Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – September 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

On Tuesday, September 29, 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, Managing Director of Operations Staffing and Resource Management Brittany Audette, Director of Crew Planning Trisha Bennett, Manager of Crew Planning Colin Beard, ITS Technical Product Owner Nathan McFerren, Manager of Crew Pay Debbie Bakke and other management representatives from Crew Planning, Crew Scheduling, information technology (ITS), and payroll.

The Committee is next scheduled to meet on Tuesday, October 27.

General Overview

• System Pressure: Systemwide absences reached a two-year high in August, up 20% year-over-year.
• Reserve Exhaustion: Reserve utilization remained above 93% for the third consecutive month, while SEA operates in a state of near-total reserve saturation (97.7%).
• Cascading Impact: Extremely tight reserve coverage is directly causing higher Open Time, reassignment spikes, deadhead conversions, and elevated premium pay reliance.
• Committee Action: Our Scheduling Committee is actively pushing management for increased reserve buffers, faster pay and fatigue audit processing, and strict contractual adherence heading into the fourth quarter.

Crew Scheduling & Operational Health (August 2026 Data)

• Systemwide Reserve Utilization: Averaged 94.5% in August, marking the fifth consecutive month in the mid-90% range (94.7% in June, 93.8% in July).
  • SEA: Reached 97.7%. SEA has remained above 97.5% since June, leaving no reserve buffer and converting unexpected absences directly into Open Time, reassignments, and premium pay
  • ANC: 93.8%
  • SFO: 90.1
  • SAN: 89.0%
• Systemwide Sick Leave: Overall rate was 13.7%. Lineholders averaged ~14.0% and Reserves averaged ~13.2%. Sick-on-line calls caused 14 flight cancellations during the month.
• Absence Volume: Total absences reached 76,000 year-to-date through August (a 20% increase from ~63,400 during the same period last year).
  • Reserve absences jumped 39% (from 12,600 to 17,500).
  • Lineholder absences increased 15% (from 50,800 to 58,500).
  • August was the highest single month recorded, with 11,832 total absences (including 9,045 lineholder absences).
• Sick-on-Line Trends (Jan–Sep): 890 total calls (~100 per month), peaking at 119 in June and dropping to 89 in February.
  • Lineholders accounted for 60% of calls; Reserves accounted for 40% (meaning reserves become sick away from base at a disproportionately high rate).
  • 517 calls occurred away from domicile during an overnight; 371 calls occurred at domicile.
• Premium Pay Usage: Reached 87.1% in August (up from 84.2% in July and 77.9% in June), heavily driven by thunderstorms and constrained reserve levels.
• Reassignments & Conversions: Recorded 1203 total reassignments and 538 deadhead-to-working conversions.
• Fatigue Calls: 49 fatigue reports were submitted in August, reflecting ongoing concern regarding workload and schedule sustainability.
• Scheduling Staffing: New schedulers are transitioning to the floor, targeting a total complement of 47 schedulers by the end of 2026.

Crew Planning Parameters (November 2026 Projections)

• Block Hours: Projected at approximately 313,749 TFP, slightly lower than recent monthly totals.
• Line Value & Reserve Allocation: Systemwide average line value is targeted at ~80 TFP, with reserve levels set near 22%.
• LBO / SAL: No Low-Bid Option (LBO) or Staffing Adjustment Leaves (SAL) are offered.
• Holiday Schedule A: Begins November 20, introducing greater pairing variety but reducing schedule pattern consistency.
• Commuter Challenges: November 2026 vs. November 2025 trip distribution reviews show PDX and SFO remain the most challenging bases for commuting.
• Base Red-Eye Flying:
  • SAN: 26%
  • SEA: 24%
  • ANC: 21%
  • SFO: 15%
  • PDX: 13%
  • LAX: 11%

Technology, Systems & Automation Update

• AICS Crew Bid System Launch: Scheduled to launch during the fourth quarter. AICS is set to replace current legacy processes for vacancy bids, transfer bids, and temporary base trades. A system demonstration is currently underway, and a formal implementation timeline and communication plan will be provided.
• Open-Time Trading Performance: Processed 89,618 legal and illegal trades. Approximately 98.3% completed in under 1 second, showing strong processing speed.
• Open-Time Monitoring: No active issues identified during September monitoring. System memory improvements have been made, with further updates coming in November.
• JCTE & Crew Access Upgrades: JCTE release 10.2 MR25 is anticipated in late October, with Crew Access testing targeted for implementation on October 21.
• PBS & NAVBLUE System Performance:
  • October bid awards experienced long run times and high system workload. A ticket was opened with NAVBLUE, and recommendations are being reviewed with Crew Planning.
  • NAVBLUE Release 26.3.1043 testing is complete; release 26.3 is undergoing user-acceptance testing. Upgrades will be avoided during holiday bid periods unless strictly necessary.
  • Crew Planning added new support staff experienced with NAVBLUE and contract rules.
• AI Pairing Tool Development: Crew Planning is evaluating an early-stage AI tool to test pairing options. Planners are also evaluating hard-locking 4k pairings prior to launch, subject to further testing.

Local Committee Chairperson Reports

Seattle (SEA)

• Pay & PPP Questions: High call volume regarding Standard of Pay and PPP calculations when trips are reassigned, removed, or altered.
• Fatigue Processing Delays: Fatigue Review Board processing takes several weeks up to a month to evaluate reports, determine pay, and issue responses.
• Contractual Clarifications: Seeking clear definitions for 8.S turns vs. 10.R reassignments and compensation. Additional inquiries remain open regarding Neighbor Island TFP, vacation rules, ISA provisions, commuter recovery, open-time drops, B2B refresh bugs, and California state-law notifications for base swaps.

Portland (PDX)

• Charter Flying Issue: Unresolved issues remain regarding double-out rest and denial scenarios.
• Deadhead Automation Bugs: Deadhead seating continues to be impacted by system automation; specific examples were submitted for investigation.

San Diego (SAN)

• California Timekeeping: Requesting operational details regarding timekeeping procedures effective October 1, 2026.
• 8.S Pairings: Seeking clarification on deadhead assignments on 8.S pairings regarding seating, duty limits, and pay.

Anchorage (ANC)

• Schedule Options: Flight Attendants report a shortage of morning Seattle turns.
• Pay Inquiry Delays: Pay audit responses are frequently delayed, with tracking notes entered but formal responses arriving after pay period closure.
• Hotel Concerns: Following up on hotel wait times, ticket compensation, and delay procedures prior to transport/hotel assignment.

Los Angeles (LAX)

• Month-End Trades: Out-of-domicile trades overlapping the 17th processing deadline required manual post-deadline handling.
• Passport Processing Policy: A Flight Attendant with a full passport book was classified as Flight-Illegal (FIL) while awaiting new pages; the Committee requested clarification on protocols for passport processing delays.

San Francisco (SFO)

• Hotel Transportation Procedures: Clarifying expectations and reporting requirements when Flight Attendants do not utilize company-provided hotel transport.

Pay Audits & Irregular Operations Mitigations

• Flight Attendant Crew Pay Audit Results: 2,058 inquiries were resolved in August. Approximately 753 inquiries were filed earlier than required and would have been captured in standard audits. AFA and management are working to clarify filing timelines.
• Summer IROP Mitigations: Management detailed operational fixes used during summer disruptions:
  • Adjusted start-of-duty times in SAN for transcontinental flights due to airport construction.
  • Increased EWR layovers to 12:00 for air traffic control delays, with adjusted morning departure duty times to PDX/SEA.
  • Extended crew-connect times in ANC, PDX, SEA, and SFO.
  • Increased PHX and LAS layovers to 11:00 (and early PHX rest to 11:30) for rest protection.
  • Adjusted duty times for LAS–ANC, SFO–JFK, and ANC arrivals from DLG/AKN.
  • Flight Attendant and Pilot teaming will continue through February 2027 to improve operational alignment.

What The Committee Is Working On

1. 2027 Meeting Scheduling: Scheduling 2027 dates on the calendar for next year’s committee meetings and activities.
2. Vacation Bidding & Awarding: Assisting Flight Attendants with questions and concerns regarding accruals, bidding, and trading for 2027. Vacation trading for 2027 officially begins on October 28. If you feel there was an error in your accrual or award, please contact FA.crewpay@alaskaair.com for assistance.
3. Crew Access Update: Anticipating and actively testing the JCTE update for implementation scheduled for October 21. The committee will provide full updates on system changes once testing is 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 + Hawaiian website.