Heide Oberndorf

Friday's Fabulous Flyer

Heide Oberndorf

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ALPA National President
We do have a voice... 

Pilots can impact change!

Heide began flying as a young child with her father. She received her private license in high school and soloed before she was eligible for her driver’s license. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Florida Institute of Technology, and never wavered from her goal of becoming an Airline Pilot.

After graduation if 1991, she began an aggressive pursuit of experiences which brought her to Kittyhawk Air Tours. Later that year, she transitioned to flying a King Air 200 for Landmark Communications, and then from 1992-1994 she flew for various operators in Alaska. She even transported auto parts in Casa 212’s and MU-2’s. Just short of two years at Trans States Airlines she was hired by TWA in 1996. 

In 1997, Heide was hired by United Airlines. She is currently based in San Francisco where she is a first officer on the 747, which takes her mostly to Asia and Europe.

Heide grew up in Virginia Beach, where her mother was Mayor of the city for twenty years. Her father was Chairman of the Virginia Aviation Board; Roger Oberndorf was also a pilot for United Airlines.

Politics are an important part of Heide’s family history and she is right at home in her pursuit of creating change for the pilot group. She is an active ALPA member, the largest pilot union in the world, and has served in a legislative capacity for ALPA, working to improve the labor contracts and conditions for pilots within the union.

In 2012, Heide and a small team of experts leveraged political strategy, friends on Capitol Hill, and White House insiders to expedite the Railway Labor Act process during joint contract negotiations for the United Pilots. That plan helped ensure that there were contracts in early 2013. It's hard to imagine where the 12,500 United pilots would be today without her efforts.

Heide said, "After experiencing first-hand corruption inside ALPA, I launched a campaign in 2014 to run for ALPA president."

Heide is the first rank and file, and woman, to run an actual campaign in a democratic manner versus the system currently in place: where the president is elected by the board of directors.

I've yet to meet Heide, but from our phone conversation I believe she is dedicated to bringing back great paying pilot jobs that have been lost to ever expanding international alliances, code sharing, revenue sharing, profit/loss agreements and joint ventures that affects ALPA’s more than 51,000 members.

She is passionate about "taking back the Safety department from management politicians and restore it to the preeminence that former ALPA brethren worked tirelessly to maintain."

"The ability of ALPA Safety to be autonomous and neutral will enable the membership, the flying public, and all other stakeholders to feel confident about the product that pilots deliver. Learn more about Heide’s campaign HERE." Heide

What can you do?

If you're an ALPA member, Tell your LEC leaders that you want them to vote for Heidi Heide Oberndorf.

Ask Heide anything! 

Enjoy the Journey!
XO Karlene

Author of Flight For Control and Flight For Safety,
If you haven't read them...it's time!