Civil Beat posted an article about a new provision in the union contract for pilots/elected officials.  it mentions him maintaining his flight status while he is a rep in DC. Not sure of the details though.

Well, here are the details:

Letter of Agreement between HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, INC.
and THE AIRLINE PILOTS
20-14 Section 11.G Revision
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21614803-loa-20-14-section-11g-revision

Basically, since the pilot would not have sufficient annual (vacation) leave to be away from the job for the number of days needed to serve in office, this provision offers a "Leave of Absence," where the pilot remains a part-time employee, continues to accrue seniority and longevity points, but isn't able to accrue vacation or sick leave, isn't eligible for company medical coverage, or any other PWA benefit other than travel on Hawaiian and other airlines.

The big question here is, will he ever have an obvious conflict of interest between his job in DC and his employers?  The union has already boasted how his vote to pass the stimulus bill brought in almost $15 Billion for the airline industry.

Well, here are the details:

Letter of Agreement between HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, INC.
and THE AIRLINE PILOTS
20-14 Section 11.G Revision
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21614803-loa-20-14-section-11g-revision

Basically, since the pilot would not have sufficient annual (vacation) leave to be away from the job for the number of days needed to serve in office, this provision offers a "Leave of Absence," where the pilot remains a part-time employee, continues to accrue seniority and longevity points, but isn't able to accrue vacation or sick leave, isn't eligible for company medical coverage, or any other PWA benefit other than travel on Hawaiian and other airlines.

The big question here is, will he ever have an obvious conflict of interest between his job in DC and his employers?  The union has already boasted how his vote to pass the stimulus bill brought in almost $15 Billion for the airline industry.

Still gotta qualify flying X hours annually?

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Still gotta qualify flying X hours annually?

The pandemic and the subsequent reduction in available flights has made an impact on the entire industry.  Not only do pilots require minimum numbers of hours to remain current, but so do air traffic controllers, mechanics, aircraft fuel techs and many other people involved in both ground and air operations.

Airlines set the standards for their pilots, but they have to conform to the FAA's guidelines by way of Commercial Pilot Certification and Airline Transport Pilot License.  These credentials have minimum standards for recurring training and flight hours segregated by daytime hours, night time, instrument only, etc.  Most recurrent tasks for pilots are confined to a 90-day window, though some training is required annually. 

The agreement with the union doesn't impact flight hour minimums.  It's more of an administrative change to allow certain public servants to do both their civilian and public service jobs so their pilot currency requirements don't suffer.  It's hard to get ANY flying time if you can't work for the airline while serving in Congress.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/pilots-recency-flying-hours/index.html