AFA Alaska + Hawaiian

Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

Click here to report an issue to AFA
You are here: Home / Archives for PBS

Why Do PBS Awards Take So Long?

Written by Virginia Fritz, MEC Scheduling Vice Chairperson—PBS

We often hear: “Don’t they just have to click a button?”

Well, yes, they click the button. But there is a lot of happening after that.

When bids close at 9am PT on the 10th, Crew Planning pulls the most up-to-date information from Crew Access so NAVBLUE is working with the information needed to process the following month and build legal schedules. Once that’s complete, that’s when the AFA Joint PBS Committee gets to work and start processing our bid awards.

Pairing lines are processed first, in Seniority Order

NAVBLUE reads each Flight Attendant’s bid and works through the preferences that were actually submitted. As it processes an award, it is:

  • Reading and evaluating the Flight Attendant’s bid and preferences.
  • Looking at available pairings that fit those preferences and their legalities
  • Looking at coverage needs and determining how much coverage is truly needed so flying isn’t unnecessarily left for coverage when it could be awarded through the seniority-based process.
  • Using denial mode when a bid cannot be fully awarded, going back through the bid to determine what can be awarded.
  • Using trip substitution to find another pairing within the Flight Attendant’s bid preferences when possible.
  • Working through different combinations to find the best possible solution.
  • Using SLG (Secondary Line Generation) if needed to complete a legal line if one cannot complete after all iterations have been exhausted.

The program is given millions of iterations (attempts) to work through different possibilities. It can try many combinations of pairings and preferences rather than simply taking the first solution it finds.

Why does one run take so long?

The size of the base makes a big difference. At a base of around 500 Flight Attendants, a pairing run might take approximately 3 to 10 minutes. At a base of around 2,700 Flight Attendants, a run can take approximately 2 to 12 hours.

And one run does not necessarily produce a legal or acceptable result. The line average may not be within the required range, or the minimum and maximum line values may not fall within the contractual windows. When that happens, our Joint AFA PBS Committee adjusts parameters and launches a new run.

For the October Bid Month, the first SEA PBS run took 11 hours and 5 minutes and produced only 436 of the 510 reserves needed for the operation. Even if the company wanted 74 fewer reserves, the run still wasn’t legal. The ALV was 77.4 TFP, with windows of 70 TFP Minimum, 80 TFP Threshold, and 90 TFP Maximum. Based on the ALV, the legal maximum was 87.4 TFP making the 90 TFP Maximum 2.6 TFP too high.

Then reserve awards are processed

Once an acceptable solution is determined for line holders pairings, reserve awards are processed. Reserve processing can also require multiple runs to find an acceptable and legal solution.

October was particularly challenging because of Junior Vacation and Junior Recurrent already pre-planned on the schedule, leaving the program less flexibility to work around those activities while finding legal line solutions while it already had less pairings to potentially award.

The number of runs and the amount of time each run takes don’t necessarily go together. The summer months generally had shorter run times, even though some months required more runs.

Bidding Timeline

Bid packets and bidding timelines is covered in §10.J of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. After bids close at 9am PT of the 10th of the month prior to the bid period, bid awards are required to be available to all Flight Attendants by 9am PT of the 13th of the month prior to the bid month, per §10.J.8.

We understand the importance of getting Flight Attendants their schedules and our AFA Joint PBS committee works very hard to make them available as soon as possible. For the bid months of 2026, bid awards have consistently been published well ahead of the deadline averaging 1 day, 18 hours and 37 minutes early. The earliest bid awards were published in 2026 was for the February 2026 bid month which was published on Sunday, January 11 at 10:30am – 1 day, 22 hours and 30 minutes ahead of the contractual deadline. The latest 2026 published to date was for June 2026 bid month which was published on Monday, May 11 around 5:40 pm – 1 day, 15 hours and 20 minutes earlier than the contractual deadline.

AFA vs. Management Goals

The company’s operational goals include estimated reserve needs, open time, and coverage of dates where flying is needed. From AFA’s perspective, we are looking at staying within contractual parameters, reducing coverage, reducing SLG, and maintaining the best possible options for Flight Attendants within the available flying.

So when we are waiting for PBS awards, there isn’t necessarily one calculation running once and then the awards are ready. There can be many runs, with the program working through different possibilities each time.

So, do they just click a button? Yes, that is one of the steps in the process.

Then NAVBLUE starts working through millions of possible combinations: reading bids, checking legality and coverage, using denial mode when needed, looking for trip substitutions within the Flight Attendant’s preferences, and working through different combinations.

And sometimes it has to do that more than once, many more times.

Delayed Publication of May 2022 Bid Awards

Master Executive Council (MEC)

Like all of you, the MEC is extremely frustrated by management’s unacceptable violation of Section 10.J.8 of our collective bargaining agreement through their failure to post May 2022 bid awards on time. We will file a contractual grievance on behalf of all Flight Attendants for this violation, so please note there is no need to file a ticket through the AFA Alaska Support Center. We hear you loud and clear: You want transparency and accountability from management, and you expect AFA leadership to do everything in our power to make that happen on your behalf.

Management has already acknowledged “administrative error,” but this does not go far enough. Consequently, we have communicated your expectations that management transparently communicates additional details and management’s actions in response, including how responsible parties will be held accountable and what is being done to prevent a recurrence. The MEC has also requested Labor Relations to engage with us at the earliest possible opportunity regarding an appropriate and mutually acceptable remedy for the contractual violation.

What is a potential remedy? There is no identifiable loss of pay because of the contract violation, so there is no contractual basis to seek compensation or any other alternative remedy via arbitration. The best outcome we could achieve via a favorable arbitration ruling would be for management to cease and desist (i.e., not violate the contract provision going forward). However, management has already agreed there was a contract violation and signaled to AFA there is no intent for future violations.

Although management is neither obligated to pay anything for the inconvenience, nor would an arbitrator compel management to do so, nothing prevents the parties from mutually agreeing to compensation or some other compensatory-like remedy. AFA has expressed our desire to management to settle this dispute by negotiating such a remedy, so it’s their move next.

AFA Alaska Update – September 17, 2021

In This Edition

  • Celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month
  • PBS Subcommittee Appointment
  • Why a $5 Starbucks Card is Important to Your Contractual Rights

Celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month

Human Rights Committee

September 15 marks the first day of Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month in the United States.  The celebration, which is also referred to as National Hispanic Heritage Month, began as Hispanic Heritage week when it was established by legislation that was signed into law by President Lydon Johnson in 1968.  In 1988, the single week event was expanded to a month-long period to be celebrated each year from September 15 to October 15.

September 15 is of significance as it marks the anniversary of independence of the Latin American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.  Mexico also celebrates independence on September 16, Chile on September 18, and Belize on September 21. 

Learn More About Hispanic-Latinx History

You can learn more about the accomplishments of Hispanic-Latinx Americans through some of the dedicated websites and resources below.

Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month AFA Pins Coming in 2022

The AFA Executive Board recently passed a resolution recognizing Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month and providing for the creation of a new diversity AFA pin in celebration.  You can read the complete text of the resolution by clicking here.  The new pin will be undergo the design and development process over the next year and will be made available in September 2022.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact your Local Human Rights Committee.

PBS Subcommittee Appointment

Master Executive Council (MEC)

Our Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews this week for an additional PBS Subcommittee Member as previously announced in the August 6 AFA Update email.  The MEC would like to thank the candidates who demonstrated willingness to represent our Flight Attendants. After thorough consideration, the MEC has appointed SAN-based Flight Attendant Steven Patronsky to the position.

About Steve

Representing the membership and upholding contract compliance are the aspects of the work that most excites Steve about being appointed to the PBS Subcommittee. His volunteering history for AFA includes work on the Scheduling and Hotel Committees.  Steve’s recent accomplishments include completing a Master’s Program at the University of Central Florida and remodeling a 50’s era Mid-Century home in Orlando. 

About the Position

The PBS Subcommittee, part of the Scheduling Committee, works with the company and the Inflight Crew Planning Department to maintain the company’s preferential bidding system and oversee the bidding and bid award processes.  The Subcommittee represents and advocates for the MEC position in matters pertaining to bidding and the preferential bidding system.  Additional information about the position and subcommittee can be found by clicking here.

Why a $5 Starbucks Card is Important to Your Contractual Rights

Grievance Committee

In early 2020, our Grievance Committee included information in an AFA Update about a settlement agreement related to management issuing $5 Starbucks cards to ANC-based Flight Attendants for meeting an attendance goal back in 2015.  You can read the original communication from March 25, 2020 by clicking here (scroll to the Grievance Committee Update article, then the Recent Settled Grievances heading).  Due to the pandemic and other administrative issues, management is just now distributing the Starbucks card as agreed upon.

So Why Is This Important?

The issue at hand isn’t so much about the amount of the Starbucks card but rather what management did wrong.  The priority of our Grievance Committee is to ensure that management complies with our collective bargaining agreement (CBA).  In this case, management violated the CBA by awarding gift cards to a particular group of Flight Attendants for having better attendance rates than others without negotiating it with AFA.  Gift cards, which have a dollar value, are considered a form of compensation which is a negotiated part of our CBA.

If our Grievance Committee had failed to address this contractual violation, regardless of how small it may seem, it could open the door to management making other attempts to change our compensation or working conditions in violation of the CBA.  This settlement agreement protects your rights and makes all Flight Attendants equal in terms of the CBA.  Although it may only be $5 to each Flight Attendant, the overall cost to management for the settlement agreement is significant and a reminder not to violate the language in our contract.

Questions?

If you have questions about the settlement agreement or reasoning behind it, please feel free to reach out to your Local Grievance Committee.

AFA Alaska Update – August 6, 2021

In This Edition

  • PBS Subcommittee Member Interviews
  • Let’s Talk About Eating Disorders

PBS Subcommittee Member Interviews

Master Executive Council (MEC)

Background

The PBS Subcommittee, part of the MEC Scheduling Committee, works with the company and the Inflight Crew Planning Department to maintain the company’s preferential bidding system (PBS) and oversee the bidding and bid award processes.  The Subcommittee represents and advocates for the MEC position in matters pertaining to bidding and the preferential bidding system.

The PBS Subcommittee is currently made up of the MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—PBS and two PBS Subcommittee Members.  The MEC is seeking to fill a third PBS Subcommittee Member position at this time. 

Qualifications

  • Robust working knowledge of hours of service, scheduling, and reserve provisions of the Flight Attendant collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
  • Knowledge of CFRs and other regulations pertaining to flight time, duty time, and crew rest guidelines.
  • Ability to work remotely and attend virtual meetings as required.
  • Strong computer skills. Excellent working knowledge of NAVBLUE PBS, Crew Access, Google email, and Microsoft Office.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to write membership communications, respond professionally to internal and external e-mail, analyze data, and prepare reports.
  • Ability to meet deadlines, take ownership of issues, and follow up on assigned tasks.

Duties

  • Regularly communicate with and provide updates to the MEC Scheduling Chairperson on the activities of the subcommittee
  • In advance of the bidding period each month, communicate with the MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction to understand changes in pairings for upcoming months and how Flight Attendant bids might be affected
  • Keep members knowledgeable about changes to the preferential bidding system, common mistakes and errors, misunderstandings about the system, and other topics of interest through the MEC Communications Chairperson
  • Provide assistance to Flight Attendants through base sits, one-on-one training sessions, and telephone support during the monthly bidding window and as requested by the MEC or LECs
  • Communicate with the MEC Reserve Chairperson to understand the needs and challenges of Flight Attendants holding reserve schedules and provide bid assistance

Time Commitment and Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement

  • This position is eligible for Company Business (CB) Flight Pay Loss (FPL), paid in accordance with section 27.P.1.e of the Flight Attendant CBA.  Time worked is logged on a monthly basis and paid at a rate of 0.75 TFP per hour with a 5% override at “A” pay.
  • Time commitment is approximately 30 to 40 hours per month.  Most of the workload is weighted heavily toward the first half of the calendar month during the bidding and bid awards processes.  These amounts can fluctuate.
  • Most work for this position can be performed remotely.

Term of Appointment

This position will serve for the remaining portion of the current MEC term of office, currently scheduled to end on December 31, 2022.

Working Relationships

With The Scheduling Committee

Occasional interaction with the Local Scheduling Committee Chairpersons and Local Scheduling Committee Members.

With The Master Executive Council

This position reports to the Master Executive Council through the MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—PBS and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson.

With Alaska Airlines Management

Constant interaction with inflight management, particularly the Crew Planning Analysts (John Bumanglag and Kelly Yeager) and Manager of Crew Planning (Mac Patterson).

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

The MEC will hold interviews during the September MEC meeting on Tuesday, September 14, 2021.  Bid around the interview date or plan to arrange your schedule accordingly to accommodate.  All interviews will be conducted by Google Meet videoconferencing.

Interested candidates should submit an expression of interest and resume online at https://forms.gle/syy62DpL96ESQazQA.  The deadline for submissions is 5 PM Pacific time on Tuesday, September 7.  After that time, qualified candidates will be contacted to schedule a specific interview time.

Please note that to submit an expression of interest, you must have a Google account.  If you do not have a Google account, you can create one for free at https://accounts.google.com/signup.

Questions?

Please direct any questions about the position to MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—PBS Adam Clarey at adam.clarey@afaalaska.org.

Let’s Talk About Eating Disorders

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee

The way we talk about eating disorders matters. Here are some facts you can use to help shape a conversation around eating disorders with family members and friends. If you or a loved one is struggling with an eating disorder, remember that your AFA EAP is a confidential resource for support, referrals and access to treatment.

Eating disorders are medical illnesses.

Genetic and environmental factors can influence eating disorders. An eating disorder is not a trend or a choice.

Eating disorders are serious and can be fatal.

Eating disorders often involve serious medical complications that can cause permanent damage or death. People with eating disorders also have an increased risk of dying by suicide.

Eating disorders can affect anyone.

Eating disorders do not discriminate. They affect people of all ages, races and ethnicities, and genders.

You can’t tell if someone has an eating disorder by looking at them.

People with eating disorders can be underweight, normal weight, or overweight.

Family members can be a patient’s best ally in treatment.

Eating disorders are caused by a combination of genetic, biological, behavioral, psychological, and social factors. Family members do not cause eating disorders and can be great sources of support.

It is possible to recover from an eating disorder.

Complete recovery is possible with treatment and time.

Have Questions or Need Help?

Your Local EAP Committee contact information is available at afaalaska.org/eap or you can call (949) 470-0493.

Council 35 News June 2021

Important Dates 

  • June 30: Q2 CBT Due

COVID-19 Points Forgiveness

The Section 32 Attendance Policy Points Related to COVID-19 MOU provides Flight Attendants an opportunity for points adjustment for the following COVID-19 related activities:

  • Non-work related exposure
  • Vaccine appointments
  • Side effects of the vaccine

Management has agreed to review all points related to COVID-19 with documentation. Details of the MOU can be found on our website.  Your council 35 officers encourage members to submit the form for any absences related to COVID-19.  To request a points review, visit:

Alaskasworld>>Inflight >>Administration>>Performance>>COVID-19 Absence Reporting Form

It is recommended that F/As save all receipts and appointment confirmations.  F/As may be required to send evidence to the performance supervisor for conversion.  This process is manual, so allow some time for the adjustment to show on the attendance record.  

Call to Action: New California COVID-19 Law

The state of California has recently enacted a law to protect employees from COVID -19 activities.  The basics of the law provides.

  • Protection from penalties (points)
  • Requires employers to offer a special COVID-19 sick leave bank (including employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement)
  • Requires employers to notify employees of the new CA provisions.  

So far Alaska has taken a position that F/As are not eligible for these CA benefits, however AFA does not agree with Alaska. Your Council 35 officers encourage all CA-based Flight Attendants to file a wage claim with the state and/or file a labor law violation.  For more information, please see the AFA June 2, 2021 communication.

PBS WebApp Training

The next training sessions on Microsoft Teams are Tuesday June 8, 1pm-2pm Pacific and Wednesday, June 9, 10am-11am Pacific. Links will only be live during the training period.  If you miss these training dates, there will be more dates in July.  This is the same technology used for the all-employee webcasts. If you have any issues installing Microsoft Teams or viewing the training sessions, please contact the ITS Service Desk at 1-877-238-1077 or email ITS.Service.Desk@alaskaair.com.

Welcome New Council 35 Committee Members

Benefits Committee Chair:  Julie Pearson

Julie began her Flight Attendant career with Virgin America in April 2010, upgrading to the Inflight Team Leader position in early 2011. In October 2018, Julie joined the Council 35 Crew Systems Integration team where she took on the task of helping her teammates during the Alaska systems integration, conducting base sits and helping train flight attendants in the NavBlue PBS and Crew Access systems, as well as answering questions regarding the JCBA. Prior to becoming a flight attendant Julie received her BA in Communications from Saint Mary’s College of California. After college she moved to London, where she stayed for 5 years and worked in content licensing. In her free time you’ll find her exploring San Francisco and hiking the Bay Area with her husband and 5 year old son.

Inflight Service Committee:  Matt Voges

Coming from a long time airline family, Matt realized his passion for travel very early in life, but only fully recognized his love for the Aviation Industry in 2008 when he was hired at Virgin America.  After earning his wings, he realized he had more to offer by lending his restaurant and event catering experience with the on-board service team and moved in to a role from Inflight Team Leader to Service Coach and later Air Transportation Supervisor.  With these roles, he worked closely with the LSG kitchen and on-board Service Manager to help develop and teach the onboard experience to new hires.  He hopes to continue this path in moving forward with the AFA to help provide a better and more seamless on-board experience for both Flight Attendants and Guests.  Matt currently resides in San Francisco and spends his spare time traveling the world experiencing new cultures, food and languages.  He is also active in playing softball, learning to race cars and everything to do with cooking (including eating).  

June Pride Month

Help celebrate June Pride with an AFA pride pin or an AFA Pride luggage tag. A limited supply is available now at the supervisor’s office in the SFO Village.

Free COVID-19 Vaccinations in SFO

SFO is offering 2 free vaccination programs for the public, including arriving and departing passengers, on domestic and international flights. More information about the programs can be found here.  The J&J single-dose vaccine for people aged 18 and older is available on a walk-up, first-come, first-served basis.

Location: SFO Medical Clinic, International Terminal Departures Hall, A-Side
Days/Times:  Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm

In partnership with Safeway Pharmacy during the month of June, the J&J vaccine, for people aged 18 and older and Pfizer, for people ages 12 and older will be available.

Location: International Terminal, Level 3, Departures Hall, between Aisles 6 & 7 (at the back of the building)
Days/Times:

Tuesday, June 8, 10:00am – 6:00pm

Walk-ups are available however an appointment is recommended.

In solidarity,

Melissa, James and Brad

Melissa Osborne, LEC President •  Melissa.osborne@afaalaska.org • 415-275-1322
James Ikehara, LEC Secretary •  James.ikehara@afaalaska.org  • 415-289-9011
Bradley Young, Council Representative • Bradley.young@afaalaska.org • 916-508-3503

Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – October 2026

On Monday, October 12, our AFA Hotel Committee Chairpersons met remotely to receive an update on current layover hotels and transportation providers and discuss concerns with management. Representing you at the meeting were Dori Marron (ANC), Jarod McNeill (pmAS SEA), Kelly Hepworth (PDX), Hilary Streem (SFO), Brian Sherill (pmAS LAX), Kanani Vallot (SAN), and Matt […]

Reserve Survey Closing Soon

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants The Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) is working to secure the best reserve provisions for our Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA). We want to hear from you about which parts of the reserve experience matter most, so we can better meet your needs. The survey […]

Join The Picket Line: Support Horizon Flight Attendants this Wednesday, October 14

This Wednesday, October 14, Horizon Air Flight Attendants will take to the picket line to demand the fair contract they rightfully deserve. During our own contract fight, Horizon Flight Attendants never hesitated. They showed up for us on our picket lines, stood shoulder to shoulder with us at every rally, and proved what true solidarity […]

Reserve Survey Now Open

Our JNC encourages all members to participate in the Reserve survey, regardless of your current Reserve status. Whether you are on Reserve now, pick up Reserve days occasionally, or have not been on Reserve recently, your input is valuable. The survey will be open until Tuesday, October 20 at Noon PT.

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), […]

Recent Posts

News By Month

News By Category

AFA News Now Air Quality Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) AS/HA Merger AS/VX Merger Benefits Committee Committees Communications Committee Contract Contract 2014 Negotiations Blog Council 15 SAN Council 18 LAX (pmAS) Council 19 SEA (pmAS) Council 30 ANC Council 35 SFO Council 39 PDX Council 43 HNL Council 47 LAX/SEA (pmHA) EAP/Professional Standards Committee Extension 2021 Blog Featured Government Affairs Committee Grievance Committee Hotel Committee Human Rights & Equity Committee Industry News Inflight Service Committee Inflight Training Committee JNC Blog Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) Latest News Local Councils Master Executive Council (MEC) Membership Engagement Committee Message from the MEC President Mobilization Committee Negotiations Pairing Construction Preferential Bidding System (PBS) Press Releases Reserve Committee Retirement Committee Scheduling Committee Uniform Committee

Want To Stay In The Loop?

Stay up-to-date on AFA Alaska + Hawaiian news and information by signing up for our email and text message updates. Click a button below to get started or update your preferences if you're already a subscriber.
Sign Up for Emails
Sign Up for Text Updates