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Pairing Construction Subcommittee

What Does This Subcommittee Do?
The Pairing Construction Subcommittee works with the company and the Inflight Crew Planning Department to build Flight Attendant pairings.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities
  • Regularly communicate with and provide updates to the MEC Scheduling Chairperson on the activities of the subcommittee
  • Meet on a monthly basis with the company and the Inflight Crew Planning Department to review problems and suggested resolutions regarding construction of Flight Attendant pairings and monthly lines of flying.
  • Maintain a permanent file for all local schedules for the use of the MEC Scheduling Committee.
  • Keep the MEC informed on all activities relating to the pairing construction process. When meetings or communications are due to unusual scheduling activities, a written report will be made.
  • Keep the membership informed of the results of the pairing construction process on a monthly basis throught the MEC Communications Committee Chairperson.
  • Solicit feedback from the membership regarding desired pairings, trip lengths, and types of flying through Local Scheduling Committees and advocate for such during the pairing construction process.
  • Discuss any problems occurring within the pairing construction process with the Local Scheduling Committee Chairpersons on a monthly basis and will provide any suggestions for remedy of problems to the MEC.
Why Would I Contact This Committee?

The Pairing Construction Subcommittee is available to help you with:

  • Questions about how pairings are built
  • Feedback about specific types of pairings

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Who Do I Contact?

For assistance, contact MEC Scheduling Vice Chairperson–Pairing Construction Karen Ferrell at karen.ferrell@afaalaska.org or your Local Scheduling Committee Chairperson.

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Subcommittee News

View the Pairing Construction Subcommittee news archives

Pairing Construction 101

Posted: October 25, 2024

Scheduling Committee Introduction to the Pairing Process Pairing construction is a complex process that occurs every month to create the work schedules, or “pairings,” that Flight Attendants will operate. A team consisting of four individuals—three Company Crew Planners and one AFA Pairing Analyst—work together to build these pairings. Karen Ferrell, our AFA Pairing Analyst and […]

[L-AS] November 2018 PBS Bid Awards

Posted: October 15, 2018

This message is for Legacy Alaska Airlines (L-AS) Flight Attendants Trouble with the November 2018 PBS bid award The Master Executive Council (MEC) was informed on Friday, October 12, 2018, that the wrong one-position (“D”) pairing file was loaded into NAVBLUE PBS.  That file did not contain all the one-position flights—in excess of 1000—requiring staffing […]

Pairing Construction 101

Posted: August 26, 2016

What is involved with pairing construction? Approximately one month prior to the bid month, Network Planning provides a Standard Schedules Information Manual (SIMM), which includes all of the scheduled legs in the system on a daily basis for FA 1-Position, FA Combi and FA 3-Position. Each of the legs are formatted as a single line […]

Introducing AFA Pairing Analyst Karen Ferrell

Posted: January 27, 2016

At the January meeting of the Master Executive Council (MEC) earlier this week, your MEC interviewed candidates for the position of MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson for Pairing Construction, commonly referred to as the AFA Pairing Analyst.  In total, four candidates interviewed for the position (one Anchorage-based flight attendant, two Seattle-based flight attendants and one […]

AFA Alaska MEC Pairing Analyst Interviews

Posted: November 24, 2015

Your Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) would like to take this opportunity to thank Sherrijon Gaspard for stepping up to the plate as MEC Pairing Analyst for the last six months. Regretfully, she recently stepped down from her position due to unforeseen family circumstances. The MEC is now in search of qualified individuals interested in […]

Refreshed Inflight Mobile Device (IMD) Distribution

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants Management has recently informed our Master Executive Council (MEC) that they are distributing new Inflight Mobile Devices (IMDs) to Flight Attendants with devices nearing the end of their lifecycle. The specific schedule for this distribution will be communicated by management separately. Flight Attendants with the oldest devices […]

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), […]

Meet Our Pre-Merger Alaska Committee Chairperson & Representatives

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants We’re excited to introduce the first group of pre-merger Alaska MEC Committee Chairpersons and Representatives for the upcoming MEC Officer term. They’ll begin transitioning into their roles over the next few months and officially start their terms on January 1, 2026. Below, you’ll find brief biographies that […]

Inflight Service Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2025

On Thursday, September 18, our AFA Inflight Service Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing efforts to represent our Flight Attendants and advocate for improvements in our workplace. Although our Inflight Service Committee has now merged, meetings with management continue to focus primarily on the Alaska or Hawaiian brands individually. This particular meeting was centered […]

Vacation Survey Closing Soon

There’s just 1 DAY LEFT to complete the crucial vacation survey that will help shape future provisions—your insights are essential for advocating the best outcomes for all Flight Attendants. The survey is currently open and will remain available until Wednesday, September 24 at 12 PM PT.

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