May 1st is the next major implementation date of our new contract. On that day the following will occur:
8.D. – 15 minute domicile debrief in effect
Domicile debrief is reduced from thirty minutes (:30) to fifteen minutes (:15). Flight Attendants may contact Crew Scheduling to adjust the debrief period for the sequence if the debrief exceeds the scheduled debrief. The adjustment will affect all Flight Attendants on the sequence. The adjusted debrief period will end when the last passenger has left the aircraft. This adjustment will not extend a Flight Attendant’s duty period for purposes of pre-boarding or JA assignments.
8.I. – Night Rule
Any flight attendant now on duty at 4:29 am local time is not required to remain on duty beyond 8:30 am initial departure station time of that duty period. The old “Night Rule” was measured from 4am so this is a half hour improvement in favor of the flight attendant. An exception continues to apply for single-duty period sequences with one return to domicile (all-nighter turns). There is also still an exception for Reserves on Airport Standby (APSB) at that time if s/he did not have a flying assignment prior to APSB in the duty period.
8.K. – Improved reduced RON Rest from 9 hours to 9 ½ hours
Insufficient rest on a Remain Over Night (RON) (aka a layover) has changed from less than nine hours to less than 9 ½ hours from release to report. That is a half hour improvement for the flight attendant. In addition, AFA and management have clarified and agreed that if a flight attendant does not receive such rest then s/he is eligible for 2.5x premium pay for the entire pairing if s/he is not removed at the Sequence Interruption Point (SIP) following the short layover—assuming there is a such a SIP.
9.E. – Premium Open Time replaces Voluntary Junior Available (VJA)
Flight Attendants will be allowed to pick up trips posted in Open Time at a premium rate (e.g. 1.5x, 2.0x, 2.5x). Flight Attendants may not trade a trip into OT in order to pick up a trip designated as premium OT. That is, it must be a straight pick up from OT in order to retain the premium. Trips will be designated with dollar signs to indicate the premium level: $ – 1.5x, $$ – 2.0x, $$$ – 2.5x, etc. Going forward, Premium Open Time replaces Voluntary Junior Available (VJA).
10.M. – New PBS line options and preferences effective in April bidding for May 2015
“Minimum Bid” has been eliminated. A flight attendant will no longer be assigned two (2) sequences on the same calendar day unless s/he waives the rule. Flight Attendants may waive 48/7 down to 24/7 for bidding in order to fly six days in a row. “4k” and “4k red eye” preferences are now active; if a flight attendant does not utilize these waivers then s/he will not be awarded a 4k or 4k red eye.
10.DD. – Long Stage Length Duty Period (“4k”) sequences
Flight Attendants begin flying Long Stage Length Duty Period (“4k”) sequences. A Reserve may be required to fly 4k if a vacancy exists on a 4k sequence within three hours of departure—otherwise the assignment is voluntary. A Reserve may also preference 4k and be assigned 4k with no additional premium. Reserves who have not preferenced 4k will be paid a 1.5x premium (1.0x towards guarantee and 0.5x above guarantee) for the entire pairing if forced to fly 4k.
21.D. – Minimum Pay Rules (MPRs)
All Minimum Pay Rules (Section 21.D. [Minimum Pay Rules]) go into effect
- The 4 TFP “four trip minimum” is now the Duty Period Minimum (DPM) – no change
- The 4 TFP “midnight to midnight rule” is now the Extended Overnight Rule (EOR) – Any period of time on a remain over night (RON) free of duty from 1 am to 11 pm local time
- Sit Pay at 1 TFP for any sit over two hours is now automated (so no more need to submit Activity Claim Forms!)
- Multiday Sequence Minimum (MSM) guaranteed at 4 TFP times the number of calendar days in the sequence (minimum of three calendar days and two duty periods to qualify for the MSM, so the MSM does not apply to turns spanning two calendar days)
- Average Duty Period Guarantee (ADPG) guaranteed at 5 TFP times the number of duty periods in the sequence (e.g. four duty period sequence is guaranteed at no less than 20 TFP)
All Minimum Pay Rules (MPRs) are paid the greater of scheduled or actual, whichever is the more favorable application. However, an automated scheduling adjustment by Winds Aloft (which is a program that calculates projected flying time due to winds at altitude) is not considered “scheduled” for the purposes of calculating eligibility for an MPR.
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The next major implementation milestone is mid-July for the August 2015 schedule at which point the new Open Time process will go into effect.
AFA is also working as quickly as possible with management to finalize the contract in preparation for publication. We have made a lot of progress and are very close to moving to the next steps in the process. The Master Executive Council (MEC) asked AFA International how long it typically takes to publish a contract following ratification and were informed that we’re well within the ballpark: ranging between three months to over a year. We’re doing our absolute best to make it closer to the former than the latter.
In solidarity,
Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt
Your Contract Committee—MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Jake Jones, Christina Frees and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo
