AFA Alaska

Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

Click here to report an issue to AFA
You are here: Home / Archives for Committees / Reserve Committee

December 2022 Pacific Northwest Winter Weather Event

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • The snow and ice accumulation 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 winter weather 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 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.

If You Are Reassigned

Reassignments (including same-day cancellations) occur no earlier than midnight on the first day of a scheduled sequence.  They can occur prior to actual departure of the first leg of the sequence or at/after check-in.  For information about how reassignments occur, please see section 10.R of the contract or the reassignment flowchart.  For details about how pay is applied in a reassignment, see section 10.R.5 or the reassignment pay flowchart.

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.  Questions about in-base hotels should be directed to the Inflight Snow Ops Command Center at InflightSnowOps@alaskaair.com or Base Management.  

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. 

Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 4th Quarter 2022

Reserve Committee

  • Our AFA Reserve Committee Chairpersons met on Thursday, December 1 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 1, 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 Heather Reier (ANC), Conner Gallagher (SEA), Anthony Eskander (PDX), Meghan Casey (SFO), Kanako Yamada (LAX), and Rebecca Garcia (SAN).  Also present were MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Julie Thornton and MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson—New Hire & Probation Jarod McNeill.  The committee also met with Inflight Crew Scheduling Duty Manager Sara Cook from management.

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 next year.  Management has indicated intent to hire more Flight Attendants. Number of classes and specific numbers of students in each class will be dependent on delivery of new aircraft.
  • Service flights and service training will continue in Initial Training for next year.
  • Top cause of occurrences for probationary Flight Attendants is forgetting to check in for trips and APSB on Block2Block.
  • Increase in requests for assistance with PBS and bidding from new hires.  
  • Reminder to new hire Flight Attendants about the AFA Alaska Online Support Center to report issues, raise concerns, or ask questions.
  • Management staffing within Crew Scheduling.  Four new Crew Scheduling Supervisors started this fall and they are in the process of interviewing for a Director of Crew Scheduling and one additional manager to help support operations. 
  • Review of reserve utilization statistics in all bases.
  • Status of management’s new upgraded telephone system in Crew Scheduling. Management provided statics on call volumes, wait times, and call duration times.
  • Issues and glitches with Crew Access that are affecting Reserve Flight Attendants.  Review of where known issues are documented and newly added issues. 
  • Update on topics of interest that were reviewed at the monthly Scheduling Committee meeting.

The committee is next scheduled to meet on Thursday, March 9.

What The Committee Is Working On

  1. Assisting Probationary Flight Attendants Through the Reserve Buddy Program.   Answering questions from and providing support to probationary Flight Attendants through an expanded AFA Reserve Buddy program.
  2. Addressing Reserve Contractual Concerns.  Researching and investigating reports from Reserve Flight Attendants and actively ensuring that management is compliant with our contract. 
  3. Developing Additional Tools & Resources for New Flight Attendants.  Working to create a plan to provide more user friendly, easy-to-access resources about the CBA and other job-related information for new Flight Attendants.

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 find our contact information on the Reserve Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2022

Reserve Committee

  • Our AFA Reserve Committee Chairpersons met on Thursday, September 8 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, September 8, 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 Haley Hirsch (ANC), Conner Gallagher (SEA), Megan Zablan (PDX), Camile Caldwell (SFO), Kanako Yamada (LAX), and Rebecca Garcia (SAN).  Also present were MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson—New Hire & Probation Jarod McNeill and MEC Vice President Brian Palmer.  The committee also met with Inflight Crew Scheduling Duty Manager Kiana Shaw from management.

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 the remainder of the year and next year.  Management has indicated intent to hire more Flight Attendants but specific numbers will be dependent on other company growth factors.
  • Anticipated return of service flights to Initial Training.  Management is still working out details.
  • Top causes of occurrences for probationary Flight Attendants.  Recent increase in issues with forgetting to check in for trips and APSB on Block2Block and requirement to physically be in base while on call during Reserve Availability Periods (RAP).
  • Support for probationary Flight Attendants through the Reserve Buddy Program.
  • Increase in requests for assistance with PBS and bidding.  The committee is seeking ways to provide additional training and support in this area.
  • Reminder to new hire F/As about AFA Alaska Online Support Center to report issues, raise concerns, or ask questions.
  • Increase in lineholders picking up reserve days which has resulted in some increased flexibility for Reserve Flight Attendants.
  • Review of the Master Executive Council (MEC) letter to management regarding proportional domicile staffing. 
  • Management staffing within Crew Scheduling.  Four new Crew Scheduling Supervisors will be hired to help support operations. 
  • Review of reserve utilization statistics.  Reserve coverage is anticipated to be at approximately 21-22% for the remainder of the year.
  • Request that management provide additional flexibility for reserve day shifting by decreasing the ARC maximum.  Management agreed to review possible changes.
  • Ongoing concerns with hotel information not being loaded into Crew Access by the time a Flight Attendant arrive in a layover city, despite management having several hours to arrange for the hotel.  Please report these issues through the AFA Alaska Online Support Center so that AFA representatives can follow up with management. 
  • Review of reserve-related scheduling issues that have occurred recently.

The committee is next scheduled to meet on Thursday, December 1.

What The Committee Is Working On

  1. Assisting Probationary Flight Attendants Through the Reserve Buddy Program.   Answering questions from and providing support to probationary Flight Attendants through an expanded AFA Reserve Buddy program.
  2. Addressing Reserve Contractual Concerns.  Researching and investigating reports from Reserve Flight Attendants and actively ensuring that management is compliant with our contract. 
  3. Developing Additional Tools & Resources for New Flight Attendants.  Working to create a plan to provide more user friendly, easy-to-access resources about the CBA and other job-related information for new Flight Attendants.

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 find our contact information on the Reserve Committee page of the AFA Alaska website. 

Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 2nd Quarter 2022

Reserve Committee

  • Our AFA Reserve Committee Chairpersons met on Thursday, June 9 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, June 9, 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 Haley Hirsch (ANC), Conner Gallagher (SEA), Anthony Eskander (PDX), Camile Caldwell (SFO), Meg Casey (SFO), Kanako Yamada (LAX), and Joe Coneglio (SAN).  Also present were MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Julie Thornton, MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson—New Hire & Probation Jarod McNeill, and MEC Vice President Brian Palmer.  The committee also met with Inflight Crew Scheduling Duty Manager Nyxalyse Paul from management. 

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:

  • Ongoing concerns about low morale within our work group.
  • Review of upcoming update to Crew Access software and associated fixes to current issues and other improvements.
  • Update on topics of interest that were reviewed at the monthly Scheduling Committee meeting.
  • Review of reserve-related issues that have been escalated to the Scheduling Review Board (SRB) and Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes.
  • Update on probationary and new hire Flight Attendant concerns.  MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson—New Hire & Probation Jarod McNeill has been in regular contact with Inflight Probationary Support Supervisor Kaliko Howell to review issues.  Most frequent issues causing probationary occurrences are late to plane and forgetting to check-in on Block2Block.
  • Review of contractual issues and requests to be referred to the Negotiating Committee for consideration.
  • Possible project to create new easier-to-follow and more concise resources for new hire Flight Attendants to use to better understand the CBA and other job-related information.
  • Review of reserve utilization statistics.  Reserve coverage is anticipated to remain at approximately 24-26% for the remainder of summer and lineholder line averages will likely stay near the contractual minimum of 75 TFP.
  • Ongoing concerns about the need for relief for reserve Flight Attendants.  Many Flight Attendants who are on reserve outside of SEA have been on reserve for many years with no end in sight.  Management indicates that their plan is to adjust ARC numbers to allow for increased flexibility.  The Committee would like management to offer additional ways to provide relief.
  • Review of management’s planned upgraded telephone system in Crew Scheduling, currently planned for implementation later this year.
  • Review of reserve-related scheduling issues that have occurred recently.

The committee is next scheduled to meet on Thursday, September 8.

What The Committee Is Working On

  1. Assisting Probationary Flight Attendants Through the Reserve Buddy Program.   Answering questions from and providing support to probationary Flight Attendants through an expanded AFA Reserve Buddy program.
  2. Addressing Reserve Contractual Concerns.  Researching and investigating reports from Reserve Flight Attendants and actively ensuring that management is compliant with our contract. 
  3. Developing Additional Tools & Resources for New Flight Attendants.  Working to create a plan to provide more user friendly, easy-to-access resources about the CBA and other job-related information for new Flight Attendants.

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 find our contact information on the Reserve Committee page of the AFA Alaska website. 

Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 1st Quarter 2022

Reserve Committee

  • Our AFA Reserve Committee Chairpersons met on Thursday, March 10 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, March 10, 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 Haley Hirsch (ANC), Conner Gallagher (SEA), Anthony Eskander (PDX), Camile Caldwell (SFO), Kanako Yamada (LAX), and Joe Coneglio (SAN).  Also present were MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Julie Thornton, MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson—New Hire & Probation Jarod McNeill, and MEC Vice President Brian Palmer.  The committee also met with Inflight Crew Scheduling Duty Manager Nyxalyse Paul from management. 

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:

  • Issues and glitches with Crew Access that are affecting Reserve Flight Attendants.  Review of where known issues are documented and prioritization for programming fixes.
  • Update on planned Flight Attendant hiring and initial training classes for 2022.  Starting with class 2022-03, class sizes have nearly doubled to 90 students each.  Larger class sizes will continue.
  • Review of contractual language related to new hire and probationary Flight Attendants (section 7)
  • Update on AFA Reserve Buddy program.  Reserve Buddies are very busy supporting new Flight Attendants.  Reminder to refer Probationary Flight Attendants to their Reserve Buddy for answers to questions about contract and work rules.
  • Review of reserve utilization statistics.  Reserve coverage will remain at approximately 20-21% during the 2nd quarter.
  • Review of reserve-related scheduling issues that have occurred recently.

What The Committee Is Working On

  1. Providing Support to New Flight Attendants in Initial Training.  Facilitating the new hire AFA presentation, Crew Access training, and PBS training as part of Initial Training and participating in base orientation after graduation.
  2. Assisting Probationary Flight Attendants Through the Reserve Buddy Program.   Answering questions from and providing support to probationary Flight Attendants through an expanded AFA Reserve Buddy program.
  3. Addressing Reserve Contractual Concerns.  Researching and investigating reports from Reserve Flight Attendants and actively ensuring that management is compliant with our contract. 

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 find our contact information on the Reserve Committee page of the AFA Alaska website. 

AFA News in Review – September 19, 2025

In This Edition Celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month Originally posted September 15, 2025 Join us in celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, a time dedicated to honoring the vibrant cultures and significant contributions of Hispanic-Latinx Americans. Discover the history, participate in special events, and grab your commemorative Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month AFA Pin […]

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Election Results

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for the first group of pre-merger Alaska MEC Committee positions to be elected for the upcoming MEC Officer term. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After careful […]

Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Election Results

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for the next group of merged MEC Committee Chairpersons. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After careful consideration and deliberation, the following candidates have […]

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 […]

Recent Posts

News By Month

News By Category

AFA News Now Air Quality Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) AS/HA Merger AS/VX Merger Benefits Committee Committees Communications Committee Contract Contract 2014 Negotiations Blog Council 15 SAN Council 18 LAX Council 19 SEA Council 30 ANC Council 35 SFO Council 39 PDX EAP/Professional Standards Committee Extension 2021 Blog Featured Government Affairs Committee Grievance Committee Hotel Committee Human Rights & Equity Committee Industry News Inflight Service Committee Inflight Training Committee JNC Blog Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) Latest News Local Councils Master Executive Council (MEC) Membership Committee Membership Engagement Committee Message from the MEC President Mobilization Committee Negotiations Pairing Construction Preferential Bidding System (PBS) Press Releases Reserve Committee Retirement Committee Scheduling Committee Uniform Committee

Want To Stay In The Loop?

Stay up-to-date on AFA Alaska news and information by signing up for our email and text message updates. Click a button below to get started or update your preferences if you're already a subscriber.
Sign Up for Emails
Sign Up for Text Updates