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FAA LEGALITY REQUIREMENTS GOVERNING TRAINING OR PERFORMING COMPANY BUSINESS IN CONJUNCTION WITH FLYING A TRIP

The FAA has informed the Company that it must restrict the ability to perform Company Business or Training and then follow that Company Business or Training with a trip. In short, the scheduled combination of Company Business or Training and the duty period of a trip must be limited to the fourteen (14) hour duty day.

The FAA does not view Company Business or Training as "duty" unless the Company Business or Training is followed by a trip. In that case, the time spent performing Company Business or Training, the time spent between the two activities (i.e. Training followed by a trip) and the duty time of the trip flown may not be scheduled to exceed fourteen (14) hours or exceed fifteen (15) hours in actual operation.

The FAA does not allow six days of flying or Reserve duty to follow Company Business or Training unless a twenty four (24) hour period free from all duty follows the Company Business or Training. The twenty four (24) period starts at the end of the non-flying activity or the release time following the scheduled deadhead back to domicile.

Contractually, a Flight Attendant is not required to attend training following six days of flying or Reserve duty however; a Flight Attendant may waive that provision. A Flight Attendant waiving the provision must have a twenty four (24) hour period free from all duty prior to any subsequent flying or Reserve duty.

The Company CBS is copied below.

Thank you,

Mike Flores, President
The US Airways Master Executive Council
AFA-CWA



CLARIFICATION OF LEGALITY REQUIREMENTS AFFECTING NON-FLYING ACTIVITY

The FAA recently notified the Company of a clarification to FAR 121.467, which governs duty limitations for Training or Company Business in conjunction with flying. As a result of this clarification, it is imperative that the Company immediately take the necessary steps to ensure compliance. The following Q&A has been provided to help you understand how this change will impact you.

What is the Company doing to ensure compliance?

* The Company is currently identifying the actions necessary to create an automated process to ensure compliance to remedy this situation. The implementation date of this automation will be announced shortly.

What are the flight attendants' responsibilities during this interim period?

* In conjunction with Crew Scheduling, a flight attendant must ensure he/she has scheduled training to meet these FAR requirements. A flight attendant must verify his/her legality requirements by contacting Crew Scheduling.

What FAR legality requirements must be considered when scheduling Training or
Company Business in conjunction with flying?

* A flight attendant cannot be scheduled for a duty period that exceeds 14 hours when flying a trip after completing Training/Company Business.

*FAR rest must be provided between trips; this may occur either before or immediately following training.

When does a duty day begin and end when combining Training/Company Business flying?

* Training/Company Business (1st) plus flying - a duty day begins at the earlier of the scheduled start time of the Training class/Company Business or an hour before the scheduled deadhead from domicile (even if the flight attendant is commuting from a location other than her/his domicile) and continues throughout the Training day up to and including the 15/30 minute debrief after scheduled arrival on the last flight of her/his day. Therefore, the entire period is considered continuous duty for the purpose of the duty day calculation and must NOT be scheduled to exceed 14 hours. The FAA does not consider personal commuting time as part of the duty day, only time scheduled from the domicile to the training location is considered. The time in between Training/Company Business and Flying is considered duty for the purpose of calculating the duty day limitation.

* Flying (1st) plus Training/Company Business - for calculation purposes the duty day ends at the debrief of the trip, training is not considered part of the duty day and does not need to be considered when training follows flying. As a reminder, any rest requirement associated with flight duty will need to be met prior to the next assigned flight duty.

* FAR rest must be provided between trips, this may occur either before or immediately following training. Rest requirements may be verified by contacting Crew Scheduling.

Is a flight attendant able to attend training immediately following 6 consecutive days of duty/training?

* Per the Flight Attendant Collective Bargaining Agreement, a flight attendant will not be required to attend training immediately following 6 consecutive days of scheduled training/duty, unless such period contains twenty-four (24:00) hours free from all duty. However, a flight attendant may elect to attend training following 6 consecutive days of scheduled training/duty provided there is (24:00) hours free from all duty prior to any subsequent flight duty. The FAA's position is that any period of time after completing post-flight duties associated with a trip, in which a flight attendant performs ground duties (training, Company Business) is not considered part of the duty period: it also may not be considered part of any of the rest periods stated in Section 121.467 (b).

How will the training award/assignment process change during the interim period?

* All training (TRN) will be added to CATS at the time of registration (except TRN over VAC).

Is Training or Company Business considered "duty" as defined by the FAA and limited to a 14 hour duty day when not combined with scheduled flying?

* Training/Company Business is not restricted by duty day limitations.

Can a flight attendant attend Training during her/his scheduled duty break within a trip?

* No

Can a flight attendant attend Training as a "walk-in"?

* No, the Company will require all flight attendants to pre-register for training.


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AFA Local Numbers
 
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

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US AIRWAYS Benefits Information 800-872-4780

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