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Contaminated Cabin Air: Know What To Do

Under normal circumstances, we don’t give the air we breathe onboard the aircraft a second thought. As we’re all taught in initial training, cabin air is bleed air that is taken in through the aircraft engines then cooled and pressurized to make it usable. As with any piece of mechanical equipment, there’s always a possibility of malfunction. As a part of the engines, a malfunction in the cabin air system has the possibility of introducing oil, hydraulic fluid, or other materials into the cabin.

What to do if You Think You’ve Been Exposed to Contaminated Air

Being prepared and knowing what to do in the event of an air quality exposure incident can help you and your crew to the help you need as quickly as possible. Here’s what to do:

1. Identify the Situation

If you encounter unusual fumes (odors), smoke, or haze:

  • Quickly rule out in-cabin items (e.g. burning food, oven residue, etc.)
  • Report the situation to the pilots immediately. If the source is the air from the vents in the cabin, there is the possibility of oil/hydraulic fluid contamination.
  • If no passengers are on board, step off the aircraft, especially if maintenance boards to test systems
  • Avoid breathing fumes coming from vents

2. Get Help if Sick

  • If in the air, notify the pilots to call MedLink
  • If still at the gate, ask the CSA to call paramedics. Deplane if possible.
  • Seek medical attention as soon as possible. Most tests that detect exposure are time sensitive; even a few hours can make a difference. Your symptoms can persist, worsen, or return after another incident.
  • Call AFA for help 

[su_panel background=”#ffffff” color=”#000000″ border=”3px solid #3399cc” radius=”1″]
Call First

Karyn Kobe, Air Quality Chairperson
(206) 457-2010, Extension 1101

Backup

Seth Heiple, ASHSC Chairperson
(206) 457-2010, Extension 1100

[/su_panel]
  • Print and begin completing the AFA exposure checklist
  • Review the AFA International Air Quality website

3. Report & Document

  • File an I-21 (employee injury report) and ASAP report with the company
  • Keep printed copies of each report for your records
  • Send a copy of the completed I-21 form to airquality@afaalaska.org
  • Ask supervisor to complete their Alaska Airlines air quality checklist with you
  • If sick, file a worker’s compensation claim and see a doctor as quickly as possible. Claims do not start until you see a doctor.
  • Keep a symptom diary and document everything with a doctor

Keep This Information With You In Case You Need it

Get Your New Quick Reference CardAFA Alaska AQ Exposure Quick Ref Card 2015.10.03

New air quality exposure quick reference cards have been printed and will soon be available in your base. These cards replace all old versions of the air quality cards (gold or blue lanyard cards or old black and white folded paper card). When you pick up your new card, please discard any old cards that you have and replace them with the new one. This card fold up to the size of a credit card and will fit easily inside a plastic badge holder or in your purse or wallet. On the card, you’ll find information that you’ll need in the event of an air quality exposure incident as well as links to online AFA resources and contact information for AFA representatives who can assist you.

Print Your Own Quick Reference Card

You can download and print a quick reference card at any time by clicking this link.

Find it on the AFA Alaska WebsiteIMG_0182

This information is also available on a dedicated page of the AFA Alaska website at: http://afaalaska.org/ashsc/airquality/checklist.

From the AFA Alaska mobile website or web app, a quick link is located on the main page of the site. For instructions on how to save the AFA Alaska web app as a desktop icon on your IMD or personal Apple device, click here.

If you have questions, please contact your Local Air Safety, Health, and Security (ASHSC) Committee.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt, Air Quality Chairperson Karyn Kobe and MEC ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple

AFA Alaska Logo No Tag

AFA Alaska MEC Pairing Analyst Interviews

Your Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) would like to take this opportunity to thank Sherrijon Gaspard for stepping up to the plate as MEC Pairing Analyst for the last six months. Regretfully, she recently stepped down from her position due to unforeseen family circumstances. The MEC is now in search of qualified individuals interested in becoming the new MEC Pairing Analyst.

Background

  • The official title in the AFA Alaska MEC Policy Manual for the AFA Pairing Analyst is MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction. The Pairing Analyst is chairperson and sole member of the Pairing Construction Subcommittee, which is a part of the Scheduling Committee. See below for additional information.
  • Both the Crew Planners and the AFA Pairing Analyst individually use a computer system provided by Jeppesen to construct pairings each month.
  • The pairings in our bid packets are “optimized” (usually for least cost) and built using a computer program designed by Jeppesen. Inflight management selects the final pairing solution to be used.

Additional Background from the AFA Alaska MEC Policy Manual

PAIRING CONSTRUCTION SUBCOMMITTEE

Scope

(i)        The Pairing Construction Subcommittee will work with the company and the Inflight Crew Planning Department to build Flight Attendant pairings

Policy/Responsibilities

(i)        The Pairing Construction Subcommittee shall consist of the MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction.

(ii)       The Subcommittee shall:

(A)       Regularly communicate with and provide updates to the MEC Scheduling Chairperson on the activites of the subcommittee

(B)       Meet on a monthly basis with the Company and the Inflight Crew Planning Department to review problems and suggested resolutions regarding construction of Flight Attendant pairings and monthly lines of flying.

(C)       Maintain a permanent file for all local schedules for the use of the MEC Scheduling Committee.

(D)       Keep the MEC informed on all activities relating to the pairing construction process.  When meetings or communications are due to unusual scheduling activities, a written report will be made.

(E)       Keep the membership informed of the results of the pairing construction process on a monthly basis through the MEC Communications Committee Chairperson.

(F)       Solicit feedback from the membership regarding desired pairings, trip lengths, and types of flying through Local Scheduling Committees and advocate for such during the pairing construction process.

(G)       Discuss any problems occurring within the pairing construction process with the Local Scheduling Committee Chairpersons on a monthly basis and will provide any suggestions for remedy of problems to the MEC.

Skillset/Requirements

  • Strong computer skills are a must.
  • Ability to independently meet several deadlines throughout the month.
  • Potentially frequent travel to Seattle for training and meetings. However, duties may generally be fulfilled remotely.

Duties

  • Build pairings solutions using a pairings optimizer computer program (Jeppesen).
  • Work collaboratively with Crew Planning in regards to pairing building.
  • Review, validate and comment on the monthly pairing solutions.
  • Write a monthly pairings report.
  • Correspond with Local Scheduling Committee chairpersons, the MEC Scheduling Committee chairperson, and LEC presidents regarding pairing solutions and related concerns brought forward by flight attendants.
  • Advocate for flight attendants in the pairing building process.

Time Commitment and Compensation

  • This is a paid position compensated by the Company under 27.P Company Business (CB) Flight Pay Loss with a 5% override and “A” pay. CB is compensated at 0.75 TFP per hour of work.
  • Estimated 16 to 20 hours per month (12 to 15 TFP per month), most of which may be accomplished remotely.

Reporting Structure

  • Directly reports to the MEC Scheduling Committee chairperson, who in turn reports to the MEC.

Interested?

  • The MEC will hold interviews on Tuesday, January 26, 2016. Bid around the interview date or arrange to adjust your schedule accordingly to accommodate.
  • Interviews will be at the AFA Alaska MEC office in Seattle. Our office is located in the Alaska Airlines Flight Operations and Training Center, Suite 280 at 2651 S 192nd St, Seattle, WA 98188.
  • Submit a declaration of interest and resume to MEC Secretary-Treasurer Yvette Gesch at yvette.gesch@afaalaska.org no later than 5 PM Pacific Time on Friday, January 15, 2016. Yvette will be able to provide additional information regarding transportation and booking of flights if necessary.

 

* * *

 

In solidarity,

 

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones

AFA-Alaska-Logo-Transparent-Background

New “Temporary” FA to FA and Open Time Trading Schedule

Background

 

In light of recent technical issues with Open Time, the Master Executive Council (MEC) made a decision at our November meeting last week to temporarily change trading times for all bases. This is a temporary change that should end with an upgrade from eMaestro to the Jeppesen Crew Tracking Enterprise (JCTE) system next year.

 

The problem appears to lie with the current system’s inability to handle the amount of users when Seattle Flight Attendants access the system. As many of you know, technical issues with Open Time are not new. However, all trading within a base now starting at the same time has been consistently causing Seattle Flight Attendants to have trouble logging into eMaestro. The system completely shut down for over 30 minutes when Seattle Open Time began in September and, even though management implemented changes to accommodate the traffic for October and again in November, Seattle Flight Attendants experienced problems accessing the system.

 

Due to the on-going problems and the fact that these problems begin with Seattle’s start time, the MEC has decided to further alter FA to FA trades and Open Time(s) by splitting FA to FA trades and Open Time(s) to different days/times beginning in December for January trading. Again, this is a temporary fix until transition to JCTE. We anticipate the new schedule—which will be in effect in December for January trading and until further notice—will offset the ‘load factor’ to the system that allows every Flight Attendant, in every base, a fair opportunity to access Open Time and FA to FA trades.

 

NEW TRADING TIME LINE IN PACIFIC TIME

 

15th – FA to FA Trades

0900: SAN

1000: PDX

1100: ANC

1200: LAX

1300: SEA

16th – OT (Except Seattle)

0900: SAN

1000: PDX

1100: ANC

1200: LAX

17th – 0900 OT SEA

18th – 0900 Out of Domicile (ALL)

* * *

 

If you have any questions please contact your LEC president.

In Solidarity,

 

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt

AFA Alaska

2016 Open Enrollment Information

Open Enrollment starts tomorrow (Monday, November 2nd). Your AFA Benefits and Retirement Committee compiled the following information in order to assist you with navigating Open Enrollment.

General Changes

 

  • Mailer will be sent to employee’s home addresses 10/15 to advise that Open Enrollment begins on 11/02/15.
  • Follow up emails will be sent as reminders through Outlook beginning 10/30.
  • A new tool will be added to the web portal. It is called “Alex,” and is a user-friendly tool to enter information, which will then enable employees to compare and contrast different health benefits options.
  • A ‘My Alaska Benefits-Annual Enrollment Tab’ will be added to the Alaskasworld website.
  • If desired, an employee can enroll or make changes by telephone.
  • This year, confirmation of changes/enrollment emails will be sent to employees in Outlook. There will be links in these emails directing F/As back to their selections in the portal, and their portal message folder if need be.
  • Employees may carry over up to $500 in unspent Flexible Spending Account (FSA) funds into 2016.

 

2016 Consumer’s Choice (Health Savings Account/HSA)

 

  • In Washington State only, the Premera Network will change from the current Heritage Network to the Premera Prime network. This only affects Washington. In Alaska, the Heritage network will remain in place. All other states use the Blue Shield network, which will not change. F/As should be reminded to check to see that their current health providers are also Premera Prime participants.
  • The company contribution will remain $1,000 for employee only and $2,000 for a family. This year all enrollees in the plan will receive an additional $500 company contribution to the plan for an individual and $1,000 for a family. This bonus is available during open enrollment only, both for those switching plans and for current Consumer’s Choice plan participants.
  • A new “HSA On-Demand” feature will be added to the Health Savings Account (HSA) website. It will be called “Click to Pay,” with a sign up and usage explanation. It will automatically draw funds from the employees account to pay bills, similar to an online bill pay service.
  • A change in the crediting and access to the company contributions will begin in 2016. Similar to a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), the company contributions will be credited at the beginning of the year. IRS regulations require than an employee’s personal contributions cannot be credited until the beginning of the month in which they were actually deducted, and transferred to the HSA account.
  • If an employee has prior year contributions and/or an investment balance in their account, their cash balance would be used first. Next, they could access their investment balance, and then the company’s contributions. This might prove very beneficial for someone who incurs a large expense in the early part of the year.
  • The Health Saving Account (HSA) statements will look different this year—more information will be added. A “HSA for Dummies” booklet will be posted on the website.
  • For prior HSA plan participants who become ineligible (due to Medicare, or other disqualifiers which are listed in the booklet), the Company will contribute $500 to a Special Purpose FSA, which can be used for dental and vision expenses, as well as medical expenses after the relevant deductible is met in one of the other AS plans.
  • The 2016 HSA limit is $6750 for an individual under the age of 55.

 

Premera PPO

 

  • For 2016 forward, the plan is no longer ‘grandfathered’. The plan will provide 100% preventative health care coverage beginning in January.
  • Like the Health Spending Account (HSA), the Washington network will be Premera Prime for 2016 forward.
  • Hospice and palliative care will now be covered even for non-terminal conditions when appropriate.
  • Over the counter medications in the categories of Flonase, Nexium, and Claritin will no longer be covered, but can be submitted as a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) claim with a doctor’s written prescription.
  • Up to 90-day prescriptions for maintenance medications can now be filled in retail stores as well as through mail order. There are some exceptions depending on the medication.

* * *

 

Questions? Contact your local Benefits Committee chairperson.

 

In solidarity,

 

MEC Benefits & Retirement Committee Chairperson Terry Taylor and your AFA Benefits Committee

AFA Alaska

Quality of Life Survey

Your AFA Scheduling Committee and Alaska Airlines management team have worked together since July 2015 to send out a survey asking about your flying patterns, trip preferences and quality of life.  We ask that you please take the time to fill out this short survey and provide us with detailed feedback we plan to use in future discussions.  We appreciate you taking time from your busy schedules to engage in our survey. The survey link is available via your Outlook email and will be open for two weeks.

 

In solidarity,

 

Your AFA Scheduling Committee

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SEA Domicile Negotiations – October 2025 Update #2

This session was marked by the Negotiating Committee’s strong advocacy for protections and enhancements that would support the Seattle base as a viable option for transferring Flight Attendants. With insights from Ryan St. John, the Vice President of Finance, Planning, and Investor Relations for Alaska Airlines, the Negotiating Committee highlighted the necessity of combining data-driven strategies with hands-on experience and sufficient resources for long-term success.

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 8 – October 2025

During our recent negotiations, the Joint Negotiation Committee focused on key sections, particularly reaching a Tentative Agreement on Lodging and Transportation, which improves food availability and transportation safety. We also engaged with Council 19 to clarify negotiation processes and differences between contracts. Stay tuned for our upcoming session with management from November 18 to 20.

Meet Our Pre-Merger Alaska Committee Chairperson & Representatives

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants We’re excited to introduce the next group of pre-merger Alaska MEC Committee Chairpersons and Representatives for the upcoming MEC Officer term. They’ll begin transitioning into their roles over the next few months and officially start their terms on January 1, 2026. Below, you’ll find brief biographies that […]

Meet Our Merged MEC Committee Chairpersons & Representatives

We’re excited to introduce our next group of newly elected merged MEC Committee Chairpersons, who will begin their roles on November 1. These leaders are dedicated to representing the interests of our Flight Attendants as they coordinate activities across the merged committees of both airlines. They’ll work closely with the Local Committee Chairpersons from all […]

Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – October 2025

On Monday, October 13, our AFA Local Hotel Committee Chairpersons met in person in Seattle to receive an update about current layover hotels and transportation providers and discuss concerns with management. Representing you at the meeting were Dori Marron (ANC), Jarod McNeill (SEA), Kelly Hepworth (PDX), Hilary Streem (SFO), Chris Cardenas (LAX), and Kanani Vallot […]

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