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I’m a Reserve. What Does Jeppesen Crew Access Going Live Mean for Me?

When the switch is flipped to make Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) trading go live, Reserve self-assignment and automated Reserve repositioning will finally be implemented. In fact, we are expecting JCA to go live at 11am Pacific Time (PT) despite the fact that in the opinion of the Master Executive Council there has not been adequate notice. There was an alert posted on the Inflight webpage this morning around 7am PT along with an alert to the Inflight Mobile Device (IMD); however, the text alert and email notification that was just sent out was done so at the request of AFA. It is extremely disappointing that something of this magnitude was not communicated using all of the channels available to Inflight management with the full four-hour notice as promised.

Reserve self-assignment

Reserve self-assignment will be available between 10am and 2pm Pacific Time, and the contractual rules associated with the assignments are found in CBA §11.E.1 [Reserve: Order of Assignment].

Automated reserve repositioning and the Cabin Service Report

Automated reserve repositioning is outlined in CBA §11.J [Reserve Repositioning]. The ‘Reserve repositioning calendar’ is found in the report “Cabin Reserve Coverage Report.”

The Cabin reserve coverage report is the equivalent to a reserve-repositioning calendar, showing you what days are open or closed. To access this report, login to Crew Access, click on the hamburger menu (the icon in the upper left corner that has three parallel horizontal lines stacked like a meat patty between two buns) -> Reports -> Reports on Demand -> Cabin Reserve Coverage report. Choose a range of dates (we suggest the entire month so you can see all days that are open at once) and choose your base. This report can be confusing at first glance, so below is a brief overview on how to read it.

When looking at the report, start in the left column. It will show “FAM” and “FPM” (AM or PM reserve). Just below that it will say if the day is open or closed. The next two columns show the threshold that Crew Scheduling (CSKD) follows when opening and closing the days. The “Actual” column shows how many FAs are currently on the LTFA list for that day and the “Available” column shows how many spots are actually available.  The “Available” column will change based on how many trips are currently in Open Time for that particular day.

In order to reposition into a day, the “Available” number needs to be less than the “Maximum” number. In order to move out of a day, the “Available” number needs to be more than the “Minimum” number.

AFA has requested that this be an actual calendar since day one, but our request was not accepted. We have already suggested that this be moved to an easy to read calendar, and we will keep you posted on any movement in this area.

Reserve Trading

Unfortunately, the ability to post and trade reserve days/blocks has not been implemented. Management has advised AFA that a delay of one month is expected. Be assured that AFA will be filing a grievance today.

For now, Reserves will need to send an Outlook email for trade requests to CrewSked.ReserveDesk@alaskaair.com. Include the following information in your email:

  • Both Flight Attendant’s names and Peoplesoft numbers
  • Is it a Trade of Giveaway
  • Base
  • Month in which you want to trade
  • Reserve day(s)
  • Reserve classification
  • Are you waiving duty or rest limitations to approved the trade?

If you would like to “advertise” (post) reserve blocks reserve, send an Outlook email to: CrewSked.ReserveDesk@alaskaair.com.   In order to view the Reserve trading bulletin board, you can either utilize the classic or web version of FirstClass system.

Reserve trades will be processed manually in the order they are received, by Crew Scheduling.

[Update (2/3/2017): The “Reserve Trade Board” in First Class cannot be viewed in the web version–only in the discontinued “classic” version that many do not have. AFA and management are aware of the issue. Management is actively working on a fix as soon as possible. AFA has already filed a grievance on this issue and will continue to push management to restore the ability to post reserve blocks/days. ^jtp]

How do I access the Trade Bulletin Board to advertise a reserve trade?

  • Click on the World of Inflight icon.
  • Click on FA Trading.
  • Pick the folder for your base.
  • Here you can post your days for trade on the bulletin board so other can view.
  • You can also post a request for reserve days you may want to pick up.
  • When sending in a request you must use the following email: CrewSked.ReserveDesk@alaskaair.com.

Fasten your seat belts!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Jarod McNeill, MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones and MEC Grievance Chairperson Stephanie Adams

Jeppesen Crew Exchange is Going Live for Trading. What’s Next?

Jeppesen Crew Exchange (JCE) is almost certainly going live for trading later today. What exactly does that mean and what should you expect?

First, the Master Executive Council (MEC) recognizes all of the hard work of so many: Your AFA MEC Scheduling Chairperson Jake Jones and the Scheduling Committee, MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Jarod McNeill and the Reserve Committee, Flight Attendant JCE Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), the Crew Schedulers, Jeppesen programmers and more, all of whom have spent many sleepless hours preparing for the official cutover. Secondly, the MEC thanks all of you in advance for your patience, which is definitely going to be tested over the coming months. Why?

Jeppesen Crew Exchange (JCE) looks, feels and functions with little to no resemblance to eMaestro. We somewhat expected that, but who knew we would be missing eMaestro so soon? The new colors and icons are nice (except what’s the deal with a palm tree for vacation and sick leave?), but in looking at the system in totality we are very, very concerned about minimal functionality. The MEC is hoping that JCE is appropriately programmed to not violate any of our contractual rules, but we are not entirely confident that will be the case. We’ll know for certain very soon. If you believe JCE is not correctly programmed, contact one of your local Scheduling Committee members so that AFA can track the concern and file a contractual grievance if necessary. If you are having any technical difficulties with JCE whatsoever, it is absolutely critical that you generate a ticket with the IT Help Desk: either call 877-238-1077 or email help.desk@alaskaair.com.

JCE Video Tutorials

AFA has done our very best to advocate for additional testing throughout the process, but management has made a decision to proceed despite our objections. At this point in time, the MEC highly encourages you to watch the JCE video tutorials and to take the 3-question quiz so that you are paid 1 TFP for the voluntary training. We also suggest that you brush up on your scheduling-related contractual rules because you can take nothing for granted in JCE until it has been proven.

Otherwise, there is one extremely important piece of information that we would like to highlight: JCE notifications.

JCE Notifications

When you log into JCE, you may notice one or more pop up notifications. These could range from advising you of a change to your report time to a reserve assignment. If you click through the notification, that is the equivalent of Crew Scheduling directly delivering the notice to you. In many ways, this could be a huge convenience for Flight Attendants as well as for Crew Scheduling. However, if you do not want to be “on the hook” for accepting the notification, you need to click the little “X” in the corner of the pop-up. Crew Scheduling will then be required to contact you the old fashioned way.

If you have general JCE-related questions or concerns, contact one of your local Scheduling Committee members (ANC: anc.scheduling@afaalaska.org, SEA: sea.scheduling@afaalaska.org, PDX: pdx.scheduling@afaalaska.org, LAX: lax.scheduling@afaalaska.org and SAN: san.scheduling@afaalaska.org. For reserve-specific questions or concerns, contact MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Jarod McNeill at jarod.mcneill@afaalaska.org. During this challenging time be assured AFA will continue to advocate to management to do the right thing for our Flight Attendants. We’ll get through this together!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones; MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Jarod McNeill; and MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams

Alaska Airlines-Virgin America Merger Update: January 31, 2017

There have been concerns raised to your Master Executive Council (MEC) leadership about what exactly the acquisition of Virgin America by Alaska Air Group and the subsequent merger between Alaska Airlines and Virgin America will mean for the AFA Alaska contract. Specifically, the question on the minds of many: If the Virgin America In-flight Teammates (ITMs) ratify a second tentative agreement between the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) (the union representing the ITMs) and Alaska Airlines management, will our joint contract negotiations result in a deterioration of the “legacy Alaska” compensation and/or work rules? These concerns have been brought about by a recent communication from Alaska Airlines management to the Virgin America ITMs that hints an impending second tentative agreement (TA) and provides management’s perspective regarding the TA.

Be assured our bargaining objectives will not be negatively affected if the Virgin America (VX) ITMs have a contract, because the “floor” for our talks will be the AFA Alaska contract. In our preliminary discussions so far, Alaska Airlines management has indicated they want to simply assimilate the Virgin America ITMs into our contract with minimal or no changes. It is clear from executive management on down that they are not expecting to “negotiate” any changes to the AFA Alaska contract.

For example, check out the video of the Alaska and Virgin America Day One Town Hall in which MEC President Jeff Peterson asks Alaska Air Group CEO Brad Tilden about expectations related to the merger for enriching the Alaska labor group contracts. The video can be accessed by going to “AS+VX Day 1 roundup: Photos, videos and celebration” on Alaskasworld.com (login required), scrolling down to “Employee and teammate town hall” and clicking on the link to the full version of the town hall. Jeff’s question is found between 51:15 and 52:00 and Brad’s answer is between 52:00 and 53:15.

In spite of this prevailing opinion amongst management, we have indicated there must be improvements for the Alaska Flight Attendants as well as for the Virgin America ITMs.  The recent communication from Alaska Airlines management to the VX ITMs spoke of them getting the AFA Alaska pay and work rules, not lesser ones. Management also referred to our contract as “industry leading.”

Certainly, management recognizes there is no going backwards. We all want make this merger a success.  Undermining the pay, protections and benefits in our contract would be a disastrous for the merger. Finally, all AFA Alaska and AFA Virgin America members in good standing (dues current) will get to vote on the joint contract, so we are going to move forward in solidarity to improve the legacy Alaska contract.

Beyond providing this information to our membership, it is important that AFA Alaska does not speculate any further on TWU VX’s ratification process and how it may affect the merger of our groups. The VX ITMs should have the space to take part in their democratic vote without influence or interference from anyone, including us. The MEC encourages the VX ITMs to talk to their TWU leadership for any specific concerns or questions regarding their contract negotiations.

Until the NMB makes the determination that AFA is the representing union for Virgin America, the MEC affirms the right of TWU VX to achieve a historic first contract. As a reminder, AFA filed for single carrier status with the NMB on January 5, 2017. AFA looks forward to representing the Virgin America ITMs in the near future!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

AFA Listening Tour: First Stop LAX

AFA Listening Tour – LAX

We are launching an AFA Listening Tour this winter and spring with Local, MEC and International Officers. We want to hear from you!

Our union is not an institution. It’s you and me and all of aviation’s first responders. To ensure our union is reflecting the needs and hopes of Flight Attendants today, these meetings seek to gather your questions, concerns and ideas.

Our first meeting is scheduled for February 16, 2017, in Los Angeles where we have Local Councils at Alaska, Compass, Hawaiian, and United. In addition to our International Officers, we’ll have Local and MEC Presidents from all four airlines to ensure we can address any issue. All Flight Attendants are welcome!

First Listening Tour Meeting: Los Angeles
February 16, 2017
11 am- 2 pm

Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel
6101 West Century Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA, 90045

RSVP HERE >

AFA Officers Scheduled to Attend:

Timothy Green, AFA Alaska Council 18 President
Jeffrey Peterson, AFA Alaska MEC President
Brandon Stone, AFA Compass Council 84 President
Mike Nelson, AFA Compass MEC President
Melissa Hooper, AFA Hawaiian Council 47 President
Sharon Soper, AFA Hawaiian MEC President
Dante Harris, AFA United Council 12 President
Ken Diaz, AFA United MEC President
Sara Nelson, AFA International President
Debora Sutor, AFA International Vice President

Additional locations coming soon.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Council 30 (ANC) LEC Officer Election Results

Polls closed at 12 PM PT today for the election of Council 30 LEC Officers, representing Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants based in Anchorage. The following AFA Flight Attendants have been elected to Local Council Officer positions: LEC President: LeiLauni ScheidemanLEC Vice President: Heather ReierLEC Secretary: Anne Madsen View the certified election results here >> These newly elected officers […]

Apps To Help You Save Money On Food

Our AFA Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee recognizes that Flight Attendants may be facing increasing challenges when it comes to accessing affordable food, whether on the road or at home. We want you to know that you are not alone. In response to these difficulties, we have compiled a list of apps to help […]

What You Need To Know About The FAA Capacity Cuts

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced plans for a 10% reduction in flight capacity across 40 markets, starting this Friday. According to news reports, these schedule reductions will begin on Friday and will gradually increase throughout the weekend until they reach the full 10% by the following week. Reports also suggest that all Alaska […]

Council 47 (LAX pmHA) LEC Officer Election Results

Polls closed at 12 PM PT today for the election of Council 47 LEC Officers, representing Hawaiian Airlines Flight Attendants based in Los Angeles. The following AFA Flight Attendants have been elected to Local Council Officer positions: LEC President: Joshua AokiLEC Vice President: Paul IkiokaLEC Secretary: Beth Hayes View the certified election results here >> These newly elected […]

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Interviews—December 2025

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants In accordance with Article VI.C of the AFA Alaska MEC Policy and Procedure Manual, the terms of office for the MEC Committee Chairpersons and other MEC-level positions align with those of the MEC Officers. Since the current term for the MEC Officers will conclude on December 31, […]

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