The National Air Carrier Association is pleased to announce that Eastern Airlines and Eastern Air Express (collectively, “Eastern”), have joined the association.

“NACA is delighted to welcome Eastern as a full member,” said NACA President and CEO George Novak. “Eastern strengthens our commitment to airlines that provide global services to both military and civilian customers. Our continued growth demonstrates the strength of our advocacy on behalf of our members.”

“We are very excited to be a part of this group,” said Jeff Conry, CEO of parent company Eastern Airlines Holdings. “We have retained strong representation to help us with issues in Washington, and NACA plays a very important role in that area. We look forward to working with NACA’s technical committees, as NACA provides valuable support with FAA and TSA to quickly resolve issues across safety, operations, maintenance and security.”

About NACA

Founded in 1962, NACA is a trade association comprised of air carriers certificated under Title 14, Part 121 of the Code of Federal Regulations. NACA members are a diverse group of air carriers, providing scheduled and non-scheduled passenger and cargo services, filling a unique niche in the air carrier industry by offering services in response to ever-changing demands from the U.S. military, the traveling public, and businesses. For more information, please visit https://NACA.aero.

About Eastern Airlines (EAL) and Eastern Air Express (EAX)

EAL and EAX are U.S. Part 121 airlines with global operations flying a mix of Boeing 737, 767 and 777 aircraft. Together, the airlines provide tailored ACMI and charter solutions, cargo services and scheduled passenger service to a variety of locations. For more information, please visit https://goeasternair.com/.

NACA strongly supports President Trump’s nomination of Steve Bradbury to serve as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Mr. Bradbury brings decades of legal and transportation policy experience from both the public and private sectors, making him exceptionally qualified to become the next Deputy Secretary at DOT. Mr. Bradbury was the Senate-confirmed general counsel at DOT in the first Trump administration, overseeing all of DOT’s rulemaking and enforcement actions. During his time at DOT, he also served as the Acting Deputy Secretary of Transportation and briefly as the Acting Secretary of Transportation.

Given the number of significant aviation policy challenges facing DOT, including a shortage of air traffic controllers, pilots and maintenance technicians; a safe but inefficient and antiquated air traffic management system; and a number of pending or recently issued regulations that do not enhance aviation safety or the passenger experience, we respectfully ask that the committee expeditiously approve Mr. Bradbury’s nomination to ensure a timely vote on the Senate floor.

“We commend the Senate for swiftly confirming Sean Duffy to be the next DOT Secretary, and congratulate Congressman Duffy. The bipartisan support he received on Capitol Hill is indicative of his strong qualifications for the position.

There are many challenges facing the aviation industry, including repealing regulations that do not enhance the customer experience or safety; modernizing pilot training standards to increase the supply of commercial airline pilots while enhancing safety; increasing air traffic controller staffing in Florida; mitigating runway incursions; and expediting the deployment of NextGen. We need significant collaboration and cooperation across government and all industry stakeholders to foster continuing growth and safety in the airline industry.

We look forward to working with Congressman Duffy and his team to ensure that our National Airspace System remains the gold standard for aviation safety worldwide.”

“On behalf of the member carriers of the National Air Carrier Association, we congratulate Mr. Hegseth on his confirmation as the next Secretary of Defense. NACA carriers provide cargo, charter and scheduled passenger air transport service to move personnel and materials around the world on a daily basis. They also stand ready to support the supplemental lift requirements through the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program in the case of emergencies. We look forward to working with Mr. Hegseth and his team to ensure that the supplemental lift requirements of DOD are met.”

In response to President-elect Trump’s announcement nominating former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wisc.) to be the next Secretary of Transportation, National Air Carrier Association President and CEO George Novak issued the following statement:

We congratulate Congressman Duffy on his nomination to be the next Secretary of Transportation and urge the Senate to confirm him expeditiously when the next Congress convenes. We look forward to working with him to ensure the safe, affordable and efficient delivery of air services to consumers, shippers and government partners.

It’s vitally important for our carriers to have a cooperative and collaborative relationship with DOT on the many challenges facing the U.S. airline industry, as they form a critical element of our nation’s transportation infrastructure and make a strong contribution to our national security through supplemental airlift capabilities for our military. In particular, we look forward to working with President-elect Trump’s team to identify and, where appropriate, rescind and eliminate costly and burdensome regulations that have only increased the cost of flying without enhancing safety or the passenger experience.