After ten years of service in his position, Portland-based flight attendant Jeff Stein is retiring from his position as AFA Pairing Analyst. Consequently the Master Executive Council (MEC) is in search of qualified individuals interested in becoming the new AFA Pairing Analyst. This is in addition to the Scheduling Chairperson position previously announced several weeks ago (that is now closed and interviews scheduled for next week).
Background
- The official title in the AFA Alaska MEC Policy Manual for the AFA Pairing Analyst is MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction. The Pairing Analyst is chairperson of the Pairing Construction Subcommittee. See below for additional information.
- The pairings in our bid packets are “optimized” (usually for least cost) and built using a computer program designed by Jeppessen.
- Currently our pairing building vendor Jeppessen produces pairings remotely in Montreal with input from Alaska Airlines and AFA. Efforts are currently underway to migrate pairing production “in house.”
Additional Background from the AFA Alaska MEC Policy Manual
4. PAIRING CONSTRUCTION SUBCOMMITTEE
a.Scope
(i) The Pairing Construction Subcommittee will work with the company and the Inflight Crew Planning Department to build Flight Attendant pairings
b. Policy/Responsibilities
(i) The Pairing Construction Subcommittee shall consist of the MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction.
(ii) The Subcommittee shall:
(A) Regularly communicate with and provide updates to the MEC Scheduling Chairperson on the activities of the subcommittee
(B) Meet on a monthly basis with the Company and the Inflight Crew Planning Department to review problems and suggested resolutions regarding construction of Flight Attendant pairings and monthly lines of flying.
(C) Maintain a permanent file for all local schedules for the use of the MEC Scheduling Committee.
(D) Keep the MEC informed on all activities relating to the pairing construction process. When meetings or communications are due to unusual scheduling activities, a written report will be made.
(E) Keep the membership informed of the results of the pairing construction process on a monthly basis throught the MEC Communications Committee Chairperson.
(F) Solicit feedback from the membership regarding desired pairings, trip lengths, and types of flying through Local Scheduling Committees and advocate for such during the pairing construction process.
(G) Discuss any problems occurring within the pairing construction process with the Local Scheduling Committee Chairpersons on a monthly basis and will provide any suggestions for remedy of problems to the MEC.
Skillset/Requirements
- Strong computer skills are a must.
- Ability to independently meet several deadlines throughout the month.
- Potentially frequent travel to Seattle for training and meetings. However, duties may generally be fulfilled remotely.
Duties
- Review, validate and comment on the monthly pairing solutions.
- Write a monthly pairings report.
- Correspond with flight attendants regarding pairing solutions and related concerns.
- Advocate for flight attendants in the pairing building process.
Time Commitment
- Estimated 20-30 hours per month, most of which may be accomplished remotely.
- The time commitment for the position has varied between 10-21 hours/month in the past 6 months, with an average of approximately 16 hours/month. This is likely to increase for the near future.
Compensation
- This is a paid position compensated by the Company under 27.P Company Business (CB) Flight Pay Loss with a 5% override and “A” pay. CB is compensated at 0.75 TFP per hour of work.
- Flight Pay Loss for this position has averaged 12 TFP per bid month over the past six months. However, once pairing building is brought back in house, the process is likely to become more complicated and therefore time consuming for at least a period of time.
Reporting Structure
- Directly reports to the Scheduling Committee Chairperson, who in turn reports to the MEC.
Interested?
- The MEC will hold Interviews on Tuesday, March 3, 2015. Bid around the interview date or arrange to adjust your schedule accordingly to accommodate.
- Interviews will be at the AFA Alaska MEC office in Seattle. Our office is located in the Alaska Airlines Flight Operations and Training Center, Suite 280 at 2651 S 192nd St, Seattle, WA 98188.
- Submit a declaration of interest and resume to MEC Secretary-Treasurer Yvette Gesch at yvette.gesch@afaalaska.org no later than February 20, 2015. Yvette will be able to provide additional information regarding transportation and booking of flights if necessary.
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In solidarity,
Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt
