Wine
& More, who gave us a meeting room for no
charge.

Total Wine also threw in a wine-tasting session

hosted by wine supervisor Kara, who, coinci-
dentally, once worked for US Airways and re-
connected at our meeting with some old
friends.

But with the next general meeting set for May

1, the search begins now for a venue that can
offer more seats. We want to pack in the mem-
bers.
Newly elected director
Bob Nava, who was the first new member to sign up Tibold Nagy intro- Members took part in a discussion about how
after the gang of seven announced formation of LAS duces himself to the often meetings should be, in which locations, at
Airline Retirees, gets himself in another picture as he group as Bob Nava what hours, and whether or not they should be
watches treasurer Katherine Nowicki, left, and president scheduled at mealtimes.
listens intently.
Marilee Howell pick the winner of the 50-50 draw.
No decisions actually were reached. The board
will take up the issue and report back to mem-
bers at the May 1 meeting.

Among other features of the meeting was a 50-

50 draw for a half share of the money raised in
collection for funds to help support the opera-
tion. Member Earl Stitt won the drawing, and
graciously donated his $47 swag back to the
group. Many thanks, Earl.

Our meeting drew attendance from around the

country. John and Paula Wolfe drove down from
their home in Salt Lake City.

But the person who traveled the furthest for it

was Dennis Workman, who flew in from Char-
lotte.
Former LAS supervisor Dennis Workman, would win the prize for longest journey to Said Dennis: “I came to Vegas for a haircut so I
the meeting — if there were one. He flew in from his home in Charlotte. Here he thought I’d come to the meeting, also,”
chats with newly elected director Lourdes Moses, an old comrade from LAS

And now a word from our sponsor

Asking friends for money always
is hard. But cash, as they say,
makes the world go round. It also
greases the wheels of the LAS
Airline Retirees association.
Our dues are $20 for the calendar
year. We use that money to pay
for the expenses of running the
group, including the website, and
to plan activities.
Now what, in today's world, can
you get for $20? Not much. Seven
gallons of gas — if you’re lucky. A
couple of trips to McDonald’s. A
paperback book. Or a delivery
pizza.
Money doesn’t really grow on
trees, you know
But for the same 20 bucks you
get membership in the fellowship
of old colleagues and friends who
are looking out for you. It’d be
tough to put a price on that — but
the value is enormous.
Our group is your prominent advo-
cate to make sure American
Airlines flight benefits remain the
best in the business.
When the gang of seven founded
this organization in early January
as a revolt from Vanguards, they
put their money where their
mouths were. Once the vote was
taken that dues would be $20 a
year, each director coughed up
the dough — giving the nascent
group a starting treasury of $140
Stand with us. Pay your 2018
calendar-year dues and help keep
our retirees non-revving here,
there and everywhere.
If you haven't already paid your
dues for the calendar year 2018,
please send a check for the $20
to our treasurer, Katherine
Nowicki, at 1691 Long Horizon
Lane, Henderson, NV 89074.
Please make checks payable to
LAS Airline Retirees, and to
Katherine.
W ing s/ Th e L AS Ai rl ine Re t i re es news l e tt e r P a ge 3

The rumble on a Brazilian jet bridge

Customer-facing airline staff are used to dealing
with unruly passengers, particularly here in Las
Vegas. But how about an unruly pilot?

An American Airlines pilot is facing charges in

Brazil that he assaulted a ground agent at the jet
bridge after he accused her of stepping on his
foot.

The March 8 incident at Sao Paulo airport (GRU)

caused the cancelation of AA930 to Miami, de-
laying passengers for more than a day until they
could be accommodated on another plane.

The affray drew little attention in the United

States, but was widely reported in the United
Kingdom, Brazil and on passenger blogs.

A British newspaper reported that the unnamed

male captain of American Airlines flight AA930
grabbed a female ground agent by the neck
when the two began arguing before takeoff,
around 1 a.m., over alignment of the jet bridge.

As the agent insisted that the jet bridge was
correctly aligned, she apparently stepped on the
pilot’s foot by accident.
The 59-year-old captain, who has been employed
by the airline for 32 years, allegedly told the 41-
year-old agent “Do not touch me.” She countered
that she had not touched him.
Witnesses said the pilot pushed the agent and
grabbed her neck before an airport maintenance
worker intervened. Flight AA930 was then imme-
diately canceled.
An AA spokesman confirmed only that there was
a “discussion” between two crew members and
Where it all happened: Cars approach GRU airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
said the airline was “taking this incident ex- ing fully with the authorities.
tremely seriously”.
“Passengers are being accommodated on other
The AA statement said: "Last night, before board- flights throughout the day.
ing AA930 American Airlines flight from São
Paulo (GRU) to Miami (MIA), two crew members “American Airlines has provided hotel accommo-
were engaged in a discussion in the tunnel that dations and meal vouchers. We apologize to our
connects a platform to the plane. customers for the problem.”
“The authorities are now in charge of the case Police seized the captain’s passport, and he was
and providing support to staff members. released from custody. He was scheduled to
appear at court in Guarulhos, the municipality in
“This is a legal investigation and we are cooperat- greater Sao Paulo where the airport is located.

Need a ride to our meetings? Bye-bye to Boeing 737s

Las Vegas is a far-flung place and our members live all over American Airlines plans to retire 45 last year, making up nearly one-third
of its main jet fleet.
the valley. So it can be tough if you live in Summerlin, the of its oldest Boeing 737 jets over the
next meeting of LAS Airline Retirees is in Henderson or North next two years as part of an overhaul “It’s strictly an age-based retirement
Las Vegas, and your car is out of action. We’re trying to help. that will reduce the age of its work- at this point,” said AA spokesman
On our website, under the Help category, you’ll find a page horse narrow-body fleet. Josh Freed.
called Car Pools. The aim is to pair neighborhood drivers who
The airline plans to withdraw 12 of “We have some that we took back in
have spare seats with friends and colleagues who need a lift the aircraft next year and 33 in 2020, 1999.”
to the meeting. In the spirit of comradeship, we are asking or about three a month.
drivers to link up with people who’d otherwise be unable to Older planes tend to require more
attend the meeting, and help them get there. American’s oldest 737-800s are maintenance than newer models.
almost 19 years old, although recent
Think of the goodwill you can spread if you do this. Not only deliveries have reduced the group’s Between the end of this year and the
that, but in a world where the authorities are spending $1 average age to 8.1 years, according end of 2020, American plans to add
to the AA annual report. 50 Airbus SE A321neo jets and 40
billion to install more car-pool lanes, you can be among the
favored few who actually get to use these boondoggles. That Boeing 737 Max aircraft, according to
American had 304 737s at the end of a filed regulatory report.
website, again, is www.lasairlineretirees.com
 WWW.LASAIRLINERETIREES.COM

O U R O F F I C E R S

President:
Marilee Howell
Howell.marilee@gmail.com
Publisher: Directors of LAS Airline Retirees
Editor: Bernard Hunt
Vice president:
Deputy editor: Lynda Carlson
Dan Shoemate ©Copyright 2018 LAS Airline Retirees association
shoe619@aol.com

Treasurer:
Katherine Nowicki
My two-cents’ worth
katherinenowicki@embarqmail.com
Got an opinon? Sure you do, the guy a hand.
When you get to our age every-
one has an opinion. The problem Send us your deathless prose
is that usually, no one’s listening.about any subject under the sun
Secretary:
— though we’d prefer if you stick
Penny Bensyl
Well, things have changed. Now to a subject that might interest
pap2000@cox.net
you have a forum. We’re listening. the bulk of our readers.
And your friends and comrades in
LAS Airline Retirees are listening, It’s YOUR forum
Membership: too. when you want to get
Gloria Schellhase
August5@cox.net This space — My Two Cents’ Worh something off your
— will be a regular feature in
Wings, the newsletter of LAS Air- chest.
line Retirees.
Communications:
Bernard Hunt It’s YOUR forum when you want to
chatachak@gmail.com get something off your chest, or And even if you don’t fancy your-
tell your fellow members about self as a writer, but still have
something momentous in your something to say, just send us
life. your notes. We can work with you
Co. Communications:
to put your thoughts into cogent
Wanna complain about the politi- form.
Lynda Carlson cians in City Hall, in Carson City or
bcgypsey@gmail.com Washington? We’re not asking for just com-
plaints. We’d also like to hear any
Got a beef with the management praise you might want to give any-
of the airline you helped build into one who has crossed your path or
the greatest in the world? The done you a service.
Social Director:
price of gas got you in a tizzy? Or
Lourdes Moses
maybe you’d just like to brag on If you have photographs you’d like
Loudes.moses@yahoo.com
your grandchildren? to see published, we can make
room for them.
This is your place to do that.
Director: Send those submissions to the
Tibold Nagy Why should your hapless — and editor at chatachak@gmail.com
tibold@hushmail.com unpaid editor — have to spend all
his time filling up the space be- Please ry to keep your pieces to
tween the nonexistent advertise- about 300 words
ments in this publication? Give