• COMPANY PERFORMANCE OR LACK THEREOF

• ETC...

• JUMPSEAT

• CREW MOVEMENT AUTHORIZATIONS

• MERGER INTEGRATION TRAINING

• REVISION 46 AND THE CONTRACT

• PASSPORT RENEWAL

• Accessing The Hub

• AFA Local Numbers

COMPANY PERFORMANCE OR LACK THEREOF

"Give us a chance" - Doug Parker
"We need to do better" - Scott Kirby

As you have no doubt experienced, read or seen the Company is not performing well. The combination of the reservation system cutover and the weather have put the Company in a position of not being able to do what is supposed to do- provide timely service to the passengers who choose to "fly with US". There are no excuses as the root cause of this is primarily driven by management. The combined airline is now much larger than management or its' systems can support. There is absolutely no reason two weeks after the new reservation system cutover the airline continues to meltdown at the drop of a snowflake. True, weather does play a factor, but in the twenty five years I have been here I have never seen such a poorly managed operation. Bad weather was not invented yesterday and neither were mergers. Even in our darkest days nothing came close to what we are seeing today.

While they may be "working around the clock to fix" the problems, management is not facing the customers. Frontline employees system-wide are unable to do their jobs because they either have not been provided the training or provided the necessary tools. In the end the losers are our customers and our frontline employees.

Anticipating problems is one of the things capable mangers are paid to do. We have been let down and the blame falls directly at the feet of our senior management. I hope the last two weeks have provided a wake-up call to all those responsible. There is a difference between running a low cost airline and a cheap airline. Staffing levels, system choices and integration can't be run on the cheap. If this continues, all of the sacrifices made by all employees will have been for nothing. While paying all employees $100 for their efforts is a noble gesture, the problems continue, the contract violations persist and the goodwill of those who pay our salaries erodes by the minute.

I don't know why any of this really surprises me as our management continues to demonstrate an uncanny ability to make poor decisions. The list seems to have no end.

• Catering and Galley pack outs remain inconsistent.
• Cleaners and caterers are not stocking supplies in the proper locations.
• Cleaners don't know that Flight Attendants are not allowed to open aircraft doors.
• Row 9 exit row seats on the reconfigured A319 aircraft do not recline and are so close to row 8 tray tables are rendered useless.
• The A320 has been reconfigured twice and is still lacking in space for passengers and crew baggage.
• The A330 reconfiguration that added seats to the Coach cabin has reduced seat pitch on flights that are in excess of 11 hours. In addition some of the PSUs do not align with the rows making reading lights useless.
• The 321 will be reconfigured without valet closets.
• The ETC is useless.
• There are not enough employees in the benefits and employee travel office to meet the needs of an airline this size.
• Passengers have minimum connect times of 25-30 minutes in our major hubs and are constantly missing flights.
• Passenger manifests are either non-existent or impossible to decipher.

Some of these things will be fixed and some will not. The bottom line is we have given you a chance and you have failed to deliver.

ETC...

***note*** The Association of Flight Attendants has filed a grievance regarding the violation of both "clear and unambiguous" contract language and past practice that provides for non-revenue travel based on date of hire. The Association does not agree that any policy otherwise implemented is valid. The following comments reflect what we have to do-not what we should be doing with respect to non-revenue travel.

Some have said the ETC and airport check-in procedures are a joke. Sadly, it is not a joke. It is a nightmare. The imposed violation of the status quo requires either web listing and check-in or airport listing and check-in. Neither system works with any semblance of efficiency. It is as if the Company does not want employees to be able to use contractual benefits. While the Association does not agree that a non-revenue system should be governed by time of check-in, we do, for the time being, have a system in place that requires listing and check-in prior to travel. The Company's established policy is a twelve (12) hour web check-in or a four (4) hour airport check-in. Neither works with any consistency.

At times the ETC process can take an eternity and agents are refusing to check-in or list employees at the airport. If you are lucky enough to talk to a reservation agent you have likely been on hold for an hour and then told it is not the agent's job to process your listing or check-in.

Please report specific information (flight number, gate and date and time) that an agent won't honor the Company policy or won't accommodate your non-revenue travel benefits to your Local or MEC officers.

JUMPSEAT

The Company policy with respect to the new reservation system regarding jumpseat authorization states, "follow regular protocol". For the East that means you do NOT have to list for the flight you may have to jumpseat on. We have received numerous comments that agents are denying jumpseat authorization to Flight Attendants who have not listed for a flight they ultimately may have to ride the jumpseat on. This is another violation of our contract. You do not have to list for the flight to secure the jumpseat on the flight. In further violation of our contract some agents are awarding the jumpseat based on the current SA3 listing of year of hire. Again, please document and report any jumpseat denials or out of seniority jumpseat awards.

CREW MOVEMENT AUTHORIZATIONS

Crew Movement Authorizations or "must rides" are contractual and apply to the following scenarios:

• Any deadhead at the request of the Company.
• Any deadhead necessary to return a Flight Attendant who becomes sick or injured on a trip to her/his domicile.
• Any deadhead to the origination of a System Bid Charter.
• Any deadhead associated with TDY provisions.

All of the above deadheads are a "must ride" meaning you are contractually required to be given a seat on the first flight back to domicile or place of residence. If the flight is full the Company must remove revenue passengers and accommodate the crew member/s on the first flight. That may not be what the Company wants but it is what they have to do. The reservation system change has resulted in a new procedure for Crew Scheduling. No longer able to book the seats or override a full flight, Crew Scheduling is now forced to request a seat from "inventory". In some cases the Crew Movement Authorization is being confused with Space Positive.

Space Positive is not the same as a Crew Movement Authorization. Space Positive travel can be denied if the flight is full. Crewmembers with Crew Movement Authorization must be given a seat on the first flight, not the first flight that has available seats.

Management claims the confusion has been clarified but as of this morning the problem is still ongoing. You are not required to ride the jumpseat and must be given a seat on the first flight to the destination of the Crew Movement Authorization with no exceptions. If you encounter difficulties please contact crew scheduling and your local AFA representatives.

The only exception is a Crew Movement Authorization for Training. Crew Movement Authorization for Training requires that at the time of the booking there must be a seat available. Once booked however, a Flight Attendant cannot be removed in an oversell situation.

MERGER INTEGRATION TRAINING

As a reminder, in order to be legal to fly on May 1, 2007 you must have completed merger integration training by April 30, 2007. The training involves new procedures being implemented. Do not confuse new procedures with a new contract. The terms of the Transition Agreement dictate the Company can't merge the two Flight Attendant work groups until a merged single agreement is ratified and signed. The Transition Agreement requires that each group continue to fly under their own contract and on the aircraft on each carriers operating certificate until one contract and seniority list exists. Although the Company may have a single operating certificate before single agreements are reached the terms of the Transition Agreement will remain in effect until such time that single agreements are in place.

REVISION 46 AND THE CONTRACT

The latest Flight Attendant Emergency Manual revision (FAEM-#46) contains FAR 121.467. Part 121.467 is the FAA required duty period and rest parameters. The FAR requirements and the contractual requirements differ. Our contract takes precedence over the FAR cited in the Flight Attendant Emergency Manual. Please refer to Section 10 (Hours of Service) and Section 12 (International Flying) for the contractual duty period limits and rest requirements.

• For domestic or Non-Transoceanic International (NTI) operations the contractual scheduled limit to a duty period is fourteen (14) hours. That duty period can be increased to fifteen (15 hours) in actual operation.
• For Transoceanic International (TI) operations staffed with or without an international relief officer (IRO) a Flight Attendant may be scheduled for fourteen (14) hours on duty and may be required to remain on duty for sixteen (16) hours in actual operation.

In order to be scheduled on duty in excess of fourteen (14) up to sixteen (16) hours in TI operations the Company would have to staff the A330 with (ten)10 Flight Attendants and the B767 with seven (7) Flight Attendants-two more than the minimum required. The B757E will be staffed with six (6) Flight Attendants, two more than the minimum required and therefore could be scheduled for a duty period in excess of 14 hours not to exceed 16 hours and 18 in actual operation as the crew compliment is in accordance with the FAR.

There are two key points to remember when dealing with Transoceanic International flying.

1. The key word is scheduled not rescheduled. The Company can't simply add a Flight Attendant to a Transoceanic International flight on the A330 or B767 in order to reschedule the trip in excess of 14 hours.
2. The pilots have different rules and can be on duty up to 18 hours in actual operation. Do not let the Captain talk you into breaking your contractual rights.

In order to determine your "drop dead" time you can use the following example:

TRANSOCEANIC FLYING (all times EST.)

Check-in Time: 1830
Departure Time: 2000

1830 plus 16:00 hours on duty requires an off duty time of 1030 (includes the 30 minute debrief)

Scheduled Flight Time (published- not what the Captain says the actual time is) 8:00

In order to be blocked in by 1000 (because you must be off duty by 1030) the flight has to push back by 0200. After 0200 you are illegal need to be released. Don't forget to wish the Captain a good flight.

The same formula would apply for domestic pairing "drop dead" times however the check-in is one hour and the debrief time is 15 minutes.

PASSPORT RENEWAL

The following new rules are currently in or will be in effect for US citizens traveling abroad:

• Beginning January 23, 2007, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport, Air NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document, or an Alien Registration Card, Form I-551, if applicable.
   
• As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. While recent legislative changes permit a later deadline, the Departments of State and Homeland Security are working to meet all requirements as soon as possible. Ample advance notice will be provided to enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards for land/sea entries.

The passport requirement does NOT apply to U.S. citizens traveling to or returning directly from a U.S. territory. U.S. citizens returning directly from a U.S. territory are not considered to have left the United States and do not need to present a passport. U.S. territories include the following: Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The new requirements have caused an increase in the number of people applying for passports and have led to increased time for processing passport renewals. Flight Attendants are required to possess a valid passport and any required visas in order to be legal to fly. Flight Attendants are permitted to fly domestically without their passport if the passport has been sent in for renewal but has not expired. If the passport has expired, Company policy forbids a Flight Attendant to fly at all.

The processing time for expedited renewals has increased to 4-6 weeks rather than 4-6 days. The Association is in talks with the Company about relief from the Company policy but have yet to reach an agreement. Please take a look at your passport, check the expiration date and plan accordingly. The Company will reimburse a Flight Attendant for the cost of passports, passport renewals, passport photos and visas including any additional charge for expediting service. The following link will provide more passport information:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

Thank you,

Mike Flores, President
The US Airways MEC
AFA-CWA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessing The Hub:

http://thehub.usairways.com 
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AFA Local Numbers

Council 40 PIT 724-695-3329
Council 41 DCA 703-212-8090
Council 69 BOS 781-289-8454
Council 70 PHL 215-492-0840
Council 82 LGA 315-736-3483
Council 89 CLT 704-527-0325

New Hotline Number Toll Free: 866-USA-AFA2
US AIRWAYS Benefits Information 800-872-4780

Reply to Inflight: askinflight@usairways.com

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