• LOCAL COUNCIL MEETING REVIEW

• OVERFLYING

• BASE CLOSURES

• GENERAL REMINDERS

• LOCAL COUNCIL CONTACT NUMBERS

We have a lot to review today so we will get started with a review of our local council meeting and then discuss the base closures as well as a number of other issues.

LOCAL COUNCIL MEETING REVIEW
We had nearly 70 members attend our local council meeting on Wednesday, October 21.  Hector Adler, VP of Inflight, was our invited guest and he spoke about the changes he will be making as they pertain to each local base, Inflight Administration and the Training Department.  He also took questions for about an hour before we actually started the union meeting.  He spoke about contract negotiations and the fact that when he first got here, he was not sure how long this would go on but he has seen a noticeable difference over the summer in the pace of negotiations and that both sides are working very hard.  Other issues brought forward by members in attendance were the overhead space issues and specifically, carry-on luggage problems that persist.  Mr. Adler stated he is not a fan of Zone Boarding, which US Airways currently uses, and he would like to see the airline go back to boarding from the rear of the aircraft.  This idea was well received by those in attendance, but Mr. Adler admitted it would be a tough sell to management to go back to that.

Mike Flores, MEC President, gave a negotiations update and we gave a handout on what sections have been closed, tabled and what had been negotiated in the most recent sessions between the JNC and the Company.

Paul Frishkorn, MEC Benefits Chair, spoke about the changes for Benefits since Open Enrollment for 2010 had not closed and then I followed with local issues regarding the recent charters, changes to ACARS (which was written about in an MEC E-line) and then the big topic was the overflying issue and what is and is not overflying.

OVERFLYING
The contract is very clear regarding ETB time (Section 9-12) in that ‘there is no cap on the number of pay hours a flight attendant may gain through picking up pairings from other flight attendants through the ETB.’  The perception seems to be that overflying is a huge issue in PHL.  The reality is that in the last High Block report I received, there were 183 flight attendants on that list and keep in mind, PHL is a base with 2,000 flight attendants.  49 of those 183 were over by 2+00 hours or less or, the time you can make in a month circling over New Jersey waiting to land at PHL.  The reality is this - there are a small number of people who are overflying by a lot of hours.  Of the 183 on the list, 27 overflew by 15 hours or more.  If you have 40 flight attendants overflying 40 each in one month, that’s 1,600 hours of company time trips that are not getting to the rest of the base.  Now, the other thing to consider is that overflying does not just affect the most junior in a base – it affects anyone junior to the person who overflies.  If someone with 35 years overflies by 40 hours, that is 40 hours that everyone with less than 35 years doesn’t get a chance to work.  If the person who overflies has 20 years, then everyone with less than 20 years is affected.

The rule of thumb to protect yourself when looking at your schedule is simple:  In option 2 of CATCREW, you will see your Projected Actual in the bottom left corner.   This number must be between your Obligation (OBL) and your MAX, and those numbers are located in the upper right-hand corner of option 2.  Remember, you can add 3+00 hours to your MAX.  The under fly (UF) located at the bottom center of option 2 in CATCREW is included in your Projected Actual.  The monthly MAX is normally set by crew scheduling at 90 hrs. each month, but there have been months when it was set at 85.  Simply put, Projected Actual must be between OBL and MAX + 3 hrs.  If you are over your MAX +3, you are overflying.

Again, we thank everyone who attended on October 21.  We are seeing more and more people attend with each meeting and we will have our next Council Meeting sometime in mid-April, prior to the AFA Board of Director’s meeting.

BASE CLOSURES
On Tuesday, October 27, a special meeting of the MEC was held, via teleconference, and we were notified that the company would announce the following day the closing of the BOS, LGA and LAS crew bases and their efforts to streamline the airline’s operations.  There are approximately 150 active flight attendants in LGA and 180 in BOS.  As most of you know by now, the majority of the flying time from those bases will come to PHL, including all E-190 time, and that is why the active count in PHL will increase by 153 and DCA will increase by 41.  AFA is currently working with the company on numerous issues regarding these base closures to try and soften, as much as possible, the impact these closures will have – and will impact each base.  As soon as we know about possible buy-outs, transfers, etc., you will be notified via E-Line.

GENERAL REMINDERS

LOD/O
Example:  A German LOD/O, picks up, via AIL, ETB, swap, a trip to MUC in the B position, for example, and the f/a in the LOD/O position is junior.  Question: Can the senior LOD/O bump the junior LOD/O out of that position?  Answer:  No.  The LOD/O in the LOD/O position is entitled to keep that position.  If the FRA LOD/O and the MUC LOD/O decide to swap trips and there is a more senior German LOD/O on their trip, they are still entitled to keep their LOD/O position and cannot be bumped out of it just because another GER LOD/O is on the pairing (in a non-LOD/O position) and is more senior.

SEC LINE AUGMENTATION
If you are a SEC line holder you CAN augment a split trip.  Last month, a f/a notified us because scheduling initially denied a split trip during SEC line augmentation.  If a scheduler denies you a split trip during augmentation, ask to speak to a supervisor because you are entitled to augment a split trip - if you want.

VACATION BUYBACK
As you all know, the company decided to award Vacation Buyback in all bases to everyone that applied.  The local council was notified at the same time you were – we had no advance notice this would happen.  This will undoubtedly reduce the number of SEC lines to bid for December and, by the way, I should have those numbers by tomorrow and I will get that out as soon as possible.  The reason, according to what AFA was told, is that senior management made this decision, in part, in an effort to allay any potential problems that could negatively impact the operations over the holidays.  For those of you who will fly over your vacation, regardless of whether you were awarded Vacation Buyback, I would strongly suggest you review section 9.D.4 (page 9-14) of your contact regarding the ‘Use of the ETB over Vacation.’ 
Since Vacation Buyback has not been awarded for years, this language needs to be reviewed.

In Regards,