February 8, 2013 @ 1430 PT

Dear Flight Attendants,

Due to severe weather on the East Coast, Alaska Airlines management and AFA have agreed to enact the “Natural Disasters and Acts of War” provision in section 8.S of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. This agreement went into effect yesterday late afternoon and will remain in place through Monday, February 11, 2013, for all flights serving Boston (BOS) and Newark (EWR). Several flights have already been canceled: Feb. 8 – BOS flights 30 &12, EWR flights 8 & 14; Feb. 9 – BOS flight 30. DCA and PHL are in normal operation. Unfortunately, the decision to enact 8.S came a little too late to remove a crew from BOS yesterday early afternoon, so they will remain stranded there (with pay protection or stranded pay, as appropriate) until service resumes. All others have been returned to domicile or are on their way.

The provisions of 8.S will allow over-duty pairings to be built in order to “re-populate” those routes once service is restored. Double-out compensatory rest and premiums apply to these pairings. A link to the letter of agreement enacting 8.S can be found here:

AFA LOA 2012-02-07-A “Enacting 8.S Natural Disaster Language: Boston/Newark Snow Storm February 2013”:

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Terry Taylor, Yvette Gesch, Melanie Buker, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow

February 8, 2013

Dear Flight Attendants,

Effective today, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air has implemented a six month test of a reciprocal jumpseat agreement. That is, Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants may now jumpseat on Horizon Air and Horizon Air Flight Attendants may now jumpseat on Alaska Airlines. This is different than the reciprocal cabin seat agreements we have with several carriers in which one must sit in a customer seat. Alaska Airlines has also implemented changes to the way we are cleared for the jumpseat, which are outlined in Inflight Bulletin 2013-0036 “QX/AS Jumpseat Procedures.”

Your AFA leadership would like to offer some helpful information that will ensure a smooth jumpseating experience on Horizon. Did you know that Horizon Flight Attendants are required to groom their aircraft after the completion of each flight? This includes emptying seat pockets and crossing seat belts. Consequently, there is a culture of expectation and courtesy at Horizon that non-revs stay behind and assist the Flight Attendants when possible.

When you jumpseat on Horizon please keep this culture in mind and if you have time after jumpseating on a flight, we know the Horizon Flight Attendants would appreciate it if you offered to assist them. However, if you find yourself deadheading on Horizon, be advised you are not under any obligation whatsoever to groom the aircraft per our Contract! The Alaska MEC is simply offering this information to you so that you can make an informed decision. The MEC is not taking a particular position except to advise that you are not required to groom aircraft while on duty per the Contract.

Keep in mind that Horizon Air Flight Attendants are also members of AFA and as such should be welcomed as our sisters and brothers when they are jumpseating on Alaska. They are not yet familiar with our jumpseat etiquette, so it will be our responsibility to explain expectations to them—such as when to step out of the galley to facilitate cart movement. The emergency procedures for sitting in the jumpseats are outlined in briefing cards located in the stationery kits. Please be assured these briefing cards have been reviewed and approved by your AFA Safety, Health and Security Committee (SHSC).

The Alaska MEC knows that many are excited about the new jumpseat agreement between Alaska and Horizon, but that some will also have concerns. Alaska Airlines management has indicated that the contact person for this test is Carmen Platt – Carmen.Platt@alaskaair.com so all feedback (positive and negative) should be sent to her. We also urge you to share your comments and/or concerns with your AFA leadership. We will be talking more with management as the test progresses for the purpose of evaluating the reciprocal jumpseat agreement.

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Terry Taylor, Yvette Gesch, Melanie Buker, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow

February 9, 2013

Dear Flight Attendants,

The 40^th Annual Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Board of Directors (BOD) meeting begins this weekend in Chicago, IL, and continues through the end of next week. Your AFA leadership will be in attendance to represent your interests in the business of our union. For those who are interested in learning more about the BOD, please visit the official BOD website at http://afa-bod.org/.

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Terry Taylor, Yvette Gesch, Melanie Buker, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow

February 5, 2013 @ 1630 PT

Dear Flight Attendants,

Alaska Airlines management has notified the Master Executive Council (MEC) that there is a problem with the pairings in Navtech’s PBS. Déjà vu, right?! The good news, however, is that the pairing numbers are not anticipated to change, nor is the issue expected to affect the closing of bids.

This time the problem lies directly with Navtech and not Alaska Airlines. Many if not most of the pairings are reflecting layovers with a duration that is incorrect by thirty minutes. This is suspected to be a recent programming glitch of some kind. The MEC has been told that Navtech has “all hands on deck” in order to fix the error. Once it has been corrected, the revised pairings (again, no new pairings!) will be loaded.

The bid packets were pulled off the Inflight page earlier today as soon as the error was brought to Alaska Airlines management’s attention. Management will now load the correct pairing information onto the Inflight webpage directly from the AOS pairing optimizer program so that Flight Attendants have an accurate reference to work off of for bidding. Bidding in Navtech’s PBS will remain open. If you are comparing the pairing information between what is in Navtech and what is posted on the Inflight webpage, the only differences you should see is a discrepancy in layover duration in many of the pairings. All other information should be the same: pairing report and release, pairing numbers, layover cities, etc.

AFA has requested that Alaska Airlines management send out notification to the entire group regarding this issue as soon as possible.

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Terry Taylor, Yvette Gesch, Melanie Buker, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow

January 24, 2013

Dear Flight Attendants,

As you may have heard by now, Alaska Airlines has announced another record-breaking year of profit in 2012: $339 million dollars! That translates to another record: a pre-tax operating profit margin of 11.9 cents on the dollar, which is well above the “10 cents on the dollar” figure you have heard discussed at Flight Path and in other Company meetings and communications. This is the third year in a row that the Company has exceeded that goal. Not only that, but the load factor grew to a record 86.6%!

The 2012 Performance Based Pay (PBP) payout also been announced: 8.1% of eligible earnings (which do not include all OPR payouts, 2011’s PBP, per diem and expense reimbursements). This is basically the equivalent of an extra month’s salary. All employees who were active on the payroll as of December 31, 2012 or on an approved leave of absence, are eligible for PBP.  Employees who retired during 2012, are also eligible based on their pre-retirement earnings, if they were eligible for retirement under the Flight Attendant 401 (k) plan rules.

PBP replaced the Variable Pay Plan (VPP) with the Contract Extension in 2009 was paid retroactively to include 2008. (PBP has outperformed the VPP over the years in which Flight Attendants have participated in PBP.) Participation in PBP is contractually-mandated, but all Alaska Airlines employees are now on the same shared rewards plan. The PBP goals are set annually by the Alaska Air Group’s Board of Directors. The historical PBP payout since joining the program in 2008 is as follows: 2008 – 2.6%, 2009 – 8.3%, 2010 – 9.4%, 2011 – 6.7%, 2012 – 8.1%. Considering all the record statistics, we are pleased to see this year’s PBP of 8.1% to be closer to the 2010 payout of 9.4%!

The Master Executive Council (MEC) thanks our Flight Attendants for making significant contributions to Alaska Airlines’ success with our on-board sales and renowned service. In fairness, we also recognize management’s role in providing a vision that has led to the Company’s record-breaking achievements. At the end of the day, the long-term success of the Company requires a collaborative effort between all employees at all levels.

Flight Attendants continue to demonstrate their passion for and commitment to Alaska Airlines. In the spirit of shared efforts and rewards, AFA expects management to recognize and reward our Flight Attendants appropriately as we begin to discuss the “big ticket” items in the upcoming contract negotiations sessions: scope, compensation, insurance benefits and retirement. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for February 5-7, 2013, in Seattle, WA.

Congratulations for a job well done in 2012, everybody!

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Terry Taylor, Yvette Gesch, Melanie Buker, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow

“Four Bases, One Voice”

www.alaskamec.org