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Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 2nd Quarter 2026

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This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

On Thursday, June 4, representatives from our pre-merger Alaska AFA Reserve Committee met to discuss ongoing work advocating for Reserve Flight Attendants. Representing you at the meeting were Conner Gallager (SEA), Anthony Eskander (PDX), Kanako Yamada (LAX), Adrian Alcantara (SAN), and MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson—New Hire & Probation Meghan Casey (SFO). MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Julie Thornton facilitated the meeting.

The Committee met with the Manager of Inflight Crew Scheduling Goose Hlaingmyint, Managing Director of Inflight Performance & Crew Scheduling Sara Cook, and Director of Inflight Crew Scheduling Terrance Chariandy. 

The Committee is next scheduled to meet on Thursday, September 3.

Topics of Discussion

The Committee reviewed several items during internal AFA-only discussions and meetings with management. Topics discussed included:

  • Formalizing New Hire Onboarding
    • Desire for new hire onboarding improvements while in training. Discussion on ways to improve new hires’ first day, week, and month at base. All Committee Members expressed a desire for a base orientation to improve new hire transitions.Class 2-26 graduated last month and started online in ANC on June 1.
    • At this time, management is stating there are no other classes planned for this year.
  • Addressing Reserve Pay Anomalies
    • Noticing an increase in AM Reserves who are being assigned APSB shifts that end after 12:00 and are not being converted to ER prior to the assignment.Encouraging Reserves to check Rainmaker for any APSB shifts that ended after 12:00, and if the APSB also ended after the daily last flight, Reserves should be paid 3x for the APSB shift. If a Reserve believes pay is missing, reach out to your Local Reserve Committee Chairperson.
    • Procedure to guarantee daily last flight pay: Flight Attendants are encouraged to call and explicitly request a release from APSB after the daily last flight has departed to ensure they are denied, which guarantees 2x pay. If the last flight of the day is delayed, some Flight Attendants may not qualify at the end of the day.
  • Requesting More Flexibility for Reserves
    • Management agreed to review decreasing the ARC minimum and awarding more Personal Drops and Bulletin Board Drops.
  • Evaluating Contractual Interpretation Disagreements
    • Any disputes that are not resolved with Crew Scheduling Supervisors are then escalated to Scheduling Review Board (SRB) or Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) for further discussion.
    • Discussion of recent Reserve issues regarding double out rest, day rooms, and removal of self-assignment prior to report.

What The Committee Is Working On

  1. Developing Additional Tools & Resources for Reserve Flight Attendants: Reserve Survival Guide and Reserve 101 are updated and will be uploaded to the Inflight Website and AFA Website. Working on developing videos for common questions & answers for Reserves. 
  2. Assisting Reserve Flight Attendants with Pay Concerns: Answering questions and providing clarification to Reserve Flight Attendants regarding Reserve Guarantee and premium pay contractual provisions.
  3. Addressing Reserve Contractual Concerns: Researching and investigating reports from Reserve Flight Attendants and actively ensuring that management complies with our contract. Reminder to Flight Attendants about the AFA Alaska Online Support Center to report issues, raise concerns, or ask questions.

We Want to Hear From You!

Do you have feedback for the Committee, concerns to share, or items you’d like brought up with management? Please let us know. Your Local Reserve Committee is your voice to management. Open a support ticket on the AFA Alaska Online Support Center or contact us directly using the information on the Reserve Committee page of the AFA Alaska + Hawaiian website.

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 15 – June 2026

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This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants

  • Our JNC met with management this week on June 2 to June 4 in Seattle; our next negotiation session is scheduled for June 30 to July 3
  • A Tentative Agreement has been reached for Section 37 (Temporary Duty Assignments)
  • Our JNC made progress on vacation and staffing provisions, having discussions with both Alaska and Hawaiian stakeholders

Negotiations Update

Our AFA Alaska + Hawaiian Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management. The JNC met with management from June 2 to June 4 in Seattle, WA. At the negotiating table for this session were:

Representing AFA and our Flight Attendants  Representing Management
Tim Green, Joint Negotiating Committee ChairpersonAllen Thieman, Vice President of Inflight, Alaska
Martin Gusman, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberJoe Wonderly, Vice President, Labor Relations, Alaska
Jeffrey Fuke, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberCarmen Williams, Managing Director, Labor Relations, Alaska
Virginia Fritz, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberBrittany Audette, Managing Director, Operations Staffing and Resource Management, Alaska
Heather Reier, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberKalani Sloat, Senior Director, Labor Relations, Hawaiian
Paula Mastrangelo, AFA Senior Staff NegotiatorMike Link, Labor Relations Program Manager, Alaska
 Karen Themelis, Senior Labor Relations Business Partner, Alaska

Prior to this week’s session, the JNC held a small group meeting with Alaska and Hawaiian crew-planning stakeholders to explore vacation and staffing options in preparation for our joint session.  This week, the JNC continued the conversation with management to review the Alaska and Hawaiian vacation systems. We discussed how the Alaska vacation provisions are currently applied and how the different Hawaiian vacation provisions are used. Brittany Audette, Managing Director of Operations Staffing and Resource Management, joined us for this discussion.

The JNC also continued to work through Section 14 (Vacations). Recognizing that Hawaiian Flight Attendants currently have more flexibility with their vacation benefits, we are exploring ways to incorporate those benefits into the JCBA for the combined workgroup.

The JNC reached a tentative agreement on the new Section 37 (Temporary Duty Assignment). This new section primarily incorporated language from the Hawaiian CBA and added protections from other airlines’ Flight Attendant contracts. TDY (Temporary Duty Assignment) allows the company to establish a temporary base at a non-domicile location or to supplement staffing at an existing base temporarily. This section ensures Flight Attendants financial protection, including around-the-clock per diem, hotel stays for the duration of the TDY period, space-positive travel, and improved expense reimbursement. The goal is to ensure assignments are fair and Flight Attendants are supported, while also meeting operational and staffing needs.

We exchanged proposals for Section 35 (Flight Attendant Jumpseat and Pass Privileges) and Letter of Agreement 9 (Flight Attendant Jumpseat Occupancy). We are working to codify our travel benefits, including priority access to Flight Attendant jumpseats.

We also continued to exchange proposals on Section 16 (Sick Leave), but there are still significant differences between the two parties.

Section by Section Progress

The Alaska CBA is being used as the basis of the joint contract for language purposes. Each section and provision from both contracts will be reviewed individually to incorporate and amend the strongest elements from each agreement.

Sections discussed in this session:

  • Vacations (AS CBA Section 14 and HA CBA Section 18)
  • Sick Leave (AS CBA Section 16 and HA CBA Section 19)
  • Flight Attendant Jumpseat and Pass Privileges (AS CBA Section 35 and HA CBA Section 30)
  • 🆕 Temporary Duty Assignments (AS CBA does not address these provisions and HA CBA Section 15)

Sections in ongoing discussion:

  • Leaves of Absence (AS CBA Section 15 and HA CBA Section 17)
  • General and Miscellaneous (AS CBA Section 24 and HA CBA Section 27)
  • Domiciles (AS CBA Section 28 and HA CBA Section 5, 14, and 27)
  • Training (AS CBA Section 30 and HA CBA Section 26)
  • Commuter Policy (AS CBA Section 36 and HA CBA Section 34-28)

Sections listed below are on hold until discussions regarding future sections, which affect specific provisions, take place.

  • Seniority (AS CBA Section 6 and HA CBA Section 9)
  • Grievance Procedures (AS CBA Section 19 and HA CBA Section 23)
  • Charters (AS CBA Section 33 and HA CBA Section 12)

Crew Meal Survey

Thank you to everyone who took part in the Crew Meal Survey. We received 3,323 completed surveys from Flight Attendants, along with 509 partial responses. The JNC will review all feedback, including the partial surveys, as we evaluate the results. Your input helps us keep advocating for you.

What’s Upcoming

Our next session with management is scheduled for June 30 to July 3.

To get things started, the JNC met with our MEC Reserve Chairpersons to talk about current reserve rules and possible improvements for our combined workgroup. We are finalizing a Reserve survey that will go out to the Membership later this month. Thank you to pre-merger Alaska MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson, Julie Thornton and pre-merger Hawaiian MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson, Kela Chong for sharing their expertise.

Crew Meal Survey Closing Soon

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants

  • Crew Meal Survey now open, survey will close on Tuesday, May 26 at Noon PT

Our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) is committed to prioritizing your nutrition during the work day through our crew meal provisions. We are eager to hear your thoughts on which elements of crew meals are most meaningful to you, as we continue to advocate for your needs.

The survey is currently open and will close on Tuesday, May 26 at Noon PT. We strongly encourage you to take part in this brief survey, as your input is invaluable in helping us create a supportive environment for all.

If you have any questions regarding the survey feel free to contact the JNC at jnc@afaalaska.org.

Boeing 787 Seattle International Service Observation Period Update – May 2026

05/16/2026: This post has been corrected to reflect the correct crew-to-load of 85% that was negotiated with the opening of the SEA base. The previous version incorrectly listed it at 80%. The service comparison document linked below has also been updated to reflect the correct number.

This message is for pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants

Over the past few weeks, Alaska-branded 787 International Service launched with flights on April 25 (SEA-ICN), April 28 (SEA-FCO), and, coming soon, May 21 (SEA-LHR). As many of you know, the Seattle international service has not yet been formally agreed upon. Per the Hawaiian Contract [Section 29.I.4.], AFA agreement is required for any service implemented on the 787-9. AFA negotiated a 30-day observation period, using SEA-FCO as the basis. At the end of this period, we expect to present a final proposal for the Seattle international service. Our next steps will depend on management’s willingness to collaborate.

Service Feedback

Our Inflight Service Committee is continually monitoring your feedback. Thank you to everyone who has submitted input through Block2Block (B2B), filed Intelex reports, or emailed us directly. The insights you share are invaluable and play a key role in our conversations with management.

Use B2B to document catering and service feedback using the Catering & Service Feedback Tab under your respective flight in B2B.

Please note: this feature is only available for 24 hours after your flight concludes. We are actively working with management to extend this window. While the submission text box has a character limit, you can submit multiple reports for the same flight if needed. Simply split your feedback across several entries.

Service Communications

Because this is an evolving service, management is regularly updating available resources.

The latest update, effective May 13, can be found in the Content App: All Files > In-Flight > 5. Onboard Service > 0. Latest Updates > 26-045 787 Alaska-Branded Service Updates #2.

Train Service vs Zone Service

Why are we doing a train service in the main cabin for 787 Seattle international?

There really is no short answer to this question. In September of 2025, when SEA-ICN first launched on the 787 with the Hawaiian Brand, the train service was introduced. Numerous test flights were operated by the Hawaiian Service Team and Inflight Service Committee. As the service flow began to develop, staffing proved to be the biggest challenge. With the Business Class cabin suites now requiring four Flight Attendants, the main cabin was left with five to six Flight Attendants, depending on crew-to-load at 90% (with the opening of the SEA base, AFA negotiated this crew-to-load to 85%). Variable staffing in the main cabin led to many catering and loading complexities, an uneven workload, and inconsistent flow with zone service. Moving to the train service helped alleviate concerns about streamlining service flow, evenly distributing the Flight Attendant workload, and simplifying catering. 

Development of the Alaska-branded 787 International Service was based on the Hawaiian-branded 787 SEA-ICN model. The Hawaiian Service Team and Inflight Service Committee conducted Business Class-focused test flights, with the understanding that no additional elements would be added to the Main Cabin. However, after the test period, management introduced several new products and services in the Main Cabin—such as premium-class offerings, status recognition, expanded beverage options, alcohol for purchase, and both ice cream and warm cookies—without the opportunity for further testing. These last-minute additions reinforced AFA’s decision not to endorse the Alaska-branded Seattle international service at this time, resulting in the current 30-day observation period.

Our Inflight Service Committee remains committed to advocating for a service model that matches current staffing levels. Discussions about increasing 787 staffing prior to the JCBA have reached an impasse. Our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) fully understands the challenges associated with our current staffing and will continue to address these concerns with management during negotiations. Meanwhile, the Committee will maintain its focus on ensuring a fair and workable service for everyone.

787 International Main Cabin Service Survey

We’d like to gather your preferences on Main Cabin service delivery. Information will be used to guide the Committee to best advocate for our Flight Attendants. 

To help provide additional context, we’ve created an example comparing train and zone service scenarios. This is not an official service proposal or service resource. This example is intended to provide you with the potential pros and cons of each delivery style.

Click here to see the AFA service comparison ➔

Click here to take the survey ➔

The survey will be available until Thursday, May 28, at 8 PM PT.

Crew Meal Survey Now Open

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants

  • Crew Meal Survey now open, survey will close on Tuesday, May 26 at Noon PT

Your Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) recognizes that nutrition plays a vital role in supporting the well-being and performance of Flight Attendants during the workday. Crew meals can be a component of proper nutrition.

The JNC is committed to ensuring that Flight Attendants receive appropriate meals, especially on longer international routes. The JNC is entrusted with advocating for your interests.  To do that effectively, your input is essential.

Please make your voice heard! We invite you to participate in our Crew Meal Survey. The survey is currently open and will close on Tuesday, May 26 at Noon PT. Take a moment to click the survey link and share your thoughts, so the JNC can accurately understand how you feel crew meals could factor into your nutrition plan and better represent your interests.

To Access the Survey

  • For pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants, enter your PeopleSoft Number
  • For pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants, enter your Employee Number (without leading zeros)

Some important notes:

  • Once the survey is submitted, your responses cannot be edited. Please ensure your selections are final before hitting ‘Submit’.

We encourage you to take the time to participate; an informed and engaged membership is our strongest asset during these negotiations. Thank you for your continued commitment to our collective success. If you have any questions about the survey, please reach out to the JNC at jnc@afaalaska.org.

Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 2nd Quarter 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Thursday, June 4, representatives from our pre-merger Alaska AFA Reserve Committee met to discuss ongoing work advocating for Reserve Flight Attendants. Representing you at the meeting were Conner Gallager (SEA), Anthony Eskander (PDX), Kanako Yamada (LAX), Adrian Alcantara (SAN), and MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson—New Hire […]

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 15 – June 2026

The JNC has been actively negotiating key sections of the contract, focusing on vacation, sick leave, and temporary duty assignments. A tentative agreement was reached on Section 37 (Temporary Duty Assignments), ensuring financial protections and fair treatment for Flight Attendants during temporary assignments. These ongoing discussions demonstrate a commitment to integrating the best benefits from both Alaska and Hawaiian CBAs for all members.

Celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month

Every June, we come together to honor LGBTQ Pride Month in the United States—a time to celebrate the remarkable resilience, diversity, and achievements of the LGBTQ community. Pride Month began as a tribute to the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan in 1969, a pivotal moment that ignited the modern LGBTQ rights movement. The inaugural Pride March, […]

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee Meeting Recap – May 2026

On Wednesday, May 20, our Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) representatives met virtually to discuss ongoing safety concerns, operational challenges, policy updates, and workplace improvements impacting Flight Attendants across the operation. Representing you at the meeting were Deb Wallstrom (ANC), David Lake (SEA), Kalin Lackey (PDX), Bradley Young (SFO), Bryce Sarmiento (LAX pmAS), […]

Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – May 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Tuesday, May 26, 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), […]

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