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Dear
Council AFA-CWA Members,
Following this weekends
performance during the recent winter storm I feel
compelled to write this letter. As I watched news
reports and answered phone calls from members on trips
it became very obvious that there are many problems with
US Airways. While watching news reports concerning
flight delays and cancellations, the Company was placing
all the blame on the winter storm. While the storm did
present a challenge to the operations of the Company it
was not the only reason for the meltdown. In fact it is
insulting to the employees of US Airways and our
passengers to blame it all on a winter storm. We have
recovered from storms far worse and much quicker. It
actually was a "perfect storm" that caused all the
problems. The Company still continues to deal with
hiccups following the switch over to the new reservation
system according to management. Calling the problems a
hiccup is an understatement. Waiting in line 4, 5 and 6
hours to be rebooked is more than a hiccup. When the
kiosks don't work as well, the only way for passengers
to check-in is dealing directly with a customer service
agent, who is in short supply and extremely overworked.
Their work since the move to SHARES is nothing short of
amazing. The short supply of agents to deal with the
volume of passengers affected by this storm is one of
the reasons for the slow recovery.
The combination of kiosks not working, a reservation
system switch, a moderate winter storm in the heart of
our airline and not enough employees to deal with the
workload created this meltdown. Hopefully when this is
all over, management will take a long look at staffing
models and make the needed changes in the respective
departments. Adding insult to injury, as of this writing
US Airways has not even issued a statement apologizing
to our passengers and the employees.
On the plus side I heard first hand stories of DCA crew
members assisting passengers during this difficult time.
One DCA crew assisted a very elderly gentleman stranded
in PHL. This crew helped him locate a hotel room and
transportation to and from the hotel. They also made
sure he was rebooked and he did make it to his final
destination on Saturday. This is just one example of the
front-line employees going above and beyond the call.
Please let your LEC officers know of any problems you
have with scheduling and/or legality violations so that
they can be resolved quickly.
In Solidarity,
Alin Boswell
LEC President, DCA
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA |
