Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – September 2025

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

On Tuesday, September 23, our pre-merger Alaska AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons and Representatives met in person at Alaska Airlines Corporate Headquarters 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), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Jaqui Bellenie (SFO), Kanako Yamado (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). Also present were MEC Hotel Committee Chairperson James Bozanich, MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction Karen Ferrell, MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—PBS Virginia Fritz, and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones.

The Committee met with Managing Director of Inflight Operations & Crew Scheduling Sara Cook, Managing Director of Operations Staffing & Resource Management Brittany Audette, Director of Crew Planning Trisha Bennett, Director of Crew Pay Peter Silberstein, Inflight Crew Scheduling Supervisor Matthew Trujillo, Manager of Crew Pay Debbie Bakke, Manager of Flight Crew Systems Support Sue Rawlings, and other management representatives from Crew Planning and Crew Scheduling

The Committee is next scheduled to meet in person on Tuesday, October 28.

Topics of Discussion

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

• Tentative Agreement Implementation: Still underway, with newly added calculators requiring ongoing maintenance for accurate totals.
• Vacation/Training Bidding Vendor: A meeting was held on July 16, 2025. A follow-up meeting is needed with the new vacation and company training bidding systems administrator to update products.

MEC Committee Chairperson Report

• Crew Backlog Review: Scheduled for October 15, 2025.
• Crew Bi-Monthly Review with ALPA: Held on September 9, 2025.
• Crew Access Issues: Review completed on July 23, 2025.
• Rainmaker Crew Pay System: Update expected on November 20, 2025.
• NAVBLUE Monthly Call: Scheduled for October 2, November 6, and December 4, 2025.
• Personal Drop Report Process: Updates are being implemented in the Alaska system; a new personal drop interface was introduced on September 22, 2025.
• Pyramiding Pay Dispute: Ongoing discussions are happening through the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) process.
• 4k Dispute Over Night Compensation: AFA has filed a grievance.
• ISA for Reserves: Working on implementation and testing of programming changes.

Local Committee Chairperson Reports

• PDX: Issues with charter release times and program efficiency.
• SAN: Dispute on overfly versus reassignment in ADR.
• ANC: Discussion on Crew Scheduling applications of sections 12.J, 10.W, and 10.R of the contract.
• LAX: Resolutions through ADR for issues with employee parking being closed for late-night surface deadhead arrivals and hotel wait times with BUR.
• SFO: Investigating crew access issues at 2 AM and hire date changes in Rainmaker.
• SEA: Information needed for rescheduling after sick calls; fatigue call inquiries directed to AFA FRB Scheduling Committee Primary Representative Bianca Dew.

PBS Subcommittee Update

• Bid Period: October bidding went smoothly despite needing extra runs to meet Reserve minimums. Many Bid Protests came in regarding junior lineholders’ inability to hold lines with the month’s pairing packet and legalities.
• Upcoming Releases: The next release is expected to be available before the end of the year. Final TA2 bidding improvements should be available in 2026.
• Base Sits: In October, the PBS Subcommittee will be in SEA and PDX to assist with bidding questions.

ITS Update

• NAVBLUE Testing: Ongoing with outstanding items for release.
• Crew Pay Queries: 2873 total, with 1896 resolved.
• Rainmaker Issues: Addressing hire date discrepancies; integration with payroll is ongoing. This is an issue with data in Peoplesoft feeding to Rainmaker and will not affect pay increases.
• B2B Integration: Troubleshooting for bugs continues.

Crew Planning Update

• November Block Hours: Increased by 1000 hours month over month.
• Staffing Stats: 77.5 TFP line average, 18.0% reserve.
• Operational Adjustments: Addressing crew connect times and mitigation strategies for IRROP.

Crew Scheduling Update

• Growth of Scheduling Team: New introductions and objectives for the Inflight Duty Manager program launch.
• Sick Leave Trends: Decreasing from previous months, with a goal of 8.6% attendance.
• Premium Utilization: Ongoing discussions regarding SAL leaves and scheduling efficiency.

What The Committee Is Working On

1. Crew Access Issues: Crew Access challenges significantly affect how well operations run, influencing how Flight Attendants feel about their work. It’s crucial to tackle these problems to create a better working environment. We are meeting with Jeppesen management in Vancouver, BC at their next conference on October 1 and 2. Both Alaska and AFA are frustrated with their systems and the programs not working effectively for our flight crews, specifically related to Open Time.
2. Resolving Pyramiding Pay Disputes: Finding a solution to the pay dispute related to pyramiding is vital for maintaining fairness in how Flight Attendants are compensated. Disagreements about over-duty pay and day-off violations can seriously affect crew morale and operational integrity. The committee will keep discussing the matter through the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) process to clarify payment rules and ensure they are followed. They will gather information from Flight Attendants affected by these issues to guide their discussions. An update on the progress and any resolutions will be shared with Members by the end of September 2025, aiming for a settlement soon after. Management and AFA will explore other options, like mediation or arbitration, if an agreement cannot be reached.
3. ISA for Reserves Implementation: The ineligibility for self-assignment (ISA) for Reserve Flight Attendants is an important step toward fairer and more transparent scheduling practices. This change is crucial for boosting crew satisfaction and efficiency. The Committee will work quickly to finalize this new system by working with the IT department and other relevant management to implement the necessary changes to the scheduling system. They will also develop ways to keep Flight Attendants informed about the updates. The next Crew Access release, which will include ISA implementation allowing Reserve Flight Attendant to Reserve Flight Attendant trading, is expected to be available in early October 2025, after all testing has been completed.

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.