After Relentless AFA Advocacy, Alaska Management Finally Takes Initial Step To Protect Against Injuries From Dangerous Coffee Makers

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC)

• Alaska Airlines management has directed that older-style B/E Aerospace coffee makers must not be used without a Brew Shield.
• The action follows months of advocacy by the AFA ASHSC, Inflight Service Committee, and MEC, highlighting ongoing injuries to Flight Attendants from the coffee makers.
• Our Committees and MEC continue to call for a complete suspension of the older coffee makers until the issue is fully resolved to ensure the safety of both crewmembers and passengers.

After months of relentless advocacy by our AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC), Inflight Service Committee, and Master Executive Council (MEC), Alaska Airlines management has finally taken the first step towards meaningful action to protect crewmembers and passengers from injuries related to scalding hot coffee and grounds spewing from the brew basket of older-style B/E Aerospace coffee makers. Effective immediately, management has directed that older-style B/E Aerospace coffee makers must not be used to brew coffee under any circumstances if a Brew Shield is unavailable. In such cases, alternate coffee makers must be used to brew coffee; if no other coffee makers are available, coffee will not be served. If a Brew Shield is available, it must be installed and used. Flight Attendants should refer to Special Edition Bulletin #2024-0045 (April 17, 2024) for specific procedures, instructions for reporting missing Brew Shields, and other essential information.

Note: Management refers to the older-style B/E Aerospace coffee maker as the “B/E Classic Coffee Maker,” also identified as Coffee Maker #1 in the FAM. It has five square buttons that include the “COLD WATER” option and does not have a paddle on the hot water spigot.

Management’s recent action is a step in the right direction, but it should have been taken long ago when our ASHSC first raised this issue. It’s unacceptable that several months have passed, and more Flight Attendant injuries have occurred due to the continued use of older-style B/E Aerospace coffee makers. Our AFA ASHSC and Inflight Service Committee have been vigilant in putting management on notice that they were knowingly placing the physical safety and well-being of employees and passengers at risk by continuing to allow the use of these coffee makers. We have advised management that the temporary procedures implemented to mitigate the hazards are inadequate and unrealistic given the working environment that Flight Attendants face onboard the aircraft. The ineffectiveness of management’s mitigations has become increasingly evident as Flight Attendants continue to be injured by coffee makers spewing scalding hot coffee and grounds. 

Management’s action may have been overdue and necessary, but it still does not address the root cause of the hazard through physical mitigation. Our ASHSC, Inflight Service Committee, and MEC firmly believe that the only responsible action for management to take is to completely suspend the use of the older B/E Aerospace coffee makers until the issue is resolved. We continue to call on management to “own safety” by removing these coffee makers from service immediately. The safety of both Flight Attendants and passengers must not be compromised. It’s our right to work in a safe environment, and we demand that this right be upheld.