AFA Alaska

Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

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

New Open Time Trading System Implementation Delay

Just when you thought implementation of the new contract was going (relatively) smoothly…

According to the Contract Implementation Schedule, Open Time was scheduled for implementation in July for the August bid month. Unfortunately, AFA received notice from management yesterday that implementation of the new Open Time trading system will be delayed at least one month.

 

You may access an electronic copy of the notice (that lists all the technical reasons for the delay) here.

 

Reasons why it is taking so long

AFA has participated in almost all of the implementation meetings and updates and we can assure you that management and Jeppesen (the provider of Maestro and eMaestro) have been working on updating the crew tracking and trading system ever since the contract ratified.  There are several reasons why it is taking so long to reprogram the system:

 

  • Alaska will begin transitioning to a new crew tracking system later next year but until then we have to manage to get along with our current system.

 

  • Maestro/eMaestro is antiquated and fragile. All parties are being cautious with any changes because there is concern that significant new programming will destabilize the system enough to completely crash it. For those of you who have been around long enough, can you imagine having to go back to email trades? Not good!

 

  • There are very few programmers left at Jeppesen who even work with the underlying framework of Maestro/eMaestro. Only two carriers use this system (one being Alaska). That means there are limited resources that can be allocated to reprogramming.

AFA and management believe it is prudent to wait another month

Alaska Airlines management and AFA do not want to go live with a new Open Time trading system that has the possibility of crashing not only Open Time but also electronic trip trading in general. Although this is a disappointing development, we want the new Open Time system to be a success. Therefore AFA and management believe it is prudent to wait another month in order to provide more time to properly debug the system. As a reminder, the trial period of the new Open Time trading system begins once the system is actually implemented.

 

* * *

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; and MEC Scheduling chairperson Jake Jones

6.12.15 OT Delay letter to AFA

MEC 5B Logo

 

 

 

LAX LEC Scheduling Chair Tim Green

Congratulations to Tim Green, our new LOCAL SCHEDULING CHAIR. He will be the person advocating for our LAX flight attendant schedules and overseeing scheduling issues.

With our new contract we formed a new MEC Scheduling Committee. Jake Jones was appointed by the MEC as the new MEC Scheduling Chair. Our LEC Scheduling Chair Tim Green will be working with him and other chairs from all other bases.

We are also excited that LAXFA Sherrijon Gaspard has been selected as AFA’s Pairing Analyst. She took over Jeff Stein’s position earlier this year.

We want to thank Tim, Jake, and Sherrijon in advance for all of their hard work ahead. Please reach out to either of them with any of your suggestions and concerns. They would love to receive your feedback.

Tim Green ScheduleLAX@yahoo.com

Sherrijon Gaspard sggaspard@gmail.com

Civil Unrest in Puerto Vallarta

Crews will be turned starting tomorrow out of an abundance of caution

Due to civil unrest in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Alaska Airlines management and AFA Alaska agree that out of an abundance of caution it is appropriate to turn crews out of Puerto Vallarta starting tomorrow, Saturday, May 2, 2015. Management may extend the application at its discretion until normal operations resume in PVR.

 

Clarified 8.S language with improved pay premium will be used

The parties have agreed to utilize the language of Section 8 Hours of Service provision S “Natural Disasters and Acts of War” in order to accomplish the removal and re-start of crews. During language clean-up, the parties agreed to clarify and improve 8.S. You will notice an improved pay premium of double time (2x) in this application!

 

8.S language

 

The revised language that will be in the final print version is as follows:

 

S. NATURAL DISASTERS AND ACTS OF WAR

 

  1. In the face of natural disasters or acts of war, the primary focus of the Association and the Company will be the safety of the crew when scheduling or reassigning Flight Attendants to fly into or out of areas affected by imminent or present natural disasters or acts of war.

 

  1. When a natural disaster and/or act of war is imminent or present, and a need for rescheduling or reassigning crews becomes apparent, the Manager of Crew Scheduling or her/his designee will contact the MEC President or her/his designee //. Contact with the AFA appointed representative will be maintained until such time as all crewmembers have been returned to domicile and normal operations have resumed.

 

  1. If the flight deck crewmembers are offered release from flying into or out of a city, or laying over in a city affected by such natural disaster and/or act of war, the Flight Attendant crewmembers will be released as well. Every effort will be made to keep Flight Attendant crews together when reassigning them to be removed from a city affected by imminent or present natural disasters or acts of war.

 

  1. It may be necessary to exceed duty limitations in accordance with S.5., below, in order to remove Flight Attendants from danger, in order to bring customers out of a city impacted by natural disaster and/or acts of war or to resume normal operations to a city impacted by such events.

 

  1. On a case-by-case basis, with the mutual agreement of the parties, the scheduling limitation of ten hours and thirty minutes (10:30) of duty outlined in // 8.E. [Duty Period], above, may be exceeded to remove crews from or to avoid danger and/or to facilitate bringing customers out of a disaster area, or to resume normal operations to an affected city impacted by such events. The compensatory rest outlined in // 8.H. [Compensatory (Double-Out) Rest], above, and any other applicable Sections will apply, and will be provided upon the Flight Attendant’s first return to domicile. Additionally, the two times (2.0x) (three times (3.0x) as applicable) rate of pay will apply to any TFP flown in a duty period scheduled to exceed or that actually exceeds ten hours and thirty minutes (10:30) of duty due to irregular operations directly resulting from 8.S.. //

 

a. Crews that exceed such duty limitations to perform such work will be deadheaded one way (in either direction) in passenger seats.

 

b. An uncovered sequence constructed under 8.S. (“8.S. sequence”) will be built with appropriate compensatory “double-out” rest added to the end of the sequence that cannot be reduced. However, such rest and the pay provisions of H.2. [Compensatory (Double-Out) Rest], above, may be waived by the Flight Attendant in order to pick up or trade into another sequence.

 

c. An uncovered “8.S. sequence” will first be offered to a Flight Attendant who has flights cancelled from her/his line of time as a result of an 8.S. event and is eligible for an alternate assignment under the provisions of Section 10.S. [Pre- Cancellations], if applicable. The Flight Attendant may accept the “8.S. sequence” or may decline with pay protection for the original sequence at straight time. If the Flight Attendant accepts and works the “8.S. sequence”, any conflicting scheduling obligations will be resolved in accordance with 8.H. [Compensatory (Double-Out) Rest].

 

d. An “8.S. sequence” may be placed into OT for pick-up and trading. The associated compensatory “double-out” rest cannot be reduced as a result of trading. However, such rest and the pay provisions of H.2. [Compensatory (Double-Out Rest], above, may be waived by the Flight Attendant in order to pick up or trade into another sequence. Until automated, the Flight Attendant must contact Crew Scheduling to complete a pick-up, drop, trade or give-away of an “8.S. sequence”

 

e. A Reserve may be assigned an “8.S. sequence”. If the Reserve works the sequence, s/he will be credited one times (1.0x) the trip rate toward the Reserve’s guarantee and any additional premium TFP(s) will be paid above guarantee.

 

* * *

 

Once again, this is being done only out of an abundance of caution. We will continue to update you if necessary but otherwise this will be the only communication in regards to civil unrest in Puerto Vallarta.

 

In solidarity,

 

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; MEC Scheduling chairperson Jake Jones

AFA Alaska

PBS Update – May 2015

June bidding advice

 

Most survived the changes for May bidding but not everyone was happy with the results of their May schedule. There were not only changes in the pairings but also in the steps you might have needed to take in order to hold the trips you wanted. We did our best to communicate these changes, with the PBS Info Page devoting a lot of real estate at the top of the page to help you. That information is still there for you to read if you missed it earlier.

 

Confusion about some new ‘Waive’ options was a factor for some people…with people being unsure if they needed to use one of the new ‘waives’ or even where to find them. Waives are entered like any other bid line – by clicking on the ‘Add’ button to the right when looking at your Current or Default bid. The ‘Waive’ tab is on the far right of the list on the ‘Add bid preference’ page. AFA was not consulted as to the terminology used to describe the new ‘waive’ options.

 

Definitions of Lineholder Waives:

 

Allow Charters – Necessary to bid for charters in PBS (ANC-RDB is the only current charter bid in PBS).

Allow Redeye Long Duty Period Pairings – Must be added in order to be awarded redeye ‘4k’ pairings (there are currently none offered).

Allow Non-Redeye Long Duty Period Pairings – Must be added to your bid to be awarded day-time ‘4k’ pairings, both as turns and as part of a multiday trip.

48 Hours Off In 7 Days – To allow the program to build six days in a row of flying…with a 24 hour minimum rest at base in any seven day period.

48 Hours Off In 7 Days If Training – To allow the program to build six days working in a row but only the week of training (RT or any other company-scheduled training event) with then a 24 hour break at your base.

No Same Day Pairings – This must be entered in your bid if you want to fly two pairings on the same calendar day. Those needing to enter this ‘waive’ are people wanting back-to-back SEA-ANC/FAI all-nighter turns, back-to-back LAX-GDL/MEX redeye pairings, HNL-ANC then ANC-ORD the same day, etc.

Rest After Training – Used to waive rest after training down to 9:00 (nine hours) after release from training.

Rest Before TV – Using this allows rest before travel to a training event to be waived down to 2:00 (two hours) after check-out.

Co-Terminal – LAX base only…to allow PBS to award LAX check-ins and more than one co-terminal check-in.

 

 

Definition of Reserve Waives:

 

Maximum Days On 5 – To allow PBS to build you six days of on-call in a row.

Maximum Days On 5 If Training – To allow PBS to have you working six days in a row but only when a training event such as RT falls in that week.

Coming soon! The ability for Reserves to waive to one calendar day rest per week instead of the contractually required two consecutive days.

 

FYI –

  1. Waive bids will automatically go the top of your bid…they cannot be moved.
  2. Layover rest is NOT the same as rest at your base. During bidding, you must have at least 48 hours off at your base in any seven day period. If you ‘waive’ that rule, then you must have at least 24 hours off at your base in any seven day period. Rest on a layover does not count towards contractual rest during bid awards.

 

 

Changes in Flying out of your Base

 

While there might have been some changes in the pairings in all bases, the biggest impact was felt in the SEA base. Those particularly impacted were people bidding only for two-day trips that were now unable to hold them. They had previously needed to be awarded two-day AUS, DTW, IAH, ORD, SAT or STL pairings as those were the only two-day trips they generally held. With all of those cities listed above now being turns, there were very few two-day trips available other than east coast, Hawaii or Mexico.

 

Consequently, a significant number of people’s bids went into ‘Denial Mode’. This was because they did not have any ‘backup plan’ if they couldn’t hold two-day trips. These people will have to make adjustments to their bid to be willing to fly, at minimum, multi-leg two-day trips or very likely other trip lengths…turns, three or four-day trips,

 

Long Duty Period (‘4k’) pairings contractually are to be offered to every base. SEA and PDX only fly ‘4k’ trips as turns but in all other bases the ‘4k’ day is mid-pairing after laying over in SEA or PDX the night before and after. A maximum of 90% of the total 4k departures may be built in any single domicile and a minimum of 10% of the total 4k domicile departures will be built and distributed on an approximately equitable basis throughout the remaining domiciles each bid month. In May, some ‘4k’ pairings out of SAN were not bid for and fell into Open Time.

 

 

Upcoming PBS Base Sits

 

Representatives from the PBS Committee will be holding base sits in early May. The focus of these base sits is to reach out to the many new-hire FA’s in ANC and SEA but anyone is most welcome to drop in for help with their bid. Feedback on pairings can be addressed to the representatives from Crew Planning at the base sits. Comments regarding pairings can also be sent via Outlook email to your LEC Scheduling Committee Chairs or your LEC President. The Scheduling Committee will be meeting on June 25th, 2015 in Seattle with management to discuss any concerns you bring forward to your local committee.

 

ANC PBS base sit

Inflight

May 5th 9am-3pm

May 6th 5am-1pm

Sabrina Blevins-Crew Planning

Rebecca Asbell- PDXFA

Steve Poynter – SEAFA

 

SEA PBS base sit

Inflight-Mezzanine

May 7th 9am-4pm

May 8th 5am-1pm

Kelly Yeager-Crew Planning

Rebecca Asbell-PDXFA

Steve Poynter-SEAFA

 

Contact the PBS Committee anytime by email to PBS Q&A via Outlook.

Long Stage Length Duty Period (“4k”) Pairings Cannot Be Traded in eMaestro

The MEC became aware of the 4k pairings trading issue once again directly from flight attendants

 

The Master Executive Council (MEC) has become aware of an extremely unfortunate development with regard to the Contract Implementation Schedule. Apparently Long Stage Length Duty Period (“4k”) pairings cannot be traded automatically in Maestro and this function will not be available until August. We initially learned about the issue once again directly from flight attendants rather than being given proper notice by management, which is entirely unacceptable. AFA became aware of the problem only when flight attendants were attempting to trade 4k pairings—pairings marked with a ‘K’ label—and received an “overduty” error message in eMaestro.

 

One teeny tiny mention of the issue was buried

 

AFA has been involved in numerous implementation meetings with management and so far we have been unable to find any evidence the 4k pairings trading issue was brought forward at any time. Honestly, your AFA representatives would have taken a keen notice that 4k pairings could not be traded automatically. As flight attendants we know how important flexibility of schedule is with regard to quality of life. One teeny tiny mention of the issue was buried in a long list of “Implementation Milestones.” That document was attached to the “Contract Implementation Newsletter: Issue 1” sent by Vice President of Inflight Services Andy Schneider to all flight attendants via Outlook on March 1st. That’s it.

 

This development is not in keeping with the negotiated Contract Implementation Schedule

 

AFA strongly believes communication in such a fashion does not serve as official notice. Regardless of notice, this development is not in keeping with the negotiated Contract Implementation Schedule. Additionally, we can assure you the Contract Committee would have vehemently opposed 4k pairings going live in May if such pairings could not be traded via automation until August.

 

 

AFA advocated to management that an Inflight bulletin be issued and the splash page updated

 

Let’s talk about the short-term fixes. AFA has advocated to management that an Inflight bulletin be issued explaining how to trade 4k pairings and that the Inflight splash page be updated. Both have already been accomplished.

 

Post 4k pairings in eMaestro but trade using First Class ‘FA Trade Form’

 

Post the 4k pairings in eMaestro just like a normal trip but utilize the comments field to indicate “4k” as a courtesy so the person trading knows what to do next. Keep in mind that all 4k pairings are marked with “K” label as well.

 

You will need to submit the trade request through First Class –> World of Inflight –> FA Trading –> domicile trade box (e.g. “SEA box”) –> FA Trade form, fill it out with all the applicable information and then send to the appropriate trades box (BASE space TRADES space MONTH, e.g. “SEA TRADES MAY”). For those of you who remember trading this way back in the day, Crew Scheduling will not deny trades based on incomplete or missing comments; back then a trade would be denied if the comments were not perfectly formatted to the required standard. Trades will be processed in the order in which they are received. To recap:

 

  • Log into FirstClass,
  • Double click the icon “World of Inflight,”
  • Double click on “FA Trading,”
  • Double click on your base folder,
  • Double click “FA Trade Form,”
  • Fill out the form completely,
  • Address the form to “BASE TRADES MONTH” (e.g. “SEA TRADES MAY” but please change to whatever your base and the correct month is of course), and
  • Push “Send” (in the upper left corner of the form).

 

In the short term AFA will file a contractual grievance alleging violation of the Contract Implementation Schedule and looking forward…

 

In the short term AFA will file a contractual grievance alleging a violation of the Contract Implementation Schedule. Looking forward, AFA recommends all flight attendants carefully consider the implications of bidding 4k pairings for June and July if they cannot be automatically traded until August. Remember, nobody is required to bid for these pairings at all.

 

AFA is extremely disappointed in these most recent developments

 

Once again AFA is extremely disappointed in these most recent developments with regard to trading of 4k pairings.

 

* * *

 

In solidarity,

 

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; MEC Grievance chairperson Jennnifer Wise MacColl; and

 

Your Contract Committee—MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Jake Jones, Christina Frees and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

AFA Alaska

We Will Never Forget – September 11, 2001

AFA Never Forget Website United Flight 175 Robert J. FangmanAmy N. JarretAmy R. KingKathryn LaBorieAlfred G. MarchandMichael C. TarrouAlicia N. TitusCaptain: Victor SaraciniFirst Officer: Michael HorrocksCustomer Service Representatives: Marianne MacFarlane and Jesus Sanchez United Flight 93 Lorraine G. BaySandra BradshawWanda A. GreenCeeCee LylesDeborah WelshCaptain: Jason DahlFirst Officer: Leroy Homer American Flight 11 Barbara AresteguiJeffrey CollmanSara […]

Vacation Survey Now Open

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants Your Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) is working diligently to understand and improve the vacation benefits for our Flight Attendants at Alaska and Hawaiian. Your input is essential in ensuring that the vacation provisions we adopt reflect your needs and preferences. To gather your perspectives, […]

SEA Domicile Negotiations – September 2025

This message is for pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants Negotiations Update The SEA Domicile Negotiating Committee met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management.  The SEA NC met with management on September 3 to September 5 in Honolulu. At the negotiating table for this session were: Representing AFA and our Flight Attendants   […]

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Interviews—October 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, […]

Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Interviews—October 2025

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants The integration of our Master Executive Councils (MECs) is progressing steadily. Our first group of committees successfully merged on June 1, and we are now planning for another group of committees to merge on November 1. As part of the committee merging process, our […]

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 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