CREW ACCOMMODATIONS
Jody Compton - Chairperson
 Crew
Accommodations Committee Updates
(also see current E-Lines for Hotel
Alerts)
Crew Accommodations Update May 2008
ORD Long - 5 properties were visited during this site inspection. NONE of them
were in downtown Chicago. NONE. AFA's position was that since, historically we
have stayed in downtown, hotels should have been solicited there. It was the
company's position that "rate precluded anything downtown". Remember the
catchphrase here? "at the rate this company is willing to pay" Our
contract language states that on overnights greater than 16 hours "such hotel
shall be in a metropolitan area, such as downtown or close to shopping centers,
restaurants, etc." We looked at a few hotels that did not fit those criteria
but, Skokie does. It is not what we want but it is close to shopping centers,
restaurants, etc. They have also done a very nice job on their renovations - of the 5 hotels visited, this was far and away the best
- it is still not downtown and I would prefer to be there as much as the rest of
you. If we have the contract language changed we can fight on this one. Please
understand I did not "put us back in Skokie" as I was accused in one rather
vituperous e-mail. I do not make these decisions - I give the company
representative AFA's position then she makes the decision based on the rate.
FRA - A site inspection was done in January and we looked at 4 hotels. As I
reported in my March newsletter, none of the 4 were approved by AFA. At that
time the company agreed to keep all crews at the incumbent hotel with the caveat
that should we suffer interminable check-in wait times upon arrival, the company
would pull the seasonal late arriving crew.
Prior to the service of this late arriving crew even starting, the company has
made the decision to house this crew at an hotel in Wiesbaden, based on the
information from our incumbent that they could not guarantee room availability
for this crew. Although this hotel has a Wiesbaden mailing address, AFA's
position was that it was too far to walk into town and, unsafe to walk back in
the dark beside a park with little lighting. The company and hotel's response
was that they would provide one round-trip taxi voucher for every crew member.
The company feels this step is needed to provide this seasonal crew with
guaranteed rooms upon arrival. If you fly this, please provide feedback as to
how this is working out for you. I know the taxis are right outside the hotel to
get into the city but I have no idea how we are supposed to get the taxis back
to the hotel since most of our cell phones do not work in Europe and many of us
are not fluent in German. The OF-310 is a valuable tool in providing feedback on
this issue. If it turns out that crewmembers like this arrangement I'm sure the
company would be happy to place all three crews in this hotel.
Speaking of OF-310's, there is a new form on the Hub - it is no longer called an
OF-310. It can be accessed the same way - Divisions, Inflight, Forms &
Publications, Hotel Report. When filed this way, it is immediately sent to all
pertinent parties. Please remember to include your full name, phone number and
e-mail address. You can still fill one out on our AFA website, it just takes a
bit longer to get to everyone. Please know that I read and address every form I
get. I may not get back to you as quickly as I would like but rest assured I am
working on your concerns and I greatly appreciate the time and effort you spend
on writing these things up.
They are sometimes our only weapons.
Thank you,
Jody Compton
AFA Crew Accommodations Chair
jcompton@afausairways.org
(724) 719-0936
Your LEC
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