AFA News Now – Page 17

Never Forget: Honoring Alaska Airlines Flight 261—January 31, 2000

January 31, 2026 05:00

On this day, we pause to remember and honor the anniversary of the tragic loss of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, which occurred on January 31, 2000. This heartbreaking event claimed the lives of all 88 passengers and crew on board, leaving an enduring impact on all of us.

As we reflect on this tragic day, we acknowledge the grief that continues to resonate in our hearts. We stand in solidarity with the families who lost loved ones, remembering the joy and light they brought into this world. Each life lost was a story, a connection, and a cherished presence that left an indelible mark on all who knew them.

Today, let us take time to reflect on the lives lost and the loved ones they left behind. We will always remember and honor the memory of Flight Attendants Kristin Mills, Craig Pulanco, and Allison Shanks; Captain Ted Thompson; First Officer William Tansky; Sheri Christensen, Rachel Janosik, Ileana Ost, Sarah Pearson, Anjesh Prasad, James Ryan, and Stacy Schuyler. We will forever hold the memories of those aboard Flight 261 close in our hearts.

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 11 – January 2026

January 30, 2026 13:00

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants

Our JNC met with management this week on January 27 to January 29 in Seattle; our next negotiation session is scheduled for February 24 to February 26
Our MEC Air Safety Health and Security Chairperson and Air Quality Representative, along with the AFA-CWA Industrial Hygienist joined the JNC to speak to management about impacts of air quality on Flight Attendants

Negotiations Update

Our AFA Alaska + Hawaiian Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management. The JNC met with management on January 27 to January 29 in Seattle, WA. At the negotiating table for this session were:

Representing AFA and our Flight Attendants	Representing Management
Tim Green, Joint Negotiating Committee Chairperson	Allen Thieman, Vice President of Inflight, Alaska
Martin Gusman, Joint Negotiating Committee Member	Joe Wonderly, Vice President, Labor Relations, Alaska
Jeffrey Fuke, Joint Negotiating Committee Member	Carmen Williams, Managing Director, Labor Relations, Alaska
Virginia Fritz, Joint Negotiating Committee Member	Kalani Sloat, Senior Director, Labor Relations, Hawaiian
Heather Reier, Joint Negotiating Committee Member	Mike Link, Labor Relations Program Manager, Alaska
Paula Mastrangelo, AFA Senior Staff Negotiator	Karen Themelis, Senior Labor Relations Business Partner, Alaska
Seth Heiple, MEC Air Safety, Health, and Security Committee Chairperson
Deb Wallstrom, MEC Air Safety, Health, and Security Committee Air Quality Representative
Judith Anderson, AFA-CWA Industrial Hygienist; Air Safety, Health and Security

During this negotiating session we were joined by the MEC Air Safety, Health, and Security Committee (ASHSC) Chairperson, Seth Heiple; MEC ASHSC Air Quality Representative, Deb Wallstrom; and AFA-CWA Industrial Hygienist, Judith Anderson. After an in-depth presentation to the JNC, our subject matter experts educated management on air quality from the Flight Attendant perspective and identified areas of improvement and concrete action-items to address the on-the-job injury process.

After the presentation, we passed our prepared proposal on Section 15 (Leaves of Absence) to management. We continue to advocate for improvements and protections in this Section. The JNC also made our initial proposal on Section 22 (Expenses). On Day 2, management passed their response on Section 15 (Leaves). We are significantly apart in this area as we work to incorporate improvements from the Hawaiian Contract.

Section by Section Progress

The Alaska CBA will be used as the basis of the joint contract for language purposes. Each section and provision from both contracts will be reviewed individually to incorporate and amend the strongest elements from each agreement.

Sections discussed in this session:

Leaves of Absence (AS CBA Section 15 and HA CBA Section 17)
Expenses (AS CBA Section 22 and HA CBA Section 4)

Sections in ongoing discussion:

General and Miscellaneous (AS CBA Section 24 and HA CBA Section 27)
Commuter Policy (AS CBA Section 26 and HA CBA Section 34-28)
Training (AS CBA Section 30 and HA CBA Section 26)

Sections listed below are on hold until discussions regarding future sections, which affect specific provisions, take place.

Seniority (AS CBA Section 6 and HA CBA Section 9)
Grievance Procedures (AS CBA Section 19 and HA CBA Section 23)
Charters (AS CBA Section 33 and HA CBA Section 12)

Local Council Meetings

Our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) attended the Master Executive Council (MEC) Meeting in Honolulu earlier this month. During the meeting the JNC provided the MEC with a negotiations update and collaborated on some of the more difficult decisions coming up as we work to combine two very different contracts. On January 15, the JNC met with Honolulu-based Members in a meet and greet event hosted by the Council 43 Leadership. The JNC fielded questions, updated Members on the negotiations process, and addressed their concerns.

What’s Upcoming

Our next session with management is scheduled for February 24 to February 26.

Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – January 2026

January 19, 2026 17:00

On Monday, January 12, 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), Brian Sherill (LAX-pmAS), Kanani Vallot (SAN), and Matt Mitchell (HNL) with MEC Hotel Committee Chairperson James Bozanich facilitating the meeting.

The Committee met with Director of Crew Planning Trisha Bennett, Senior Crew Hotels Support Specialist Nichole Turner and Crew Hotels Support Specialist LaFay Williams.

Our next monthly meeting with management is scheduled for Monday, February 9, 2026. API, the company’s hotel accommodations vendor, will also host their first quarterly business review (QBR) meeting of 2026 in January, with the pre-merger Alaska meeting on January 21 and the pre-merger Hawaiian meeting on January 22.

Topics of Discussion

The committee reviewed several items during the meeting with management, most of which focused on hotel decisions and challenges in our layover markets. Some items discussed include:

Hotel and Ground Transportation Issues (pmAS):

Most of our meeting time was devoted to a few high-profile events that occurred over the holiday period.

FAI: Crews have reported a number of issues with our Fairbanks hotel, including unresponsive front desk staff, HVAC issues (heating/cooling), and water temperature and drainage issues. These have gone on for far too long, and we made it clear that we need a safe and dependable property in FAI. We have asked that API conduct an emergency market sourcing for an alternative option. Given the smaller size of cities in Alaska, options are unfortunately limited.
CUN: Cancun experienced significant compression the first weekend of January due to the Caribbean airspace being shut down. In hotel terms, compression refers to a situation where the demand for hotel rooms is extremely high, leaving few or no available rooms in the area. This often leads to higher room rates and limited options for securing accommodations. As a result of this compression event, there was a sellout, with API struggling for hours to secure rooms for a cancelled Alaska flight. When rooms were finally secured, the hotel still refused to accept payment, despite being sent via three different avenues. This significantly delayed crews from getting into their rooms. Ultimately, a pilot paid out of pocket. This topic has been added to the QBR agenda for further discussion and future contingencies.
LIR: A crew arrived at our long-stay property after a redeye flight to find they did not have a hotel reservation. This was the result of an API mistake during the hotel reassignment period. As a reminder, during the planning process, if hotels cannot accommodate hotel rooms over the contracted maximum cap, pairings are entered as “TBD”, which is what we, as a Hotel Committee, have asked for. This adds greater transparency to the bid as you are bidding for a pairing without a known hotel. API has a process that flags all TBDs to ensure rooms are booked for these pairings. Unfortunately, due to human error, this particular overnight was missed. To prevent this from happening again, API will rerun the reassignment report on the last day of the month to ensure all TBDs have been processed and rooms assigned for the upcoming month.

Reminders About Self-Help (pmAS)

Hotel Rooms: If you have not received a hotel room key within ninety (90) minutes after arriving at your hotel, you may be able to arrange your own room and be reimbursed up to $400 per Flight Attendant, per night. Before making your own arrangements, you must obtain approval from Crew Scheduling by phone (or from Base Management if Crew Scheduling is unavailable). To request reimbursement, keep your receipt and submit it according to the steps in section 34.D.2 of the contract.
Late Transportation: Section 34.B.7 of the contract allows you to arrange and submit for reimbursement the actual cost of alternative transportation to/from the airport if transportation is not provided within thirty-five (35) minutes of block-in or within ten (10) minutes of the scheduled departure from the hotel. To be reimbursed, keep your receipt and submit it as outlined in the contract. Alternatively, you may ask Crew Scheduling to arrange transportation at the thirty-five-minute mark if you do not want to pay out of pocket and submit for reimbursement.
Wait Times: If you decide to wait for a hotel room or late transportation, you will be paid if the wait time requirements are met and you follow the reporting steps in section 34.D of the contract.

What The Committee Is Working On

Conducting Hotel Site Visits: The Hotel Committee conducts site visits on hotels under consideration by management to ensure that the selected options provide the safest and most comfortable layover experience for Flight Attendants. Market reviews are triggered by factors such as contract expirations, crew complaints, and cost-saving opportunities.

Pre-Merger Alaska: We have been provided the site visit schedule for 2026, and it’s quite extensive. Additional site visits may be added due to the conditions listed above. The scheduled site visits through June 2026 are:
- January: LAX
- February: CVG, PHL, KEF
- March: PSP, MKE, CLE, MIA
- April: LIR, DFW, KOA, JFK
- May: BOS, PHX, ATL
- June: OGG, RNO
Pre-Merger Hawaiian: The following site visits are confirmed for 2026 so far:
- January: SFO
- February: FCO, SMF
- March: LHR, SJC

Hotel Gainshare Update: There is no new update at this time. We are still awaiting further information from our AFA International legal department regarding the tax implications raised by management. We will provide additional details as soon as they are available.

We Want to Hear From You!

Our Hotel Committee relies on your feedback, whether positive or negative. Please report via CrewCare (pmAS) or the FA Crew Accommodations Feedback form (pmHA), which ensures your experience with a layover hotel or ground transportation is addressed. These are the only official way to report issues, as the Committee does not monitor social media channels.

Each CrewCare and feedback form submission is forwarded to our AFA Hotel Committee, Crew Hotels (Alaska/Hawaiian management), API, and the hotel or ground transportation provider. This ensures quick action can be taken to correct or fix the issue for the next crew member. It also allows us to monitor hotel and transportation trends. Pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants can quickly file a CrewCare report using the web app on your IMD home screen or by clicking here.Do you have any other feedback you would like to share with the Committee or any specific items you want us to bring up with management? Please let us know! Your Local Hotel Committee is here to represent you and ensure management hears your voice. You can find our contact information on the Hotel Committee page of the AFA Alaska + Hawaiian website.

Meet Our Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson–New Hire & Probation

January 19, 2026 15:00

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

We’re excited to introduce our newly elected pre-merger Alaska MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson—New Hire & Probation, Meghan Casey. Meg began her term immediately upon being elected last week. Below, you’ll find a brief biography highlighting her background and experience as she begins her work supporting our Flight Attendant group.

Meghan Casey, MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson—New Hire & Probation

Meg has been a Flight Attendant based in San Francisco since 2017, when she began her career at Virgin America. She grew up as an Army brat, moving every 2-3 years, which sparked her love of travel at a young age. Looking to pursue a career in service, she attended the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, earning a Bachelor’s degree in government, and subsequently served for 6 years as an active-duty officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. Following the completion of her commitment, she earned a Master’s degree in early childhood education from Lewis and Clark College, worked as a 3rd-grade teacher, and served in civilian administrative roles for the U.S. Coast Guard and the Navy. Looking for a job that combined travel, meeting new people, and flexibility, Meg decided to pursue a job as a Flight Attendant and hasn’t looked back since. She’s currently due to earn her second Bachelor’s degree in anthropology/archaeology from Cal State East Bay in the summer of 2026.

For the first 4 years as a Flight Attendant, Meg bounced back and forth between being on reserve and holding a line. Knowing that being on reserve can be among the most challenging years as a Flight Attendant, she pursued a role as the Council 35 (SFO) Reserve Committee Chairperson, a position she has held since 2021. During this time, she worked to ensure reserves were being treated fairly per our contract and also served as a reserve buddy, welcoming the new reserves to SFO. She’s excited to step into this new role as the MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chair for New Hire and Probation and looks forward to serving as an advocate, resource, and supporter for Alaska’s newest Flight Attendants.

Meg lives outside Sacramento with her husband and young daughter, and when she’s not flying, she enjoys hiking, traveling, reading, and trying all the desserts.

Hawaiian Flight Attendant Seattle Domicile LOA Session #3 Roadshow Recording

January 16, 2026 13:00

This message is for pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants

The SEA LOA Roadshow Presentation Session #3 is available for viewing, providing an update and comprehensive overview of the SEA LOA
The SEA LOA Q&A has been updated as of January 16 with the latest information and additional questions

SEA LOA Session #3 Roadshow Presentation

The Negotiating Committee has recorded the Seattle Domicile Letter of Agreement (SEA LOA) Presentation for viewing. This presentation will give a comprehensive overview of the SEA LOA along with recent updates.

SEA LOA Resources

The SEA LOA Question and Answer Post on AFA News Now has been updated to reflect the latest information and additional questions have been added.

Updated SEA Domicile Timeline

Date	Time	Event
Monday, January 19	2359 HT	Close of bids
Tuesday, January 20	1200 HT	Post of awards Email to successful bidders
Wednesday, January 21	2359 HT	Rescission deadline for successful bidders
Thursday, January 22	1200 HT	Post of backfill awards (if any)
Friday, January 23	2359 HT	Recission deadline for successful “backfill” bidders (if any)
Saturday, January 24	1200 HT	Post of backfill awards (if any)
Sunday, January 25	2359 HT	Rescission for successful “backfill” bidders (if any)
Monday, January 26		Final Post

Bid Submission

As of January 15, 231 Hawaiian Flight Attendants have submitted bids for the new SEA Domicile. This includes 193 from HNL and 38 from LAX.

29 of those submitting a SEA Domicile bid are within seniority 1-400
27 of those submitting a SEA Domicile bid are within seniority 401-800
49 of those submitting a SEA Domicile bid are within seniority 801-1200
30 of those submitting a SEA Domicile bid are within seniority 1201-1600
37 of those submitting a SEA Domicile bid are within seniority 1601-2000
59 of those submitting a SEA Domicile bid are seniority 2001 or higher

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your local leadership or email the SEA Domicile Negotiating Committee at sea@afahawaiian.org.

Never Forget: Honoring Alaska Airlines Flight 261—January 31, 2000

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 11 – January 2026