Scheduling Committee
- On April 23, our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work representing Flight Attendants’ interests in lineholder scheduling.
- The Committee met with management to receive updates and discuss issues and problems Flight Attendants face with scheduling, pairings, and bidding.
- Your Local Scheduling Committee is available to assist with any lineholder scheduling-related issues. Don’t hesitate to reach out for help!
On Tuesday, April 23, 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), Jaqui Bellenie (SFO), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Kamako Yamado (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). Also present were MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction Karen Ferrell, and MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—PBS Virginia Fritz.
The committee met with Managing Director Inflight Operations Michaela Littman, Managing Director Ops Staffing & Resource Mgt Brittany Audette, Director of Crew Staffing Nicholas Giles, Manager of Crew Planning Trisha Bennett, Sr Mgr Product Management Rick Mitchell, Manager Inflight Crew Scheduling Goose Hlaingmyint, Manager of Crew Pay Debbie Bakke, and other management representatives from Crew Planning/Crew Scheduling.
The Committee is next scheduled to meet on May 21, 2024.
Topics of Discussion
The committee reviewed several items both during internal AFA-only conversation and when meeting with management. Some items discussed include:
- Reassignments/Delays
- FA’s seeing increase in Reassignments over past two months
- Reassignments happening in base or after check-in with little notice
- Delays on overnights reported close to report time
- Rest Concerns
- Flight attendants who did not waive rest are frustrated that their check in is delayed to allow rest rather than the Flight Attendant being removed from trip due to short staffing
- Pay Issues
- Trend in seeing delays in confirmation that corrected pay has been applied
- Trading Issues
- All bases discussed the open tickets regarding the JCTE trading issues and calendar display
- Hotel Issues
- Crews had incorrect information on pairings regarding their hotels creating lengthly waits for hotel rooms and short rest periods. All Local Scheduling Committee Chairs continue to fight for additional pay when applicable
- Crews having non-contractual rooms
- See Hotel Hotline for each hotel’s contract language as well as file an API report when issues arise
- PBS Bidding
- Request that PBS in-person bidding continue especially with new classes arriving
What the Committee is Working on
- NavBlue. The PBS Committee is seeking feedback on how they can improve their assistance to flight crews regarding bid awards and understanding results. They provided both in-person and virtual meetings for this purpose.
- Pairings Survey. There is a discussion about conducting a survey on pairing construction, and there is a possibility of organizing a virtual session or town hall. A meeting with management occurred June 5, 2023, with a follow-up meeting to be arranged. However, there is no update or estimated time of arrival (ETA) at the moment.
- Chime Communications. Flight Attendants may chat with crew scheduling via app/Microsoft Teams to reduce phone calls. Flight Attendant-initiated contact. Early stages of development, to be discussed with AS Labor Relations and AFA. Testing and implementation to occur in the next few weeks. We are working on a letter of agreement for implementation. This is still pending review.
- Crew Scheduling. There was a monthly review of PowerPoint presentations that covered various aspects such as reserve utilization, detailed breakdowns, sick leave (week by week and year over year), premium, personal drops, and other relevant agenda items.
- Crew Planning. Similar to Crew Scheduling, there was a monthly review of PowerPoint presentations that cover subsequent month staffing, trip length distribution, Flight Attendant block hours, special initiatives (e.g., IROPs), commutability, and other relevant agenda items.
- ITS. Representatives from ITS joined the scheduling meeting to provide updates on NavBlue, Crew Access, internal systems, and Block 2 Block. These updates include performance reviews, data analysis, and information about future releases.
We Want to Hear From You!
Whether you have feedback for the Committee, concerns to share, or items you’d like brought up with management – don’t hesitate to let us know. Your Local Scheduling Committee is here to be your voice to management. You can easily open a support ticket on the AFA Alaska Online Support Center or directly contact us using the information provided on the Scheduling Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.
