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Vacation Open Time Update – Friday, October 28, 2016

Your Master Executive Council (MEC) and management have been in contact throughout the day regarding the challenges with Vacation Open Time trading. At this time the parties have tentatively agreed to re-open Vacation Open Time trading beginning Wednesday, November 2nd at the same published times for each domicile.

 

If you are planning to trade into or out of the first five days of January, management will still allow those days to be traded for at least 24 hours before restricting the days in order to accommodate PBS bids. Management has also committed to honor any vacation trades made prior to pulling down the system.

 

However, the MEC recognizes those accommodations do not come even close to making up for TFP lost due to wasted schedule adjustments or for restoring open vacation days. MEC officers will meet with management on Monday to address our members’ frustrations and concerns and to finalize the go forward plan.

 

The MEC will provide another update after that meeting.

 

In Solidarity,

 

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

2017 Vacation Rebid

AFA and Alaska Airlines management have agreed to a first-round vacation rebid in order to resolve a valid system-wide vacation bid protest. Why? The new Inflight website allowed Flight Attendants to bid for vacation dates outside of 2017, and the issue was discovered in the awards process.

As reported last night, the good news is that your initial bid will be retained. As a result, you will not need to do anything if you are satisfied with your initial bid. However, you may revise your bid if desired.

New 2017 vacation bidding timeline

The new timeline for the 2017 vacation bids will be as follows:

  • 1st round rebid opens: Friday, September 30, 2016 – by noon PDT
  • 1st round rebid closes: Thursday, October 6, 2016 @ 11:59 PM PDT
  • 1st round awards posted: Tuesday, October 11, 2016
  • 2nd round bidding opens: Wednesday, October 12, 2016 @ 12:01 AM PDT
  • 2nd round bidding closes: Thursday, October 20, 2016 @ 11:59 PM PDT
  • 2nd round awards posted: Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Vacation trading is on schedule

Vacation trading for 2017 opens as originally scheduled on Friday, October 28, 2016, at the previously agreed to times for each domicile.

Instructions for Flight Attendants with illegal vacation bids outside of 2017

Flight Attendants who inadvertently submitted a first-round vacation bid containing days outside the 2017 calendar year are highly encouraged to revise their bid because those bids are illegal. If your initial vacation bid included individual bid lines with start and end dates both outside of 2017 and if you do not adjust your bid prior to the rebid closing, then management will adjust the year of each illegal bid line to 2017 for you.

Again, we strongly suggest that you correct any illegal bid lines yourself to make sure you are bidding for the intended date. Any individual vacation bid lines including 2017 year-end overlap (either January or December) will be removed (i.e. ignored/skipped) prior to the awards process if left unchanged.

Management has agreed to individually contact those affected via email to advise them of the rebid. Management will also contact Flight Attendants who initially submitted a bid completely outside of 2017 at the F/As’ respective primary contact phone number on file with the Company.

* * *

If you have any questions or concerns contact one of your Local Executive Council (LEC) officers.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

***Update*** 2017 Vacation Awards System-Wide Bid Protest

AFA and Alaska Airlines management have been working hard to resolve the technical errors with the first round vacation bids. The parties have agreed to a system-wide rebid. The good news is that your initial bids will be retained, so you will not need to do anything if you are satisfied with your initial bid. However, there will be an opportunity for all Flight Attendants to revise bids if desired. The Master Executive Council (MEC) believes the improved system will have the ability to confirm multiple slots in the same month.

 

We know you may have a number of questions, but be assured that both parties will communicate more information tomorrow.

 

In Solidarity,

 

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

2017 Vacation Awards System-Wide Bid Protest

The 2017 vacation awards are being pulled by mutual agreement of AFA and Alaska Airlines management in order to investigate the accuracy of the awards. AFA is protesting the awards system-wide on behalf of our members. The Master Executive Council (MEC) believes a complete re-award is in order due to a multitude of technical errors. Considering the system did not receive adequate end-user testing, we are not surprised this “beta” (test) version may be malfunctioning. It is unfortunate that Flight Attendants were forced to test drive the system with their actual vacation bids.

 

Stand by for more information.

 

In Solidarity,

 

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Vacation Bidding Issues

Due to the ongoing technical issues with vacation bidding, your Master Executive Council (MEC) has requested a 24-hour extension to the first round vacation bidding window. If you are experiencing issues with inputting your vacation bids, please contact inflight administration for assistance and a manual work around for entering your bid. Please include your LEC President when corresponding with inflight administration about the issues you are facing. First round vacation bidding will now close at midnight on Friday, September 23.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Human Rights & Equity Committee Meeting Recap – 1st Quarter 2026

On Wednesday, March 25, our AFA Human Rights & Equity Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing activism to raise awareness and create positive change within our workplace and community. Your representatives attending the meeting included Louise Borras (LAX-pmAS), Bruni Agosto-Pinal (LAX-pmHA), Aaron Miller (PDX), Nyachan Chuar (ANC), and Yan Yan Teague (SEA). MEC Human […]

Pre-Merger Hawaiian Inflight Service Committee Update – March 2026

Editor’s Note: Our MEC Inflight Service Committee now represents both pre-merger airlines, but management still makes service decisions that affect each group of Flight Attendants differently. This update covers changes for both Hawaiian- and Alaska-branded flying, but is specific to aircraft flown by pre-merger Hawaiian Airlines crews. As the work of the merger progresses, we […]

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 13 – March 2026

Our JNC met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management. The JNC focused on clarifying questions about moving expenses and presented a proposal for Sick Leave, using feedback from Flight Attendants to guide improvements. The Committee is working to incorporate the strongest elements from both contracts to ensure better support for all members.

Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – March 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Tuesday, March 24, 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), […]

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

On Thursday, March 19, our AFA Local Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Bradley Young (SFO), Carin Merritt (LAX pmAS), David Lake (SEA pmAS), Deb Wallstrom (ANC), Eva Gatus […]

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