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Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – December 2023

Scheduling Committee

  • Our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met on Tuesday, December 26 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent Flight Attendants interests related to lineholder scheduling.
  • The Committee also met with management to receive updates and discuss issues and problems that Flight Attendants are experiencing with scheduling, pairings, and bidding.
  • Your Local Scheduling Committee is available to answer questions, provide clarification, or help to resolve any lineholder scheduling-related issues. Please don’t hesitate to reach out!

On Tuesday, December 26, our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Heather Reier (ANC), Jaqui Bellenie (SFO), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Kamako Yamado (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). Also present were MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction Karen Ferrell, MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—PBS Virginia Fritz.

The committee met with Managing Director Inflight Operations & Crew Scheduling Allen Thieman, Manager of Crew Planning Trisha Bennett, and other management representatives from Crew Planning.

The Committee is next scheduled to meet on January 23, 2024.

Topics of Discussion

The committee reviewed a number of items both during internal AFA-only conversation and when meeting with management. Some items discussed include:

  • There was one OT issue reported that resulted in the withholding of a trip for more than 15 minutes during a shift change. CS needs to follow up with schedulers regarding accountability. Flight Attendants may call regarding trips withheld under Section 12.E.1.d.
  • SWGCO LOA implementation has improved with proactive steps to provide ride shares and hotels during severe weather. This is specific to recent events affecting the Anchorage base.
  • There is a known issue with the co-terminals filter not receiving text alerts.
  • It was reported earlier in the month that the personal calendar is not syncing with crew access. This appears to be resolved. 
  • Reassignment issues for holiday pay. When Flight Attendants are reassigned or pay protected, provisions in Section 21.H can assist with understanding compensation. 
  • Concerns with last minute hotel changes in CUN and other destinations. Crew members are picking up trips to layover at specific hotel locations. 
  • Increase in reassignments and pre-cancellations. Flow Charts are available on the Scheduling Committee page of the AFA website. 
  • Issues with base turns and crew pay reconciliation. If Flight Attendants combine or split trips, payroll will reconcile the base turn prior to the next pay cycle.
  • The December PPP bonus, if applicable, pays $350. Review Section 21.R.
  • Positive feedback received for the extended bidding period due to the PBS adjustment and contractual violation for January 2024 bid period. 
  • PBS Bidding: The process was smooth until the 8th of December with a one (1) hour fifteen (15) minute outage. We received feedback that FAs would have appreciated a quicker response via email regarding the delay. Bid awards were difficult for reserves due to overstaffing. No confirmed evidence of the outage affecting bids.
  • PBS Meetings: Various meetings held with our representatives regarding Adhoc and Navblue. Testing and installation of new releases ongoing.
  • Payroll Updates: End of year concerns with FAs attempting to meet 480/960 TFP thresholds. Reassignments and questions regarding pay protection, flying above scheduled, and stranded pay.
  • CBTs are due at the end of the month.
  • ITS Update: PBS testing in progress with automation completed. JCTE testing for release in January with anticipated improvements in trading and performance.
  • Vacation bidding under review for improvement for 2025 bidding.
  • Work ongoing for B2B features.
  • Demo of crew access while using a new function called buddy roster feature. More information to be provided when installed. Feature would allow you to opt in and share your roster with approved crew members (Flight Attendant or pilot).
  • November 2023 was a good month with increased TSN and drop availability. In December we experienced more mechanical issues than usual and increased sick calls.
  • Management has concerns about staffing and sick calls.
  • Crew planning is beginning to work on March 2024 schedule planning and wants feedback on teaming.
  • Working with API to try improving layover crews remain at the same hotels. 
  • Line average for February 2024 around 77 TFP, while Reserve is around 19%.
  • Staffing Adjustment Leave information provided and updated.

What The Committee Is Working On

  1. NavBlue. The PBS Committee is seeking feedback on how they can improve their assistance to flight crews regarding bid awards and understanding results. They provided both in-person and virtual meetings for this purpose. They are looking at dates and times in February 2024 for in person and virtual meetings to assist with bidding. 
  2. Pairings Survey: There is a discussion about conducting a survey on pairing construction, and there is a possibility of organizing a virtual session or town hall. A meeting with management occured June 5, 2023, with a follow-up meeting to be arranged. However, there is no update or estimated time of arrival (ETA) at the moment.
  3. Teaming: Crew Planning is currently reviewing pairing construction and optimizing teaming strategies to minimize costs and ensure that crews (pilots and Flight Attendants) can stay together for multiple segments. Currently, the system teams around 10-15% of crews, but enhancements were made to increase this to 20-35% for winter operations. The changes were reflected in December pairings. Management provided communication regarding teaming. In December 2023, approximately 23% of sequences were teamed together, while 52% of duty periods were teamed. We didn’t receive any teaming information for January during the meeting today. 
  4. In and Backs. Network/Crew Planning is reviewing initiatives to restart operations when crews are stranded and flights are canceled. The 2023/2024 IROPs plan was reviewed by Alaska management in September/October, creating opportunities to adjust flight schedules on the day of operations.
  5. Chime Communications. Flight Attendants may chat with crew scheduling via app/Microsoft Teams to reduce phone calls. Flight Attendant-initiated contact. Early stages of development, to be discussed with AS Labor Relations and AFA. Testing and implementation to occur in the next few weeks. We are working on a letter of agreement for implementation. This is still pending review. 
  6. Crew Scheduling. There was a monthly review of PowerPoint presentations that covered various aspects such as reserve utilization, detailed breakdowns, sick leave (week by week and year over year), premium, personal drops, and other relevant agenda items.
  7. Crew Planning. Similar to Crew Scheduling, there was a monthly review of PowerPoint presentations that cover subsequent month staffing, trip length distribution, Flight Attendant block hours, special initiatives (e.g., IROPs), commutability, and other relevant agenda items.
  8. ITS. Representatives from ITS joined the scheduling meeting to provide updates on NavBlue, Crew Access, internal systems, and Block 2 Block. These updates include performance reviews, data analysis, and information about future releases.

We Want to Hear From You!

Do you have feedback for the committee, concerns you’d like to share, or items that you’d like brought up with management? Please let us know! Your Local Scheduling Committee is your voice to management. You can open a support request on the AFA Alaska Online Support Center or contact us directly using the information on the Scheduling Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

Human Rights Committee Meeting Recap – 4th Quarter 2023

Human Rights Committee

  • Our AFA Human Rights Committee Chairpersons met on Thursday, December 14, to discuss their ongoing program of work to advance human rights within our workplace and community.
  • The Committee also met with management to receive updates on what progress has been made on concerns that had been previously brought forward and address new concerns that have come to light. 
  • If you have ideas, thoughts, or feedback for the committee, your Local Human Rights Committee Chairperson would love to hear from you!

On Thursday, December 14, our AFA Local Human Rights Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing activism to build awareness and effect change within our workplace and community. Representing you at the meeting were Louise Borras (LAX), Yan Yan Teague (SEA), Sylvia Newbill (PDX). Annie Madsen (ANC), and Trista Vanta (SFO). Also present were MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson Chip Hestle II and MEC Secretary-Treasurer Linda Christou.

The committee met with VP Operations Matt Prainto, Managing Director of Inflight Operations Michaela Littman, Seattle Director of Inflight Base Operations Jenny Bookert, and Managing Director of Inflight Ops & Crew Scheduling Allen Thieman.

The committee is next scheduled to meet with management on Thursday February 22, 2024.

Topics of Discussion

The committee reviewed several items during internal AFA-only conversations and when meeting with management. Some items discussed include:

  • On December 8, 2023 Freddy Vega was selected as the new Local Human Rights Committee Chairperson for Council 19 SEA. Freddy brings an abundance of experience and education surrounding Human Rights. We thank Yan Yan Teague for her years of service as the former Local Chairperson. Yan Yan will continue as a Committee Member.     
  • October 9, 2023 Bulletin: ELP Spanish Announcement And International Flyer. As a result of our Flight Attendants bringing attention to the Human Rights Committee, some of our Non-Speaking ELP/SEA guests were arriving at SEA with no knowledge of SEATAC and/or resources available. This was brought to our training department for discussion. As a result, Flight Attendants now have resources (a flyer) on board those flights to assist our guests not only with navigation about SEATAC but also with food and beverage options we offer on board. This information is also available on our IMD. The Spanish Announcement has been temporarily removed pending review. Along with ELP we asked that AUS, PHX, TUS and SAT be added. Allen will inquire about our request. 
  • Opportunity to have pronoun’s added to our wings. The optional pronoun would be under the name on the wing. Trista is working on developing this.   
  • Concerns why our speakers are being removed from some of our Mexico flights. Matt informed us the speakers were originally placed on board the flights to assist with  necessary paper that was required to be completed by our guests. Alaska has since moved towards an automated format, eliminating the need for any assistance on the aircraft.

Other Committee News

January 12-15, 2024 Some of the Human Rights Committee members will be attending the 2024 AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference in Montgomery Alabama – Joining AFA International VP Keturah Johnson and other AFA Human Rights Committees. 2024 AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference (themlkconference.org)

What The Committee Is Working On

  1. International Flyer. Adding more routes to use the International Flyer as well as additional resources for the upcoming year.  
  2. Committee Participation. Participation with Alaska’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Department Heritage Months and other projects.   
  3. Optional Pronouns on Wings. Working toward the ability to add pronouns to our wings.

We Want to Hear From You!

Do you have feedback for the committee, concerns you’d like to share, or items you’d like brought up with management? Please let us know! Your Local Human Rights Committee is your voice to management. You can find our contact information on the Human Rights Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

Issues with Crew Access: December 16, 2023

Scheduling, Grievance, and Hotel Committees

  • Hotel reservation details are not populating in pairings. 
  • The “Drop” (to Open Time) drop-down was reported by a few (but not all) Flight Attendant as not visible prior to Open Time opening.
  • Drops to Open Time were not functioning for January 24-30, 2024, for all domiciles except Seattle until just before 2 PM PT.

What will come as no surprise to anyone, Crew Access is malfunctioning once again. So far, there are three issues identified:

  1. Hotel reservation details are not populating in pairings, 
  2. The “Drop” (to Open Time) drop-down was reported by a few (but not all) Flight Attendant as not visible prior to Open Time opening, and 
  3. Drops to Open Time were not functioning for January 24-30, 2024, for all domiciles except Seattle until just before 2 PM PT. (Reminder: January 31 is the first day of the February bid month.) Seattle appeared to open normally at 2 PM PT.

Hotel reservation details not populating in pairings

This outage is specific to Jeppesen and not related to API. Outdated or no hotel information is being displayed. However, Crew Scheduling (CS) is manually updating hotel information in Crew Access. Additionally, the hotel information in the My Crew Care (API) app is importing correctly and is accurate.

[Update: This issue has been resolved as of 12/16/2023 @ 18:36 PT ^MECP Jeff]

Drop to Open Time not visible prior to Open Time opening for some Flight Attendants

So far, this does not appear to be a widespread issue, and Alaska ITS is investigating.

Drops to Open Time were not functioning for January 24-30, 2024

Alaska ITS and Jeppesen appeared to resolve the issue just before 2 PM PT, which meant that Seattle opened normally at 2 PM. Our Master Executive Council (MEC) and management have agreed to an initial remedy to help mitigate the impact of this outage (for all domiciles except Seattle):

Overview:

In chronological order, CS will review the Flight Attendants who attempted to drop trips to Open Time on these days but were unsuccessful. CS will offer to manually drop their trip into OT. CS will work down the list until they meet the contractually required number of Threshold Sequence Number (TSN) trips for the respective base. ITS has a report of all Open Time drop transactions, so they can replicate who attempted to drop trips first. This report will become available at 2:30 PM PT, but they will need time to prepare the report into a workable format for these purposes. Inflight Crew Scheduling Management will begin to contact Flight Attendants this evening to see if they wish to drop their trip. This process will preserve the integrity of the first-come, first-serve method of Open Time to give those who attempted to drop first the flexibility they attempted to achieve.  

Details:

  1. CS will place the identified sequence (processed in chronological order) in Open Time and hide the pairing until they can make positive contact with the Flight Attendant to confirm that they still want the trip dropped. The Flight Attendant will see a FCR (pre-cancellation) on their line until they confirm the drop. The use of FCR is to protect legalities should the Flight Attendant decide they wanted the sequence back and not dropped into Open Time anymore.
  2. Once CS confirms the Flight Attendant wants the pairing dropped, they will unhide it in Open Time.
  3. If FA does not want the trip dropped, CS will put it back on their roster and move down the list.
  4. The timeframe for Flight Attendants to call back will be 24 hours. If the Flight Attendant does not call CS back within 24 hours, then their sequence will be placed back on their roster and CS will move down the list.
  5. If the Flight Attendant who is first on the list no longer has the pairing they attempted to drop for that date, CS will move down the list.
  6. This process will be completed until the TSN max equivalent is met for each base.

Ongoing dispute resolution

This situation is completely unacceptable, and our top priority is ensuring our contractual provisions are adhered to and protected. The tools that you rely on for contractual flexibility should work. Our Grievance Committee will continue to seek appropriate remedies via the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process.

Upcoming Day of Solidarity

Looking for an outlet to vent your frustrations? Join us on the picket line or via virtual picket on Tuesday, December 19. For more information, click here.

Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 4th Quarter 2023

Reserve Committee

  • Our AFA Reserve Committee Chairpersons met on Thursday, December 7 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent and advocate for our Reserve Flight Attendants.
  • The Committee also met with management to review a number of specific concerns that were brought forward by Flight Attendants.
  • Your Local Reserve Committee is available to answer questions, provide clarification, or help to resolve any reserve related issues. Please don’t hesitate to reach out!

On Thursday, December 7, representatives from our AFA Local Reserve Committees met to discuss their ongoing work to advocate for Reserve Flight Attendants. Representing you at the meeting were Brandi Urban (ANC), Conner Gallagher (SEA), Anthony Eskander (PDX), Meghan Casey (SFO), Kanako Yamada (LAX), and Rebecca Garcia (SAN). Also present was MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Julie Thornton.

The committee met with the Director of Inflight Crew Scheduling Sara Cook, Manager of Inflight Crew Scheduling Goose Hlaingmyint and Supervisor of Inflight Crew Scheduling Derrick Bernard.

The committee is next scheduled to meet on Thursday, March 14, 2024.

Topics of Discussion

The committee reviewed a number of items both during internal AFA-only conversation and when meeting with management. Some items discussed include:

  • Plans for Initial Training classes for 2024. Management has pushed the class 1 start date to the end of Q1 or the beginning of Q2, but they still intend to hire more Flight Attendants in 2024. However, the number of classes and the specific number of students in each class will depend on the delivery of new aircraft.
  • Issues and glitches with Crew Access that are affecting Reserve Flight Attendants. Review of where known issues are documented and newly added/ fixed issues. 
  • Review of upcoming updates to Crew Access software and associated fixes to current issues and other improvements prioritization for programming fixes.
  • Support for probationary Flight Attendants through the Probationary Buddy Program. We have had three classes complete probation, and the remaining four classes will all be off probation by mid-April 2024. Reminder to refer Probationary Flight Attendants to their Buddy for answers to contract and work rules questions.
  • Increase in Lineholders picking up reserve days, which has resulted in increased flexibility for Reserve Flight Attendants.
  • Review of reserve utilization statistics for November, where approximately 85.3% of Reserves were used in all bases.
  • Review of personal drops: for November, they have been able to award 931 Flight Attendant personal drops.
  • Review of reserve-related scheduling issues that have occurred recently.
  • Review of reserve-related issues that have been escalated to the Scheduling Review Board (SRB) and Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes.
  • Reminder to new hire Flight Attendants about the AFA Alaska Online Support Center to report issues, raise concerns, or ask questions.

What the Committee is Working On

  1. Assisting Probationary Flight Attendants Through the Probationary Buddy Program. Answering questions from and providing support to probationary Flight Attendants through an expanded AFA Probationary Buddy program. Growing support in all bases with more buddies & new useful tools. 
  2. Addressing Reserve Contractual Concerns. Researching and investigating reports from Reserve Flight Attendants and actively ensuring management is complying with our contract. If not compliant taking issues through the SRB & ADR process to ensure compliance.

We Want to Hear From You!

Do you have feedback for the committee, concerns you’d like to share, or items that you’d like brought up with management?  Please let us know!  Your Local Reserve Committee is your voice to management.  You can open a support request on the AFA Alaska Online Support Center or contact us directly using the information on the Reserve Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

Inflight Service Committee Meeting Recap – 4th Quarter 2023

Inflight Service Committee

  • Our AFA Inflight Service Committee Chairpersons met on November 29 to represent Flight Attendants’ interests related to catering and onboard service/sales.
  • The Committee met with management to discuss and receive updates on issues and problems faced by Flight Attendants onboard.
  • The Committee continues to work with management to address catering concerns and improve processes in the future. Please report catering issues through Block2Block and safety-related issues through ReportIt!

On Wednesday, November 29, our AFA Inflight Service Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Naomi Parcell (ANC), Ross DeJong (SEA), Todd Horn (PDX), Raymond Ramirez (SFO), Johanna Thomas (LAX), and Chase Vandergrift (SAN). MEC Inflight Committee Chairperson Stephanie Garnett was also present. 

The committee met with Senior Inflight Experience Program Manager Matthew Coder, Inflight Product and Experience Director David Scotland, Principal Cabin Product and Experience Manager Chris Dela Rosa, Director of Onboard Food and Beverage Services Dean Courtelis, Senior Food and Beverage Product Manager Jessica Johnston, Manager of Food and Beverage Planning and Programs David Rodriguez, Senior Onboard Food and Beverage Specialist Andrea Lockett, Principal Product Manager ITS Apps Ranjita Prasad, Director of Catering Operations Andrew Moyer, and other management representatives from the food & beverage and catering operations. 

The next scheduled Inflight Service Committee meeting is Tuesday, February 27, 2024.

Topics of Discussion

The committee reviewed several topics during internal AFA-only conversations and when meeting with management. Some items discussed include:

  • Local Committee Chairperson Discussion. During the AFA-only session, some items discussed were the snacks, brewing the new coffee, testing the Apple tap-to-pay process, catering loading, and service flow.
  • MAX 8 Galleys. The diagrams for the MAX 8 galleys were reviewed. Galley 4 will have an expanded trash bin on aircraft right, and catering loading will need to be modified. Discussions included the ability to have completely separate supplies for legs 1 and 2.
  • Aircraft Interiors. Management is continuing to work on refreshing interiors across the fleet.
  • Onboard Service Procedures. Management noted that the completion rate of the pre-departure beverage service has improved. However, the service flow was identified as difficult to complete. Premium Class has many service components that contribute to delivering a positive experience for passengers, which will continue to be discussed. There will be an emphasis on enhancing the Premium Experience for 2024.
  • Catering Products. The catering team has successfully transitioned to Stumptown Coffee and is working on improving the brewing process. Feedback from passengers suggests that those traveling in first class are enjoying the “greatest hits” menu, which has been received positively. Additionally, new products have been introduced, including changes to the flavors of Stellar Snacks, Freemont Brewing’s Cloud Cruiser IPA, non-alcoholic beer, Polar cranberry-lime seltzer, and oat-milk creamers.
  • Catering Operations. The management team has recently made some improvements to the glassware cleaning process. They have also introduced some logistical changes to make catering supplies more readily available on the aircraft. The Committee was introduced to the new Director of Catering Operations, Andrew Moyer. Going forward, the Committee will work closely with him to address any catering-related issues or concerns.
  • IMD Updates. Management is in the process of introducing software-based payment options through a Tap-to-Pay feature. This option eliminates the need to swipe credit cards physically and simplifies transactions. On December 20, a Block2Block update will be released with a fix for current bugs and functionality to provide timely flight delay information to crewmembers and passengers. Additional updates, including the release of version 3.0 of Block2Block, will be available in April.

We Want to Hear from You!

Please continue to report any catering issues or problems with onboard service using the catering feedback function in Block2Block. If you’ve experienced a safety-related issue, please submit a report through ReportIt! Your reports provide the Committee with the data needed to continue pushing management for meaningful improvements in our workplace.

Do you have other feedback for the Committee or items you’d like brought up with management? Please let us know! Your Local Inflight Service Committee is your voice to management. You can find our contact information on the Inflight Service Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

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