Dear Flight Attendants,
In preparation for this week’s mediation session, the Negotiating Committee has updated the Flight Attendant Payscale Industry Comparison with the latest information.
ALA FA Payscale Industry Comps 2013-09-18
Keep in mind that all carriers except Southwest Airlines are paid in block-hours rather than in Trips for Pay (TFP). In order to fairly compare them the block-hour pay rates have all been converted to TFP equivalent by dividing by the conversion factor 1.13 TFP per block-hour (1.13 TFP/block-hour). The rates must be converted because on the average, a Flight Attendant flies approximately 1.13 TFP in every block-hour. Conversely, you can convert pay in TFP to pay in block-hours by multiplying by 1.13. If you are looking at another carrier’s published pay rates in block-hours and see a discrepancy with this chart, it is because the pay rates have been converted.
Why is TFP different than a block-hour? That is because TFP is based on point-to-point mileage whereas a block-hour is based on time from aircraft block-out to block-in. Did you also know that your TFP pay is “front loaded” for each segment? If you look in Section 21.C-D you will see that you are paid 1 TFP for the first 243 miles and then 1 TFP for every 400 miles after that, with no less than 1 TFP for every segment.
We often hear Flight Attendants say that we are not compensated for boarding, which is not strictly true. This is why the first TFP in a segment is “front loaded” at 243 miles vs. 400 miles. We thought you might find it interesting to know exactly how much you are paid for boarding at every step rate.
Now, we’re not trying to say that the front loading of TFP on each segment is sufficient compensation for boarding. That is why your Negotiating Committee is pushing hard to achieve a duty rigs as well as other rigs. The duty rig in particular will ensure you are paid appropriately for your time on duty—such as for boarding, sits, delays, etc. A duty rig will also cause the pairing optimizer to do its best to minimize sit times. Other rigs such as a trip rig and an average daily guarantee will ensure that we are paid appropriately for long layovers and eliminate 3-day trips worth 8 TFP. Very, very important!
Your Negotiating Committee is committed to achieving rigs in order to ensure we are adequately compensated for our time on duty, to improve pairing value across the board and to minimize sit time. Obviously, we are also focused on attaining a significantly improved compensation and benefits package for all!
In solidarity,
Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Tracy, Karina Cameron-Fetters, Jake Jones and AFA Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo
“Five Bases, One Voice”
