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AFA US Airways MEC E-Line for March 26, 2003
"May Supplemental Bid Reminder and More"

• MAY SUPPLEMENTAL BID (MAY-DEC 2003) Reminder
• MEC Hotel Committee Update
• Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Guidelines
• US Airways and Pilots' Union Resolve Pension Plan Dispute
• From AFA USAirways and Dell -- Tired of waiting for the best deal on a new Dell PC?

MAY SUPPLEMENTAL BID (MAY-DEC 2003) Reminder

THIS BID WILL CLOSE AT 1200 NOON (EST) ON THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2003.

As a result of increased service out of our Philadelphia hub, there is a need for additional flight attendant positions in CLW, PHW, and PIW (Charlotte Transoceanic Domicile, Philadelphia Transoceanic Domicile, and Pittsburgh Transoceanic Domicile). This bid period begins May 1, 2003 and ends December 31, 2003. If you are interested in bidding for a position in the ITD Program, the information is available HERE or a BID PACKET WITH THE ATTACHED BID FORM at your base and review it carefully.

BID FORM(S) WILL NOT BE VALID WITHOUT YOUR SIGNATURE AND DATE. Your signature will indicate that you have read and understood all the information in this packet. BE SURE TO COMPLETE ALL AREAS OF THE FORM THAT APPLY TO YOUR BID.

More information and the bid form can be found HERE 

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MEC Hotel Committee Update

New Property Updates
 
Beginning April 1, 2002, new properties will be utilized for BDL long, CMH short, and BUF short.  The new BDL Long RON is located only 15 minutes away from the airport.  The names of the properties will be posted in  crew on the union bulletin boards.  It may take two months for the trip sheets to reflect the corrected information.  CBS messages will be used to inform crewmembers of these changes.
 
LAS
 
Please continue to provide the Committee with your feedback on this city.  We are aware of the issues our crewmembers are continuing to face at the property  located just off the strip.  The Committee is working towards getting these issues resolved, since the Company will not vacate a hotel until several attempts at resolution have been made.
 
PHX
 
Please be aware that several of the "G" position trips are being relocated to the short RON hotel.  The Committee has and is continuing to present this issue to the Company, however, it is only with your documented feedback that change is a realistic option.
 
RSW
 
The long RON property is only accepting one crew of five.  The other four long overnights are being housed at the short RON hotel.  The RSW market is limited in properties located less than 30 minutes from the airport.  The few hotels that exist near our Long RON facility do not have rooms available at this time.  The Committee is working to resolve the issue.  At present, the short hotel is to provide van transportation to entertainment and restaurants.  Please continue to write-up this situation.
 
SYR
 
The long RON still continues to present problems.  Numerous calls have been placed to this hotel.  As many of you already know, this hotel is in bankruptcy.  USAirways has been one of the few Companies to continue to provide them with nightly guaranteed business.  The Syracuse market is limited in regards to hotels.  After researching the area, it seems alternative hotels would leave crewmembers to rely on van transportation in order to access entertainment/restaurants.  The Committee is still insisting the Company perform an inspection of this area, since our present hotel does an inferior job of taking care of our crews.  Any input you may have on this city is welcome.
 
EWR
 
I am told by the Company that this city is to be addressed in April.  FINALLY
 
General FYI
 
The short BDL RON property has informed the Company of its intention to charge crewmembers $50.00 for smoking in a non-smoking room.  Smoking rooms can be requested upon check-in or in advance by calling the property prior to arrival at the hotel.
 
 
Please continue to fill out the OF310 forms either via paper or online at HERE.  As the BOS Committee Representative always says,  "Help us Help YOU!" 
 
We thank you kindly for you assistance.

Audrey Lindner
MEC Hotel Chair
alindner@afausairways.org

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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Guidelines

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has developed interim guidelines for airline flight crews regarding Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). CDC points out that the illness appears to spread by close person-to-person contact, and that there is no evidence that the infection is spread through casual contact in large groups of people.  CDC also suggests frequent hand washing with soap and water or the use of alcohol-based hand rubs as an alternative.

If a passenger traveling from Hong Kong and Guangdong Province, China; or Hanoi, Vietnam, appears to be ill with a respiratory illness, try to separate the passenger from other passengers as much as possible.  Provide a surgical mask, if available, for the ill passenger to wear.  A surgical mask can reduce the number of droplets coughed into the air.  If a surgical mask is not available, provide the passenger with tissues and ask him/her to cover their mouth and nose when coughing. 

The CDC does not recommend  routine use of masks or other personal protective equipment for the flight crew or healthy passengers.

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US Airways and Pilots' Union Resolve Pension Plan Dispute
By MICHELINE MAYNARD NY Times

US Airways and its pilots' union reached agreement early yesterday on a replacement for the pilots' pension plan, ending a dispute that threatened to block the airline's emergence from bankruptcy at the end of the month.

The replacement plan was approved by the master executive council of the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents US Airways' pilots, after intense negotiations with the airline, which is based in Arlington, Va. Financial details of the plan, which will affect 4,700 pilots, including 3,600 active pilots and 1,100 retired pilots, were not made public.

US Airways, a unit of the US Airways Group and the nation's seventh-largest carrier, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last summer. Contending that it could not afford to pay $1.6 billion in pension obligations over the next seven years, and still return to financial viability, US Airways asked the federal Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation for its approval to terminate the plan, and replace it with one paying $850 million.

The pilots sued, claiming that US Airways was required to negotiate with it on such a move. Judge Stephen S. Mitchell of Federal Bankruptcy Court in Alexandria, Va., who oversees the US Airways case, ruled on March 1 that the airline had the right to replace the plan but urged the two sides to negotiate a solution.

The compromise plan requires the pension board's approval. In a message on its Web site, the pilots' union said the pension board would consider the plan this week, but that its decision could take up to five days.

Last week, Judge Mitchell approved US Airways' restructuring plan, subject to resolution of the dispute with the pilots, and other matters. US Airways wants to emerge from bankruptcy by March 31.

"We are 10 days away from completing our Chapter 11 reorganization and the choices are rather stark: successfully complete the process and emerge from bankruptcy protection, or fail," David N. Siegel, the airlines' chief executive, said in a statement issued yesterday. "The management of the airline did not undertake this difficult process to fail, and neither did our pilots."

If the pension board approves the replacement plan, it would take effect on April 1, a day after US Airways sought to terminate the existing plan. Resolution of the pension shortfall was necessary for US Airways to obtain $900 million in federal loan guarantees from the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, and to win a final $200 million in financing from its primary lender, the Retirement Systems of Alabama. The Alabama fund will have eight of 15 seats on the US Airways board, along with 70 percent voting control, when the airline emerges from bankruptcy.

Though pilots at US Airways assuredly will end up with less in retirement benefits under the new plan, they were better off reaching agreement with the airline than seeing their plan wiped out, said Robert W. Mann Jr., an industry consultant based in Port Washington, N.Y. "Something's better than nothing," Mr. Mann said.

He said, however, that there was no guarantee that US Airways would be able to prosper, even when it emerges from Chapter 11 protection. Like other airlines, US Airways' bookings are being hurt by terrorism fears, and it has warned its unions that it may have to impose a 5 percent cut in wages and benefits in response to a drop in air travel.

"The only thing certain is that they will end up with more liquidity," Mr. Mann said. "If the situation continues to deteriorate, they'll just have a longer fuse" before another financial crisis is set off, he said.

The US Airways negotiations were being watched closely by other airlines, particularly United Airlines, a unit of the UAL Corporation that filed for Chapter 11 protection in December. Last week, United asked a bankruptcy court in Chicago to void its labor agreements if it cannot reach a deal with its unions on sweeping concessions it said are necessary to remain in business.

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