This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

On Tuesday, August 25, our pre-merger Alaska AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons and Representatives met virtually to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Rebekah Olds (ANC), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Jaqui Bellenie (SFO), Kanako Yamado (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction Karen Ferrell, PBS Committee member —Krystal Kehrli, MEC Grievance Committee Payroll Representative Julie Thornton, and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones were also present.

The Committee met with Managing Director of Inflight Performance & Crew Scheduling Sara Cook, Director of Inflight Crew Scheduling Terrance Chariandy, Manager of Inflight Crew Scheduling Goose Hlaingmyint, Managing Director of Operations Staffing and Resource Management Brittany Audette, Director of Crew Planning Trisha Bennett, Manager of Crew Planning Colin Beard, ITS Technical Product Owner Nathan McFerren, Manager of Crew Pay Debbie Bakke and other management representatives from Crew Planning, Crew Scheduling, information technology (ITS), and payroll.

The Committee is next scheduled to meet on Tuesday, September 29.

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 Reports

SEA (Seattle)

• System Monitoring:
  • Monitored Open Time on August 16, 2026.
  • Technical issue identified: Server 1 faced difficulties transferring operations to Server 2.
  • Upcoming discussion on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheduled for September 3, 2026.
  • Flight Attendants were encouraged to file tickets with Information Technology Services (ITS).
• Hotel Compensation:

• Current wait times at hotels remain an issue. Financial compensation efforts led by a designated AFA representative resulted in successful compensation in several cases.
  • Active disputes remain regarding compensation for rolling delays and situations where hotel accommodations are denied, particularly after delays of four hours or more.
• Over Duty Pay:
  • Confusion was reported among Flight Attendants regarding expectations for overduty pay.
  • Clarification provided on waivers and premiums outlined in section 8.T.
  • The Committee’s stance is to never waive contractual rights.
• Pay Guidelines Update:
  • Request for a comprehensive review and update of the Pay Guidelines due to outdated content.
  • Suggested communication to all Flight Attendants to ensure clarity on pay structures.
• Transportation Review: Issues regarding transportation times to/from JFK require immediate review. An email has been sent addressing ongoing concerns.
• Low Bid Options:
  • Bases report on high block hours without sufficient transfers back to the SEA base.
  • Preference expressed for Staffing Adjustment Leaves (SAL) among bases.

PDX (Portland)

• Open Tickets:
  • Several tickets remain unresolved concerning discrepancies in compensation. Clarification on differences in ticket handling is being sought. Flight Attendants should use crew access as the system of record, not B2B or other public-facing applications. 
  • Trade Ticket Issue: Another ticket under review pertains to a trade and the correctness of messaging involved when Flight Attendant received an incorrect error on Crew Access. 

SAN (San Diego)

• No significant operational or compensation issues are reported currently.

ANC (Anchorage)

• Hotel Issues: Complaints regarding a lack of available rooms and extended wait times after redeye flights are forwarded to the hotel committee for review.

LAX (Los Angeles)

• Day Room Request: A request made for a day room in PDX on August 7 faced timing issues. Scheduling called the hotel at 16:32, leaving only 1 hour and 56 minutes before the crew needed to report. Compensation was denied as the crew declined due to timing constraints. Since the crew declined the day room, no additional compensation was paid. 
• Sit Pay Denials: Multiple instances have been reported in which sit pay has been denied. Notably, during maintenance delays, aircraft were towed away, affecting sit pay recognition. Specific case: Flight 1635 on August 10, where aircraft maintenance caused delays.
  • Hotel Capacity Issues: Concerns raised about hotel assignments to locations with insufficient capacity. Pilots were assigned to a hotel with only 24% occupancy, raising questions about decision-making processes regarding crew accommodations.

SFO (San Francisco)

• Line Averages & LBO:
  • Current line averages remain steady at 80 tfp (Trip Flight Pay).
  • Ongoing discussions regarding low bids (LBO) and potential reductions in line averages to improve crew satisfaction.

PBS Subcommittee Update

• September Bidding Month:
  • The September bidding process was active, with numerous inquiries related to low bids and changes in the bid packet.
  • Low Bids: First month processed since 2020. The process was reviewed to ensure contractual compliance watching bid windows.
  • Normal High Bid windows. Adjustments were made to accommodate reserve percentages and ensure lines were awarded within legal windows.
  • Coverage percentages have shown to be comparable across bases to past years.
• Bid Protests: Had many valid bid protests due to late CB submissions from Special Projects that should have been on Flight Attendant lines before bids were processed
• Monthly PBS Meetings: Monthly meeting held on August 6, discussing Skywise/NAVBLUE

Pairing Construction Update

• October Solutions:
  • Parameters for minimum connections have been modified to enhance efficiency.
  • Collaborative efforts with crew planning are planned for the following month.

ITS Update

• AI Crew Solutions (vendor) Initiatives for vacation bidding:
  • Discussions on implementing user interface for crew management:
  • Next meeting set for fall 2026 to discuss vacation awards and slots.
  • Ongoing testing of user acceptance testing (UAT) processes.
• Trade Response Times:
  • System has maintained a high response rate for trades:
  • 99.17% of trades responded to in under 10 seconds.
  • A decrease in overall trade volume by 568 compared to July 2026.
• Webnode Issues:
  • Brief issues with webnode 2 being unreachable have been resolved.
  • Ongoing memory leak issue under investigation, prioritized for resolution with Jeppesen.
• Upcoming Releases:
  • Release version 10.0.7 scheduled for early September:
  • Focused on core fixes for advertised trip pool depopulation during high activity periods. No ETA, but high priority. 

Payroll Update

• Query Volume:
  • Total of 3,703 queries recorded in July:
  • Many queries originated from Flight Attendants submitting questions before trip completion.
  • Discussions about enhancing the user guide to clarify views on pay buckets
• Training Initiatives: Suggestions for creating video tutorials to help Flight Attendants understand pay structures.

Crew Planning Update

• Block Hours Analysis:
  • Anticipated block hours for September: 310,850, with an increase to 316,804 expected in October.
  • Current reserve coverage stands at 20%, with low bids in place.
• Commutability Review:
  • Analysis indicates SEA, PDX, and ANC are best suited for 3-day trips, while SEA, PDX, and SAN are optimal for 4-day trips.
  • LAX and SFO face the most significant scheduling challenges.
• IRROP Mitigation for Summer
  • Various adjustments were made to start and end duty times in response to:
  • Air Traffic Control (ATC) requirements.
  • Increased layover times in specific locations to accommodate crew rest.
• Hawaii Neighbor Island Flying
  • Management anticipates increased hotel costs and the need to review hotel accommodations.
  • Pairings appear to be multi-day trips with short rest periods in HNL during some overnights. 
  • We expect these pairings to be reviewed monthly and the operation of the pairings to change over the next several months. 
  • The Flight Attendant and pilot pairings should remain the same for October 2026 to keep the flight crews together and minimize operational disruption. 

Crew Scheduling Update

• Sick Leave Trends:
  • Sick leave rates for July recorded at 12.2%, with August trending higher at 14.2%.
  • Reserve utilization is projected to increase from 11.7% in July to 13.6% in August.
• Absence Volume:
  • Total absences have increased by approximately 18%:
  • A significant rise in the reserve population is driving this increase.
  • Notable peaks in absence rates were observed during June and July.
• Premium Pay Cost Analysis:
  • July marked the highest premium spending month recorded:
  • Significant costs attributed to specific demand drivers such as special events (e.g., FIFA) and weather-related disruptions.
  • Awarded premium pay constituted over 84% of the total premium TFP.

Announcements

• Upcoming Meetings:
  • A comprehensive schedule of meetings has been established from September 2026 through December 2027, including:
  • Regular updates and specific focus meetings on ADR and pairing selection.
• JCTE Updates: Future updates on JCTE processes and timelines are anticipated for late Q3 2026.

MEC Committee Chairperson Report

• Crew Backlog Review: Scheduled review of crew backlogs on August 27, 2026.
• Crew Access Issues: Ongoing discussions regarding known crew access issues, with meetings to address these concerns pending.
• Fatigue Review Board: Meetings planned to address fatigue concerns, scheduled for September 3, October 1, November 5, and December 3, 2026.
• Pyramiding Pay Dispute:
  • Ongoing discussions related to overduty pay and associated compensation issues.
  • Grievances have been filed regarding specific disputes over night rule compensation and redeye flights.

What The Committee Is Working On

1. Resolving Pyramiding Pay Disputes: Discussions are ongoing through the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) process to clarify payment rules for over-duty pay and day-off violations. Our Grievance Committee is filing grievances regarding several concerns with pyramid pay. These discussions are still ongoing with Labor Relations management. AFA has filed several grievances and still has not received a pyramiding pay chart from payroll or labor relations and our requests go unanswered. 
2. Vacation Bidding: Representatives from the Committee met with management to discuss the new vendor, AI Crew Solutions. It was determined that when a Flight Attendant either doesn’t hold a bid or forgets to bid, they will be allowed to bid in the 2nd round of vacation. The current process assigns slot 1 and slot 2. We will provide educational material and information when bidding begins next year on the new platforms. We have additional meetings to discuss implementation and buddy bidding. We are currently testing and reviewing the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) environment. This is scheduled for implementation in the 4th quarter of 2026. 
3. Flow Charts: These are posted on the AFA website to help guide you through contractual understanding and irregular ops here: 2025-2028 AFA Alaska CBA Reference Documents 01.26.2026
4. Block2Block (B2B) Contactability: Implemented on February 1, 2026. Please familiarize yourself with the contractual language and bulletin bundle. Every Flight Attendant must check B2B at the end of every duty period (not trip) and make positive contact if a message is sent prior to block-in of the last flight of the duty period per §8.Q.2.e. We are actively working with management to post an updated bulletin. 
5. Compensation: Follow up on crew pay issues and reassignment policies. Please give Flight Attendant Crew Pay a minimum of a week to update compensation for irregular operations. 
6. Pairings: Continue to address pairing and scheduling concerns with management.
7. Software: Monitor upcoming software implementations and their impacts on operations. We will have another JCTE update in August 2026. 
8. Sick Leave Tracking: Continue monitoring sick leave trends and review strategies to mitigate operational impacts. 
9. Notifications: Addressing communication issues regarding flight changes and notifications. 
10. AFA Alaska Online Support Center Tickets: Local AFA Representatives do not have access to your schedules, Rainmaker, or pay stubs. When filing a ticket, please screenshot as much information as possible, such as trip details, reports, and Rainmaker buckets, to assist them in their research into your concerns. 

We Want to Hear From You!

Whether you have feedback for the Committee, concerns to share, or items you’d like brought up with management – don’t hesitate to let us know. Your Local Scheduling Committee is here to be your voice to management. You can easily open a support ticket on the AFA Alaska Online Support Center or directly contact us using the information provided on the Scheduling Committee page of the AFA Alaska + Hawaiian website.