Scheduling Committee
- Our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met on Tuesday, April 26 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent Flight Attendants interests related to lineholder scheduling.
- The Committee also met with management to receive updates and discuss issues and problems that Flight Attendants are experiencing with scheduling, pairings, and bidding.
- Your Local Scheduling Committee is available to answer questions, provide clarification, or help to resolve any lineholder scheduling-related issues. Please don’t hesitate to reach out!
On Tuesday, April 26, our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Heather Reier (ANC), Martin Vance (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Virginia Fritz (SFO), Brie Donoghue (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). Also present were MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones, MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction Karen Ferrell, MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—PBS Adam Clarey, MEC Grievance Committee Payroll Representative Kiara Jenkins, and MEC Reserve Chairperson Julie Thornton. The committee met with Managing Director of Inflight Operations Michaela Littman, Director of Inflight Crew Scheduling Denia Pisia, Manager of Crew Planning Mac Patterson, and other management representatives from Crew Scheduling and Crew Planning.
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:
- Reassignments for line holders and reserves – avoiding cancellations
- Long wait times for hotels/transportation. API concerns, continue to file crew care reports and remain in contact with Crew Scheduling.
- Pre-cancellations, ability to email and waive pay
- Redeyes contained in mixed pairings
- Hawaii flying releasing after midnight. Discussion about 2-day trips that cover 3 calendar days
- Flight Schedule changes and cancellations (reduction in planned schedule) for May, June, July, August.
- Spring Incentive Premium. Positive and Negative feedback reviewed, assisting with questions.
- Sick Leave in each domicile. Some bases are over 20% daily sick calls.
- Line averages and Reserve coverage. Management is planning to lower averages to 75 TFP and increase reserve coverage to above 20% in all bases.
- New Crew Resource Department and the corresponding email from COO/EVP Constance von Muehlen.
- Crew Access/NAVBLUE/T-Mobile/Block2Block – data, statistics, pending updates and requests to improve.
What The Committee Is Working On
- PBS Base Sits. Conducting virtual meetings, trainings, and in-person meetings in preparation for the sunsetting of NAVBLUE ClassBid PBS.
- Reassignment Flow Chart. Scheduling Committee Members reviewed a draft of the reassignment flow chart and it has been moved forward to the final stages of review and approval. Refer to sections 10.R and 10.R.5 of our CBA.
- Scheduling Quality of Life Improvements. Reviewing ways to improve Trip Length Distribution (TLD) and other quality of life options. Working with management to develop a quality of life survey to determine Flight Attendant scheduling priorities.
- Review of user guides and links of Flight Attendant website. Ensuring information is still accurate in existing resource materials, links are still active and working, etc.
- Updating Crew Access videos. Working with management and ITS to update the Crew Access instructional videos to reflect updates and changes to the user interface.
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 Scheduling Committee is your voice to management. You can open a support request on the AFA Alaska Online Support Center or contact us directly using the information on the Scheduling Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.
Jen says
LAX is the second largest base. We need more people, so we can have less sick calls! Reserves are exhausted, line holders get switched out of trips or cancelled. When will LAX get relief?
heidi says
Seems like LAX is being “punished” for high sick calls. We got 5 transfers in and took a negative for July due to all that transferred out. How is that justified when LAX had 5 open spots. It seems to be a cycle. Line holders are switched out of their trips- I just worked 3 legs instead of one leg home on my day 3 – with no extra pay– line holders are tired and not about to pick up trips because our trip will get changed and our reserves are being abused. I can’t imagine sick calls getting better… the morale is terrible to the point of embarrassment and now LAX appears to get “punished” by getting negative transfers for July. What exactly is happening?
Lorinda Ray says
I am in 100% agreement with Charlotte. The sick calls will continue due to no flexibility and due to the shenanigans with mid trip changes ie the bait and switch game done by cs. When will they get this? When will new hires be sent to California for relief?
Lorinda LAX FA
Jake Jones (MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson) says
The scheduling committee understands and hears the frustration. Management’s position for trip changes, reassignments and conversions from deadhead to working are to protect additional flights from cancellation. They say that we are at critical staffing for the schedule network planning thought Alaska could execute. Both AFA and management know that when line averages are high, sick leave is high. This is a trend we’ve all seen for several years. Crew Planning management told us that new hires would slowly be allowed to transfer into the California bases monthly. The rate of transfer you would expect to see open is 5-10 a month, unless there are other factors such as schedule changes, additional block hours, retirement, resignation or termination to name a few things, that affect the need to put more new hires in those bases. The plan as it currently stands is to put the new hires into SEA/ANC and cover the other bases flying. We are hopeful that the lower line averages anticipated in the summer will bring some relief to all bases. We’ll keep discussing with management the concerns and sharing the information.
Megan says
Management is increasing reserve lines to lower the line average? I’m confused on how this will work considering when reserve lines are increased line averages for line holders are also increased because there are less line holders to account for the number of trips. Make it make sense ?
Jake Jones (MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson) says
There’s a shortage of First Officer applicants in the training program that would allow for more flying during the summer. Management is planning to reduce the flying which in turn will reduce the total block hours/tfp for Pilot/FA schedules. We have a lot of new flight attendants that were hired to fly the summer schedule, but that schedule will now be reduced. With the reduction in flying there won’t be enough TFP to support having more line holders. Management will continue to have classes and hire FAs so we are prepared for a full schedule in the fall. The high percentage of reserves may allow for more flexibility with personal drops, trading and picking up of trips/days. This is the plan for the next several months and we hope the flight schedule returns back to normal in August or September. I hope that gives a little more detail into why line averages are being reduced and reserve percentages are increased.
Charlotte Comito says
Jake—-
All due respect, but its embarrassing that you just repeated that tired untrue statement. The obvious response to that is to encourage the company to build more lower credit lines to give relief to senior lineholders who are complaining that their lines are built to 80+ and 90+ credit and senior reserves who deserve to be lineholders now. Lowering the line credit and building more humane schedules will positively effect the purported sick call issue.
Also, we all know by now that in fact it was scheduling committee reps and other AFA reps who requested the increase of reserve lines, an unimaginative and failed “solution” to the continuing lack of flexibility for lineholders.
I am willing to volunteer to participate on the scheduling committee in SAN where I will be based in May. Thank you for your consideration.
Charlotte Comito
Jake Jones (MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson) says
If you read my statement, that is management’s position on the issue. Please follow up with your local president on submitting your interest to join the SAN scheduling committee.
Austin says
Why wasn’t the issue of missing LAX pairings addressed?
Jake Jones (MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson) says
On April 21, 2022, AFA filed a grievance for Violation of §10.E.5 LIR Pairings Missing from the LAX May 2022 Bid Packet. Grievance number 36-99-2-187-22. Management took responsibility and apologized for the pairings not being in the bid packet. AFA filed the grievance to preserve the issue and ensure compliance that all applicable pairings are in the bid packet and placed out for bid.
Charlotte Comito says
Hello—
Your update makes no mention of whether the percentages of reserve lines have finally been decreased in each base. Have you advocated for fewer reserve lines to give some relief to those here for 4-5 years? The theoretical attempt to give lineholders more flexibility by increasing reserve lines has officially been a failure, predictably.
Thank you.
Charlotte Comito, LAX FA
Jake Jones (MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson) says
The number of reserve lines we are told will remain higher to provide more relief to line holders during the summer months. The PBS committee will provide estimates during bid awards and after awards are finalized will provide the actuals.
Charlotte Comito says
That is incredibly unfortunate and will not result in this theoretical “relief” anymore than it already has. At what point will “relief” for 4-5 year FAs be considered?
Jake Jones (MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson) says
Crew scheduling and Crew planning told the scheduling committee that the California bases have higher sick call rates. The range is 15-20% daily and in some cases even higher. When sick leave calls are reduced they will consider lowering the reserve percentages and increasing the number of bid lines.