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Onboard Service Reductions

Inflight Service Committee

  • Our AFA Representatives have been successful in getting management to agree to additional onboard service reductions in light of the current spike of COVID-19 cases nationwide.
  • Any flight currently scheduled for more than one beverage service will be reduced to only one service regardless of the length of the flight.  Additional reductions include changes to the food pre-order system based depending on the length of the flight.  Changes take effect today and are scheduled to be in place through January 31, 2022.
  • As always, please continue to report any safety-related issues with onboard service using a Flight Attendant Irregularity Report (FAIR) in ReportIt!  Please report any catering issues using the catering feedback function in Block2Block.  Management needs to hear about the challenges we’re facing!

Our AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC), Inflight Service Committee, and Master Executive Council (MEC) have been continually advocating for changes to onboard service that provide the safest possible environment for Flight Attendants and passengers alike.  In light of the current spike in COVID-19 cases, we had additional conversation this week with management about the ongoing issues and concerns that Flight Attendants are experiencing.  Based on these conversations, management has agreed to implement additional onboard service reductions on a temporary basis.

The following changes will go into effect immediately and remain in place through January 31, 2022:

  • Only one beverage service in the main cabin on all flights that are scheduled to receive a beverage service.
  • Picnic packs will no longer be available for pre-order but will still be sold from the retail cart.
  • Fresh meals will no longer be available for pre-order/sold on medium haul flights.  Maximum number of orders on transcon and Hawaii flights will be reduced from 63 to 42.

Even though the pre-order system will be turned off for any new orders, catering will continue to board items for any passengers who placed an order prior to today.  Please see the email from management in your Outlook inbox and today’s bulletin bundle for more information.

Please continue to report any safety hazards related to onboard service in ReportIt! as a Flight Attendant Irregularity Report (FAIR).  If you encounter any issues related to onboard products, catering supply levels, or procedural concerns, please report them through the Catering Issues function in Block2Block.  Your reports help our Inflight Service Committee and ASHSC to have the strongest voice possible in their conversations with management about onboard service.

AFA Alaska News in Review – January 7, 2022

In This Edition

  • January 2022 MEC Meeting Recap
  • Shared on Social

January 2022 MEC Meeting Recap

Originally posted January 7, 2022

Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) met this week from Tuesday, January 4 through Thursday, January 6 to conduct their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants.  As part of the meeting, the MEC met with members of inflight, labor relations, and executive management to discuss issues and concerns that are facing our work group and need to be addressed.  The last two days of the meeting were spent interviewing candidates for the three Negotiating Committee Member positions.  The MEC selected several candidates to advance to the final interviews to be held on Wednesday, January 26.

Read More >

Shared on Social

Our MEC started the process of interviewing candidates for our Negotiating Committee earlier today as part of the January Regular MEC Meeting. Based on the interviews, which are being held today and tomorrow, the MEC will determine which candidates will advance to a final interview on January 26th. After final interviews are conducted, the voting members of the MEC (LEC Presidents) will select candidates to fill the three Negotiating Committee Member positions who will represent us at the bargaining table when contract negotiations begin in September 2022.

January 2022 MEC Meeting Recap

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) met this week from Tuesday, January 4 through Thursday, January 6 to conduct their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants.
  • As part of the meeting, the MEC met with members of inflight, labor relations, and executive management to discuss issues and concerns that are facing our work group and need to be addressed.
  • The last two days of the meeting were spent interviewing candidates for the three Negotiating Committee Member positions.  The MEC selected several candidates to advance to the final interviews to be held on Wednesday, January 26.

The January 2022 Regular MEC Meeting was held this week from Tuesday, January 4 through Thursday, January 6.  The first day of the meeting consisted of updates provided by our MEC Officers, LEC Presidents, Grievance Committee, and Scheduling Committee.  Our MEC also reviewed written reports submitted by other AFA MEC Committee Chairpersons about their current programs of work. 

Meeting with Management

As part of most Regular MEC Meetings, our MEC meets with management to review current issues and challenges that Flight Attendants are facing.  Attendees from management this month included EVP & COO Constance von Muehlen, Managing Director of Inflight Operations Michaela Littman, Managing Director of Inflight Strategy & Support Gloria Chow, Vice President of Labor Relations Jenny Wetzel, Managing Director of Labor Relations Carmen Williams, and other management employees from inflight, labor relations, crew administration, and payroll.

Some of the topics that were discussed include:

  • December 2021 Pacific Northwest snowstorm, the subsequent operational meltdown, and the significant impact it had on Flight Attendants.  Management needs to do better.
  • Winter holiday incentive pay and what steps management is taking to ensure that Flight Attendants will be paid correctly on January 20th.
  • Open inflight management positions and what progress the company is making to fill them.
  • COVID-19 policies and contact tracing protocols.  Flight Attendants are reporting that they are not being notified of reported exposure in a timely manner.
  • Ongoing hotel & transportation issues including reports of Flight Attendants having to transport to/from hotels alone at destinations outside of the US and Canada.
  • Recurrent Training concerns including why it took so long to notify F/As that the written exam had been removed from the CBT and returned to an in-class activity, acceptable deviations in drill commands, and how evaluations of equipment preflight are conducted.

Negotiating Committee Interviews

Wednesday and Thursday were spent interviewing candidates for the three Negotiating Committee Member positions who will represent us at the bargaining table during upcoming contract negotiations.  Our MEC would like to thank all of the candidates who expressed a willingness to serve and interviewed for the positions.  After conducting interviews and reviewing all candidates, several were selected to participate in a final interview with the MEC.  We’ll have more information to provide after the final interviews on Wednesday, January 26.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this month’s Regular MEC Meeting, please reach out to your LEC President.

AFA Alaska News in Review – December 31, 2021

In This Edition

  • December 2021 Pacific Northwest Snowstorm

December 2021 Pacific Northwest Snowstorm

Originally posted December 28, 2021

The snowfall that occurred over the last several days in the Pacific Northwest has caused operational havoc throughout the Alaska Airlines system.  Many Flight Attendants are being impacted by cancelled flights, reassignments, and other scheduling issues.  Your contract is one of the best resources to help answer questions about pre-cancellations, reassignments, duty times, and rest.  The AFA Scheduling Committee has also put together an updated quick reference guide with some key contractual information.  If your flying has been impacted by the snowstorm and you have contractual questions or concerns, please open a support ticket using the AFA Alaska Online Support Center.  AFA Representatives are working to resolve issues as expeditiously as possible.

Read More >

December 2021 Pacific Northwest Snowstorm

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • The snowfall that occurred over the last several days in the Pacific Northwest has caused operational havoc throughout the Alaska Airlines system. Many Flight Attendants are being impacted by cancelled flights, reassignments, and other scheduling issues.
  • Your contract is one of the best resources to help answer questions about pre-cancellations, reassignments, duty times, and rest. The AFA Scheduling Committee has also put together an updated quick reference guide with some key contractual information.
  • If your flying has been impacted by the snowstorm and you have contractual questions or concerns, please open a support ticket using the AFA Alaska Online Support Center. AFA Representatives are working to resolve issues as expeditiously as possible.

This week’s snowstorm and continued winter weather have had a significant impact on Alaska Airlines operations in Seattle and Portland.  Hundreds of flights have either been delayed or cancelled which has had a ripple effect throughout the system leaving virtually no Flight Attendants unimpacted.  AFA Representatives are actively working to try to resolve Flight Attendant concerns that have been reported, but management’s availability has been limited as they focus on fixing the operation.

If Your Flight Cancels

  • If your flight has been cancelled, you must still report as scheduled unless contacted by Crew Scheduling or you accept a cancellation notification in Crew Access.
  • If contacted by Crew Scheduling regarding a pre-cancellation, know your options.  Review section 10.S of the contract or the pre-cancellation flowchart.
  • If you have already reported for duty and your flight cancels, you must remain at the airport until released by Crew Scheduling.  Your duty period will run continuously until released.

Difficulty Making it to the Airport

Significant Weather Ground Commuting Operations (SWGCO) have been declared for Seattle and Portland.  SWGCO provides additional ground commuter protections for Flight Attendants who may have difficulty reporting on time due to the inclement weather.  In order to receive protections under SWGCO, you must notify Crew Scheduling at least one hour prior to report that you won’t be able to report on time due to the weather.  Please review pages 3 and 4 of the full side letter of agreement for more information.

Management is also offering hotel rooms near the airport in SEA and PDX for those who are reporting for trips the following day.  Please fill out this form to request a hotel room.  They have also authorized any F/A to expense $100 for Uber/Lyft transportation to/from the airport in order to get to work.  No advance approval is required and your base management can provide assistance with reimbursement.  Questions about in-base hotels or transportation reimbursement should be directed to the Inflight Snow Ops Command Center at InflightSnowOps@alaskaair.com.  

Hotel or Transportation Issues While Flying

If you are currently flying and are having issues with hotels or ground transportation, you may be able to receive a quicker response from the Inflight Snow Ops Command Center by emailing InflightSnowOps@alaskaair.com.  Requests that go through the command center, especially ones that are not time sensitive, will free up Crew Scheduling to attend to other operational duties.  The command center is open from 08:00-20:00 Pacific time.  Outside of these hours Crew Scheduling will be your point of contact.

Pay Questions & Rainmaker

If your flying has been impacted by irregular operations, be sure to monitor Rainmaker closely to ensure that your pay is reflected accurately.  Any pay questions should be submitted directly in Rainmaker as a pay query. 

Contractual Questions, Issues, and Concerns

Your contract is your best resources to answer scheduling and pay-related questions.  You can access the contract on the AFA Alaska website or on your IMD in Goodreader > ASFASupplemental > Collective Bargaining Agreement > Contract.  The AFA Scheduling Committee has also put together an updated irregular operations quick reference guide with key contractual information that may be helpful. 

If you have a contractual concern or issue that has come up and need assistance from an AFA representative, please open a support ticket using the AFA Alaska Online Support Center.  Members of the AFA Grievance, Reserve, and Scheduling Committees are working through submitted tickets as quickly as possible, but resolution may be delayed in some cases as management’s immediate focus is on operational issues.

For additional support, please contact your Local Scheduling Committee (lineholders), Local Reserve Committee (reserves), or your LEC Officers. 

Election Notice: Alaska + Hawaiian MEC Officer Elections

The term of office for our current Alaska + Hawaiian Master Executive Council (MEC) Officers will conclude on December 31, 2025. The voting members of the MEC (LEC Presidents) will elect new MEC Officers at the November Regular MEC meeting. This communication serves as notice of the election in accordance with the MEC Policy and Procedure Manual. […]

SEA Domicile Negotiations – September 2025 Update #2

This message is for pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants Negotiations Update Our SEA Domicile Negotiating Committee met with the company on September 11 to review their response to our September 5 proposal.  We feel that it is important to acknowledge the challenges within our company as Alaska management is struggling to understand our Collective Bargaining Agreement […]

Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2025

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Thursday, September 11, 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 Conner Gallager (SEA), Anthony Eskander (PDX), Meghan Casey (SFO), Kanako Yamada (LAX), and Rebecca Garcia (SAN). Also present […]

Celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month

September 15 marks the start of Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month in the United States, a vibrant celebration dedicated to honoring the rich contributions and diverse cultures of Hispanic-Latinx Americans. Spanning a full month, this observance—also known as National Hispanic Heritage Month—has its roots in Hispanic Heritage Week, which was established by legislation signed into law by […]

Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – September 2025

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Monday, September 8, 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), Ila Christy (PDX), Hilary […]

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