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[AS] Layover Hotel and Transportation Reminders

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This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

The busy summer travel season is nearly upon us and is anticipated to be one of the busiest travel seasons on record.  Along with the increase in travel comes the possibility of irregular operations and things going awry pertaining to layover hotels and transportation.  As a reminder, management has a responsibility to provide hotel accommodations and corresponding transportation to and from the hotel to Flight Attendants on a layover.  This information is contained in section 34 of the contract.

If you have a problem with your hotel or transportation, report it!

Management, in conjunction with their hotel vendor API, uses a website called My Crew Care to collect feedback from crew members on hotel and transportation issues. My Crew Care, can be accessed through the Flight Attendant Website from the main menu > Hotels > Hotel Links > My Crew Care.

In order to take action on issues with layover hotels and transportation, your AFA Hotel Committee needs to know when you have a problem.  Reports submitted through My Crew Care are automatically routed to your AFA Hotel Committee so they can track issues and trends in our layover locations.

Save A Shortcut to My Crew Care on Your IMD

You can save a shortcut to My Crew Care on your IMD so that you have easy access to report hotel or transportation concerns when you’re on the go.  The shortcut will appear just like any app icon on your IMD’s home screen.  When you tap the icon, you’ll be taken directly to the My Crew Care website.

To add My Crew Care as a shortcut on your IMD home screen:

  1. Tap on Alaska Inflight Website
  2. Tap on the hamburger menu
  3. Tap on Hotel & Station
  4. Expand Hotel Links and select My Crew Care
  5. Tap on the Share button at the bottom of the screen
  6. Tap on Add to Home Screen
  7. Change the name to “My Crew Care” and tap on Add
  8. Press and hold until the shortcut icon “wiggles” and move it to your desired home screen

Management has put together a version of this instructions with screenshots included for easy step-by-step reference.  You can access these instructions by clicking here (login required).

First Time Using My Crew Care System?

When you open the My Crew Care site for the first time, you’ll need to register with your alaskaair.com email address.  After registering, the system will send you a confirmation email.  From the confirmation email, click the link to confirm your registration.  Once you complete this registration process, you won’t need to do it again.  API has written a user guide for the My Crew Care system that you can access by clicking here.

Bed Bug Resources

Being aware of bed bugs and other in-room pests is important, especially going into summer.  If you encounter bugs in your hotel room, immediately report the situation to the hotel for resolution and file a report in My Crew Care.  We’ve put together some information about bed bugs, including how to inspect your room for bugs upon arrival and how to tell the difference between bed bugs and other bugs.  You can find these resources through the Hotel Committee page of the AFA Alaska website or by clicking here.

Your Local Hotel Committee Is Here to Help

Members of your Local Hotel Committee are here to assist you with addressing any layover hotel or transportation-related concerns.  You can find contact information on the Hotel Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green, Brice McGee, MEC Hotel Committee Chairperson Laura Hinojosa and MEC Hotel Committee Vice Chairperson Jodi Snow

Layover Hotel and Transportation Issues: 4 Things to Know

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Along with the busy summer travel season has come an uptick in issues with crew hotel accommodations and layover transportation.  Management has a responsibility to provide hotel accommodations and corresponding transportation to and from the hotel to Flight Attendants on a layover.  This information is contained in section 34 of the contract.

1. If you have a problem with your hotel or transportation, report it!

Management, in conjunction with their hotel vendor API, has recently launched a new version of CrewCare, the website that is used to give feedback on hotel and transportation issues.  The new system, My Crew Care, can be accessed through the new Flight Attendant Website.

In order to take action on issues with layover hotels and transportation, your AFA Hotel Committee needs to know when you have a problem.  Reports submitted through My Crew Care are automatically routed to your AFA Hotel Committee so they can track issues and trends in our layover locations.

To Access My Crew Care

  1. Log-in to the inflight website (http://asainflight.alaskaair.com)
  2. Open the menu
  3. Click “Hotels”
  4. Click “Hotel Links”
  5. Click “My Crew Care”
  6. Open the menu
  7. Click “Feedback”
  8. Click “Provide Feedback”

IMG_2172    IMG_2173    IMG_2174    IMG_2175    IMG_2176

First Time Using the New My Crew Care System?

When you open the My Crew Care site for the first time, you’ll need to register with your alaskaair.com email address.  After registering, the system will send you a confirmation email.  From the confirmation email, click the link to confirm your registration.  Once you complete this registration process, you won’t need to do it again.

API has written a user guide for the My Crew Care system that you can access here: https://api2.apicrewcare.com/Uploads/Public/UserGuides/CrewMember/CrewmemberUserGuide_AlaskaAir.pdf.

2. If your transportation is late, you can take a taxi, Uber, or Lyft!

If your van hasn’t arrived to pick you up from the airport within 35 minutes of block-in, you have the right to take other transportation and submit the expense for reimbursement from management.  The same thing applies if your van hasn’t arrived to pick you up from the hotel within 10 minutes of the scheduled departure time.  You can find this contractual language in section 34.B.  Be sure to save your receipt and submit an expense report after your trip.  Your supervisor can assist you with completing an expense report.

3. There’s been an increase in unscheduled layover hotel blunders

Recently, Crew Scheduling and the Company’s hotel vendor, Accommodations Plus International (API), have dropped the ball in multiple cases involving unscheduled layover hotels and transportation.  Your Hotel Committee has been advised of recent situations where layover hotel rooms were not secured until after crew arrival in a layover city, transportation not being booked, and hotels being booked that didn’t meet minimum contractual requirements. Crew Scheduling is following policy and using a hotel vender as required by management, so AFA holds management ultimately responsible for these unacceptable and ongoing slipups. Management has an obligation to have contractually compliant hotel accommodations reserved and transportation arranged prior to crew arrival in their layover city.   AFA has requested a meeting with management and API to call for immediate resolution of these issues.

4. You can check to see if your unscheduled layover hotel meets contractual minimums

Travel Weekly classification example

Example of how to determine the Travel Weekly classification for a specific hotel

If you end up with an unscheduled layover, it’s possible that the regular crew hotel in that city could be full and you might end up with a room at an alternate hotel.  Section 34.A.4 of the contract specifies that the company must make every reasonable effort to ensure that an alternate hotel meets the minimum requirements outlined for regular layover hotels.  At a minimum, Flight Attendant layover hotels must meet a rating of 5 or above as rated by Travel Weekly.  You can check to see how your alternate hotel is rated by typing the hotel name into the search box at http://www.travelweekly.com/Hotels.

If you have been placed at a hotel that doesn’t meet the minimum rating of 5 or above, you should contact Crew Scheduling immediately to request a different hotel that meets contractual minimums.  If you’re told that no other hotels are available, please forward your pairing information, hotel name, and hotel address to your Local Hotel Committee as soon as possible.

Have Questions?

Your Local Hotel Committee can help!  You can find contact information on your Local Council’s committee page or on the Hotel Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee and MEC Hotel Committee Chairpersons Laura Hinojosa and Jodi Snow

IAH Layovers for March 2016

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We will resume layovers in IAH starting in March.  Please be advised that some of the trips in IAH had to be moved to a new secondary  layover hotel.  Management was only able to contract a limited number of rooms at both properties.  There were also some short layovers that needed to be moved out of the long layover hotel.

Unfortunately, the bid packets will still show the primary layover hotel for the trips that were moved.  The hotel information will be updated in eMaestro (in the notes sections) and the trips that have been moved are listed under the news and announcements section on the hotel tab of the Flight Attendant websites.  Specific hotel information for both hotels is also listed on the hotel tab of the Flight Attendant website.

A direct link to management’s information about the move can be found here (AS log-in required)

Be On Guard: Hotel Scams on the Rise

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A new scam where con artists try to get credit card numbers out of hotel guests is on the rise.  Always be alert on your layovers and never give your credit card number out to anyone who calls your room.  If hotel staff need to get payment information for your incidental charges, they will always ask you to come down to the front desk and will never ask for your credit card number over the phone.  Alternately, you can hang up and then call back down to the front desk so that you know exactly who you’re talking to.

A recent NBC news story provides some more background on the scam.  You can read the story here: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/43662080/ns/business-consumer_news/t/summer-travel-alert-scammers-target-hotel-guests

On The Watch Against Bed Bugs

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Along with the warm weather throughout our route network comes an increase in bugs that we see at our layover hotels. One very particular type of bug that we should all be very concerned about is the bed bug.

No matter whether you’re on a layover, overnighting for training, or on a personal vacation, it’s always a best practice to inspect your room for signs of bed bugs as soon as you get to your room. Despite their name, bed bugs do not live in bed—they only eat there. During the day they hide in cracks and crevices (the size of a credit card or less) of furniture. Adult bugs are about the size of an apple seed and are visible to the naked eye.

First Things First–Check Your Room

  • Pull back a sheet corner on the bed and check for signs of bugs. Look for brown/black dot stains on the mattress and possibly molted bed bug skins
  • Check the areas where the mattress rests on the box spring, inside any folds or under buttons or piping
  • Take a close look at the headboard, picture frames and nightstands for any sign of hiding bugs
  • Check in books or hotel literature around the bed. Bed bugs have been found on index tabs in the in-room bible.
  • Bed bugs can also be detected by their characteristic smell of rotting raspberries

Help, I Found Bed Bugs In My Room!

If you find bed bugs upon check in or at any time during your stay, notify the front desk staff immediately and move to another room. Report the incident on a Flight Attendant Incident Report and fill out a report on CrewCare (http://www.alaskaaircrew.com). CrewCare reports are forwarded to management and your AFA Hotel Committee Members.

More About Bed Bugs

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has some great resources and information about bed bugs available at http://www2.epa.gov/bedbugs.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt, MEC Hotel Committee Chairperson Laura Hinojosa and MEC Air Safety, Health, & Security Chairperson Seth Heiple

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