Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – June 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

On Tuesday, June 23, our pre-merger Alaska AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons and Representatives met virtually to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Rebekah Olds (ANC), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Jaqui Bellenie (SFO), Kanako Yamado (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction Karen Ferrell, MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—PBS Virginia Fritz, MEC Grievance Committee Payroll Representative Julie Thornton, and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones were also present.

The Committee met with Managing Director of Inflight Performance & Crew Scheduling Sara Cook, Director of Inflight Crew Scheduling Terrance Chariandy, Manager of Inflight Crew Scheduling Goose Hlaingmyint, Director of Crew Planning Trisha Bennett, Manager of Crew Planning Colin Beard, ITS Technical Product Owner Nathan McFerren, and other management representatives from Crew Planning, Crew Scheduling, information technology (ITS), and payroll.

The Committee is next scheduled to meet on Tuesday, July 21.

Topics of Discussion

The Committee reviewed several topics during internal AFA-only conversations and when meeting with management. Some items discussed include:

Local Committee Chairperson Reports

• PDX (Portland)
  • Delay Reporting: Flight Attendants requested later reports for delays. Questions arose about cut-off times for delays when Flight Attendants were close to reporting for duty. If a delay is posted for more than an hour, Crew Scheduling will attempt to mitigate the impact of a later report. 
  • Deadhead Seating Issues: Flight Attendants expressed dissatisfaction with deadhead seating on recent flights, questioning automation accuracy and practices. We are researching automation for contractual compliance. 
• SAN (San Diego)
  • Pairing Review: Flight Attendants have questions about legalities and compensation. AFA Grievance Committee Payroll Representative to assist with review of reassignments and stranded pairings. Typically, it takes payroll a week or two to update compensation and pull reports. 
  • Vacation Scheduling: Questions were raised about flying into days off surrounding vacations and compensation. Specifically, how to obtain pay or additional vacation. If you are flown into a vacation day, please contact Flight Attendant Crew Pay. 
• ANC (Anchorage)
  • Flight Delays: Initial flights were delayed, leading to subsequent flight delays. Reassignment protocols were questioned if flight numbers change. Refer to Section 10.R.4 for applicable compensation. 
  • Mid-Flight Reassignments: Crew was reassigned mid-flight from a SEA turn to later flights and wanted more information about the process Crew Scheduling uses to reassign.
  • Van Delay: A delay for van transportation occurred, with pilots notified but Flight Attendants left uninformed. The Committee asked for a review to determine how management can better communicate about delays. 
• LAX (Los Angeles)
  • Extended Layover Issues: JNU unscheduled layover resulted in no hotel accommodation for 18 hours, with Flight Attendants on duty paid hotel rates. Crew Planning management is reviewing the situation with API and ensuring we have exhausted all options, as crews were stranded at the airport. 
  • Pre-Boarding Processes: Pre-boarding is not currently offered based on seniority, with no contractual requirements, and suggestions for improved scheduler processes were made. Crew Scheduling management said they would try to make a best effort to offer in seniority order. If you are the senior Flight Attendant and don’t want the pre-board, you can give it to the next junior Flight Attendant, if applicable. 
  • Notification Timeliness: Delays in notifying crews about trip changes were noted, with notifications sometimes occurring at odd hours. Crew Scheduling does its best not to interrupt crew rest and will attempt to notify affected crews typically after 10 hours of consecutive rest. 
  • Crew Pay Notations: Crew pay issues regarding reassignments versus diversions were resolved after initially being classified incorrectly.
• SFO (San Francisco)
  • Crew Reassignment Confusion: Issues with multiple crew reassignments led to confusion about payment eligibility.
  • Hotel Accommodation Problems: Non-contracted hotel issues reported, with a crew care report filed for follow-up.
  • Trip Structure Changes: Three-day trips are being restructured as two-day trips with premium pay, necessitating a review of efficiency. Crew Scheduling is pulling apart multiday trips around 10 AM based on reserve coverage and availability, so you may see trips that are pulled apart and desirable. 
  • Safety Concerns: Instances of hot airplanes in locations without APUs raised safety questions regarding aircraft readiness for boarding. It is a good idea to file Flight Attendant Incident reports and contact your Local Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) if there are concerns.
• SEA (Seattle)
  • Monitoring Open Time: Seattle Local Scheduling Committee Chairperson attended the monthly meeting with the ability to track Open Time with Jeppesen and ITS. Most of the open days closed their TSN thresholds within 60 seconds or less
  • Block2Block (B2B) Issues: Ongoing problems with Flight Attendant no-shows. B2B messaging is not considered positive contact. However, all Flight Attendants are required to review their B2B messaging at the end of duty for notifications from Crew Scheduling. 

PBS Subcommittee Update

• July Bidding Overview: High activity noted with efforts to understand and plan for coverage amidst holiday schedules.
• Bid Awards: The bid awards process was smooth, although higher lows were necessary to ensure adequate reserve coverage, with a forecast of 30% coverage awards coming to fruition.
• Bid Protests: Protests were manageable this month, primarily centered around coverage understanding. Technical issues with the inflight website led to workarounds.
• Meetings Conducted: Regular meetings held throughout June, including monthly updates and bid award training.
• Other Updates:
  • Inflight Website Publishing Action Plan: Collaborations with Crew Planning to create a plan for future publishing issues, ensuring access to awards and reports during outages.
  • Software Releases: Ongoing testing of recent updates with positive results expected for a go/no-go decision soon.

Pairing Construction and Crew Planning

• Pairing Selection: Recent pairing selections have been received, with an emphasis on soft locks. The average line value will be 80 TFP.
• ITS Update: NAVBLUE testing is progressing well, with improvements noted in automation updates.
• Crew Planning Analysis: Block hours for August are projected over 350K, reflecting a decrease from July. Reserve ratios are at 22.15%, with no scheduled staffing adjustment leaves (SALs).
• Redeye Flying Trends: Breakdown of redeye flying percentages across various bases, with notable figures for ANC (34%) and SAN (29%).
• IRROPS (Irregular Operations)
  • Updates on duty starts and layover durations for various routes specific to San Diego and Newark departures, with increased crew connections in all domiciles noted.
  • Requirements for specific flight starts and rest periods were discussed, with attention to crew teaming (keeping Flight Attendants on the same pairing) and TSA mitigation (DLG-ANC/AKN/ANC).

Crew Scheduling Insights

• Sick Leave Trends: Sick leave rates reached 13.2%, the highest of the year, with a significant number of daily calls noted.
• Sick Online Issues: Notable sick online issues affecting operations, particularly in commuter cities, warrant tracking and management attention. There were 96 sick online calls in June.
• Reserve Utilization: Reserve utilization is trending upwards due to increased absences, with PDX and SEA reporting higher utilization to cover operational needs.
• Premium Pay Statistics: Premium pay is trending high month-to-date for June. 
• Reassignments and Fatigue Reports: Total reassignments noted at 538, with deadhead conversions at 386. Fatigue incidents reported at 30 for June, with a notable split between reserves and lineholders.
• Crew Scheduler Staffing: Anticipation of a new staffing class in two weeks with a new supervisor, aiming to improve scheduling operations.

What The Committee Is Working On

1. Resolving Pyramiding Pay Disputes: Discussions are ongoing through the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) process to clarify payment rules for over-duty pay and day-off violations. Our Grievance Committee is filing grievances regarding several concerns with pyramid pay. These discussions are still ongoing with Labor Relations management. 
2. Vacation Bidding: Representatives from the Committee met with management to discuss the new vendor, AI Crew Solutions. It was determined that when a Flight Attendant either doesn’t hold a bid or forgets to bid, they will be allowed to bid in the 2nd round of vacation. The current process assigns slot 1 and slot 2. We will provide educational material and information when bidding begins next year on the new platforms. We have additional meetings to discuss implementation and buddy bidding. We are currently testing and reviewing the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) environment. 
3. Flow Charts: These are posted on the AFA website to help guide you through contractual understanding and irregular ops here: 2025-2028 AFA Alaska CBA Reference Documents 01.26.2026
4. Block2Block (B2B) Contactability: Implemented on February 1, 2026. Please familiarize yourself with the contractual language and bulletin bundle. Every Flight Attendant must check B2B at the end of every duty period (not trip) and make positive contact if a message is sent prior to block-in of the last flight of the duty period per §8.Q.2.e.
5. Compensation: Follow up on crew pay issues and reassignment policies. Please give FA Crew pay at minimum a week to update compensation on irregular operations. 
6. Pairings: Continue to address pairing and scheduling concerns with management.
7. Software: Monitor upcoming software implementations and their impacts on operations. We will have another JCTE update in August 2026. 
8. Sick Leave Tracking: Continue monitoring sick leave trends and review strategies to mitigate operational impacts.
9. Notifications: Address communication issues regarding flight changes and notifications.

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 + Hawaiian website.