Contents:

• Dozens of women claim they were groped by airport security screeners
• Effect of Pilot Bid 02-01 May & Jun 02 on Flight Attendant Positions
• AFA CREW ACCOMMODATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT

      General Updates
      Procedural Updates
      Recent Site Inspections
      OF310 Forms
      Crew Accommodations Committee Members Needed!
• Airport Security Revamp In the Works in Boston

      Roving Pattern-Recognition Teams Proposed
• Portable bag screeners being considered
• From the Chairman and CEO:

      To All Employees...Please Post...Special Bulletin

PHOENIX (February 8, 2002 6:17 a.m. EST) - The Federal Aviation Administration and state officials have received dozens of complaints from female travelers who claim male airport security screeners groped them under the guise of random body searches.

The FAA received complaints from 18 women who said they were traveling alone when they were singled out for pat-down searches, then groped or fondled by male agents, spokesman Jerry Snyder said.

The complaints were made from Oct.  11 through Jan.  31.  Security procedures at airports have been heightened since Sept.  11.

Current policy allows women passengers to request female screeners, but no federal law requires airlines to provide an employee of the same sex to conduct searches.

The complaints are being forwarded to the airlines, which are responsible for any disciplinary decisions, Snyder said.  He did not identify the airlines involved in the complaints, nor give further detail on the alleged incidents.

Read the article: http://www.nandotimes.com/nation/story/244254p-2316081c.html

Over the years, and most recently after the September 11th terrorist attacks, our jobs as flight attendants have become increasingly more difficult.  We have taken on numerous non-compensatory responsibilities.  At the end of our workday, we expect to overnight at a hotel property that is clean, comfortable and well located based on the duration of the overnight.  Unfortunately, we often find ourselves staying at properties that do not meet these requirements.  During these times of economic turmoil, the Company’s primary focus is on cost reduction versus hotel quality and property location. It sometimes seems the flight attendant group has lowered their expectations for hotel accommodations to what would once have been considered “below average”. The unacceptable has become the norm.

The goal of your Crew Accommodations Committee is to change this paradigm by proactively targeting properties that fall in the unacceptable category. We must work together to obtain what we are entitled to under our contract.  It is imperative that we document any incidents or complaints that we have about a property by either using the hotel forms located in the crew rooms or fill out the form online at http://www.afausairways.org/FAForm.html. The hardcopy form can be deposited in the LEC Crew Accommodations OF310 letter tray located in the crew rooms.  If you can’t find it, please ask someone. Without documentation, it is difficult to persuade the Company that problems exist. In addition, positive feedback supports continued utilization of good properties. We will make sure that all feedback is considered and respond to you if requested. The Crew Accommodations Committee thanks you in advance for your time, and once again emphasizes the importance of working together. 

General Updates At the 4th quarter Crew Accommodation Meeting on December 11, 2001, the Company asked me to address the flight attendants on the issue of “bad checks”.  The Company is provided with a list of those flight attendants who pass bad checks and this is documented in the Flight Attendant’s employment records. These occurrences do not reflect well on the Flight Attendant group. The hotels provide crewmembers with this service on behalf of the Company and at crewmember request.  This is a privilege that could be taken away from us if it continues to be misused. 

The Committee was also asked by the Company to encourage Flight Attendants to cancel rooms when not needed.  This would result in a significant savings during a time when the Company is cutting costs in order to remain viable.  Thank you in advance for your efforts.

Procedural Updates
There have been numerous questions received recently regarding the determination of RON properties on system trips. When a system trip is awarded from Daily Crew Scheduling, the location of your RON hotel is determined according to the Flight Attendant Agreement.  The following scenario is provided as an example: Daily Crew Scheduling awarded you a system all-nighter comprised of Flight 1, PIT-AVP tonight at 21:30 and deadheading home on the dawn patrol flight the next morning. Even though the original crew for Flight 1 is scheduled to stay at the Long RON, according to our contract, the F/A in this example is entitled to overnight at the short RON. The Agreement provides that crews with layovers of 14:00 hours or more stay at the Long RON while crews with layovers of 13:59 or less stay at the short RON. Unfortunately, crew scheduling does not always update RON information. To ensure your overnight is scheduled for the correct property, confirm the RON with crew scheduling at the time of trip award. Should they decline to cooperate, contact Systems Crew Scheduling by Equipment at 1-800-327-0117, prompt 1-2-1, and then select the appropriate equipment type.  If you encounter any difficulties, please bring it to the Committee’s attention.  

Recent Site Inspections

1. LAX Short and Long RONs –Ten properties were inspected December 2 – 6, 2001.  A final decision has not yet been made.

2. UVF Long – As of February 3, 2002 crew layovers began on the island of St. Lucia.  The Hilton-SouFriere is the selected property for this 24:50 layover. The hotel is located 45 minutes from the airport. Closer properties to the airport exist; however, after inspection they were determined to be unacceptable.

3. FLL Long - This site inspection on nine properties took place January 28 – 30, 2002.  A final determination is expected in the next few weeks.

The Committee plans to do a site inspection the week of February 10, 2002 for the LGA short RON.  The contract for this property expires in August.  We have recently received numerous complaints on the Clarion. These concerns have been brought to the Company and we have asked that new properties be solicited to replace this hotel. We have been told the Company’s intention is to do this over the next few months.  Please continue to notify the Committee of any hotel concerns, preferably in writing, as this documents the issue. 

OF310 Forms
These forms can be found in each crew room. They are usually located with the other forms. Once completed, the white copy of the form is to be submitted via the Company mail system. The address is located on the bottom of the form. The remaining copies are to be placed in the Crew Accommodations OF310 Form tray located near the LEC mailbox in each crew room. If you are unfamiliar with the Company mail system, place the entire form in the tray and the Committee will distribute them properly. The electronic version of this form can be found at http://www.afausairways.org/FAForm.html. We cannot stress strongly enough the importance of your collective feedback. The Flight Attendants are the body of this Committee. It is through our experiences and the documentation thereof that the Company learns of a property or transportation issue. The Crew Accommodations Committee will review your complaints and comments with the Company.  If a reply is requested, you will receive one.

Committee Membership
MEC Chairperson 

Audrey M. Lindner 

Phone: 724-942–3039 
fax:      724-942-3494 
alindner@afausairways.org
 

On-line AFA Hotel Report Form

Crew member complaints of sub-standard and unacceptable hotel properties used for RON's are on the rise. However, when approached with requests for action to improve overnight hotels for crews, the Company invariably responds that there are not enough complaints on file to move them to do anything.

Your MEC Crew Accommodations Committee encourages you to report problem properties which you encounter on your overnights.  The only way to improve this important area of our working conditions is to document hotel complaints.

A new on-lne Hotel Report Form more resembles the OF-310 found in the Crew Rooms.  Please fill out this form with as much detail as you can and submit it electronically. http://www.afausairways.org/FAForm.html
 

Crew Accommodations Committee Members Needed!

Volunteers for the Crew Accommodations Committee in Boston, DCA, and LGA bases are needed.  Interested parties can contact the Committee at 724-942-3039.

In closing, I would like to use this Chairperson’s inaugural newsletter to provide some background information about me. I have been a Flight Attendant for the Company since 1982. I am based in PIT and live with my husband in Washington County, PA. I typically fly 80 to 90 hours per month, resulting in numerous RON’s at our contracted properties.

Thank you for reading the Committee’s report. We hope to receive feedback from all of you regarding our hotel properties, whether it is negative or positive.

BOSTON -- In the months following Sept.  11, Logan International Airport here was widely assailed for its string of security lapses, for its inept management and, most important, for its status as the origin of the two hijacked jets that crashed into the World Trade Center.

Battered by criticism from the public and the press, the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the airport, decided to bring in the best: the former head of security at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport, whose safety record is unrivaled.

The changes proposed so far by Raphael "Rafi" Ron, a former paratrooper and intelligence officer who was hired as a consultant in October, would result in a very different Logan.  Ron envisions an airport with more centralized decision-making, led by a director experienced in both security and aviation.  He sees it equipped with sophisticated new technology, ranging from biometric devices that can scan fingertips and retinas to computerized automobile ramps that can detect any suspicious weight on a vehicle.

But Ron's most controversial proposal is the creation of teams of roving pattern-recognition experts -- he refuses to call them "profilers" -- who would move throughout the airport and target suspicious travelers for extra security checks.  These teams, he said, would not use ethnicity as a factor in seeking potential terrorists, nor would they conduct the kind of lengthy interviews that are done in Israeli airports.  Instead, the teams -- some of whom would be uniformed, others undercover -- would interact with passengers to observe their behavior and determine if any merit extra scrutiny.

Read the article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36158-2002Feb6.html

WASHINGTON   The government is poised to buy hundreds of small, portable explosives-detection machines to help meet a deadline to screen all checked airline baggage by the end of the year, government and industry sources told USA TODAY.

Though details are not final, the imminent purchase is the first indication of how the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) might meet a deadline that seemed unattainable.  That's because aviation-security legislation passed last year requires that "explosive detection systems" screen all checked baggage by Dec., 31. The only certified systems are minivan-sized and cost $1 million each.

Many security experts say that obtaining several thousand of the million-dollar machines to cover all airports by year's end is impossible.  But officials read the law more generally.  Because the portable machines also detect explosives, they could be a substitute for some of the costlier machines.  A TSA spokesman would say only that the agency is looking closely at how to use the smaller machines.

Those machines, known as trace-detection devices, cost about $40,000 each.  They are widely used at airport security checkpoints for carry-on bags.  They can supplement security at larger airports or serve as the bomb-detection devices in smaller airports, consultants have told government officials.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/2002/02/08/usat-baggage.htm

Dear Fellow Employees:

I am very pleased to report to you today that, through your dedication, professionalism and significant effort, US Airways finished the year 2001 at the top of its peer group of six major airlines in three of the Department of Transportation's key performance
measures.

With all the extraordinary events that occurred last year, all of you should take great pride in these accomplishments. It shows quite clearly what the employees of US Airways are capable of achieving as a team.

In the category of least number of mishandled bags, US Airways was first for the year among the six majors -- American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United and ourselves.

Likewise, US Airways was first for the year among the big six in the least number of consumer complaints and first in the least number of involuntary denied boardings for January through September, the latest data available. In on-time arrivals, US Airways was third in our peer group.

Congratulations to everyone on a job well done. An efficient, well-run airline is critical to regaining passenger confidence and a key to increasing our revenue. Importantly, your considerable effort is very much appreciated.

Stephen Wolf
Chairman and CEO

End of Special Bulletin for Friday, Feb. 8, 2002